With all the different juice cleanses out there, chances are every woman has tried at least one. The big concern is that not only are women giving into this fad, but girls as young as 6 are now doing them! If this upsets you, then you can imagine how alarmed doctors are over this latest trend.
While it's good that kids are becoming more aware that vegetables and fruits are good for them, there is a dark side to getting wrapped up in juice cleanses at such a young age. And you'll NEVER believe who they are doing them with!
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Thanks to their health-conscious parents, kids have been introduced to his new way of life. Mom Sandra Davella says her 6-year-old, Sofia, loves juicing so much that she steals her stash. That comes at a price, especially since juices are expensive and in her case can cost her up to $80 a day. "I have to buy extra because I know she's going to take it," Davella says.
The worst part is that some of these kids do it along with their moms. Take for example 51-year-old Joanne Heyman whose 17-year-old and 11-year-old daughters expressed interest in juicing. They embarked on a $600 five-day cleanse with her. The mom insists that they aren't doing it to lose weight but instead to improve how they feel. "For younger people, it clears up your skin. Yes, you can lose a few pounds, but it's really about how you feel," she said.
Then there are companies such as Dherbs.com, a $99 14-day juicing cleanse catered to children, that are making bank from their young customers. "In the last few years, we've seen an increase of almost 50 percent in sales of Children's Cleanse," said company representative Jamelle Dolphin. This causes concern to doctors such as Keith Ayoob. He says, "Kids don't need a cleanse, they need good food. A cleanse usually means they're also excluding necessary food groups and nutrients." This is dangerous because it isn't training them to have good eating habits and can potentially lead to eating disorders.
I'm shocked that there are children and teens engaging in juice cleanses, period! I honestly feel that this can easily fall under child abuse, because these moms are nuts for allowing them to engage in this activity. I bet their kids' doctors would urge them to stop cleansing juices immediately if they knew what was going on. Whatever happened to teaching your kids to EAT healthy foods? And also, giving your kids juices is a great idea, just not for cleansing purposes or replacing food! I really hope pediatricians take this matter seriously because for all we know we can already have some serious eating disorders on our hands.
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