Is a detox on cranberry juice alone safe? And more importantly, is it effective?
There are plenty of diets and detoxes on the market claiming to be the one. It’ll say that it harnessed the healthy powers of fruit, vegetable, or plant, and managed to achieve an impossible health feat by following their very own diet or detox routine. They then encourage others to either buy their detox plan or product that they, too, can benefit from.
You might have already tried a few of them, like the Yogi detox tea for weight loss. You also might have been disappointed by a few of these claims. Don’t get me wrong, though – it’s possible that some of these so-called diets and detoxes are based on science. However, to find out which is which, you need to do your research and consult with your doctor if this diet or detox is good for your health.
Take, for example, the growing trend of the cranberry juice detox. It’s supposed to provide you with a healthier digestive system and, in case of drug tests, a toxin-free body. But just how effective is it?
Cranberry: Overview
Cranberries come from a shrub known as the Vaccinium oxycoccos in Britain or the Vaccinium macrocarpon in the United States. They can be found in cooler climates throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Its fruit produces an acidic and sweet taste. It’s mostly popular in the United States, Canada, and Chile, where cranberries are either sold fresh, as a juice or sauce, or used as a filling for turkey dinners.
Cranberries are relatively harder than their relatives in the berry family and has both a sour and bitter flavor. While it can be sweetened, some brands of cranberry juice add too many sweeteners that it has more sugar than sodas. This cancels out their health benefits and can be a cause for obesity.
Nutritional Value of Cranberries
Fresh cranberry fruits are rich in vitamin C, fiber, and minerals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. A cup of raw cranberries provides 46 calories, but cranberries that are preserved or used as an ingredient for other types of food will have more or fewer calories.
Detoxing with Cranberries
Detox diets are the process of removing toxic or unhealthy substances from your body. While the liver’s job is to detoxify your blood and the rest of your digestive system, some people believe it is necessary to further detox their bodies by changing their diet. Aside from removing your toxins, it’s also meant to improve bodily functions, help you feel less tired, a
Detox diets are almost always short term because they aren’t sustainable for a healthy long-term diet. Detoxes focus on a certain nutrient to cram into your body to get the most out of it. However, your body needs more nutrients than just the nutrients you’re limiting yourself to. As a result, you can feel side effects like low blood sugar, fatigue, nausea, and dizziness during your detox until you replenish your nutrients.
Cranberry Detox to Pass Drug Test
There are claims online that say that quick cranberry detoxes are the best way to pass drug tests if you have dabbled in drugs within the last few months. The claim is that drinking a certain amount of cranberry juice over a few hours can result in people urinating all drug toxins from your body. During the drug test, you can submit a clean sample of urine.
This idea revolves around the fact that cranberry juice is a diuretic. This means it makes your body urinate more frequently. Cranberries also contain a substance that can line the urinary tract, which can supposedly minimize urinary tract infections. However, there’s no evidence to confirm that cranberry juice draws out toxins from the body and leads it to your bladder.
Cranberry Detox for UTI
Many people detox with cranberry juice and cranberry pills under the assumption that it is a good way to cure themselves of urinary tract infections. While a 2008 study found that it can help women with recurring UTI, there is no statistical evidence to suggest cranberries are more effective at treating UTI than antibiotics.
Cranberry Juice Detox: Is It Safe?
Detoxing, in general, is already questionable because your livers and kidneys are already detoxifying your body. While some detoxes claim to help these organs, there’s no proof that they’re beneficial. While your doctor can give you the go signal, there’s actually a drink that’s proven to be more helpful than cranberry juice: water.
Drinking Cranberry for Health Purposes
While drinking cranberry juice may have nutritional benefits, it’s not as nutritious compared to the other health drinks available in the market. The average processed cranberry drink has around 31 grams of sugar. While it does provide some nutrients, it doesn’t actually cleanse or detox your body.
However, that’s not to say that cranberry juice is totally bad. As long as you drink it in moderation and either go for less processed and sugar-filled cranberry drinks, you can actually absorb some of the nutrients naturally found in cranberry juice.
So, while it’s not recommended that you try to detox by living on cranberry juice alone, it may still have some benefits if you choose to drink it in moderation. However, don’t expect to pass your drug test, be cured of severe UTI, or benefit from its relatively low amount of nutrients.
