Can a Three-Day Fruit Diet Contribute to Weight Loss?

Everyone knows fruits and vegetables are one of the most important components of a balanced healthy diet, but does this mean you’d be healthier if this was the only thing you ate? Some people certainly believe so! Several different fruit cleanse diets have become popular in recent years.

While this concept of doing a fruit fast isn’t new, it’s risen exponentially in popularity thanks to social media. Many celebrities, influencers, and even everyday people are dabbling in fruit cleanses in an attempt to lose weight, detox, and increase their overall wellness. The question is, do they work, and are they safe? Keep reading to find out.

Defining The Fruit Flush Diet

One of the most popular fruit cleanse diets is called the Fruit Flush Diet. It was created in 2013 by Jay Robb, a nutritionist and former bodybuilder. Jay outlines a specific protocol in his book “Fruit Flush 3-Day Detox” which claims to give its followers a host of benefits.

Fruit Flush Diet Benefit Claims

• Weight loss of 3-9 pounds in 3 days
• Increased motivation to help start new healthy habits
• Helps flush toxins out of the body
• Improvement of bags under the eyes
• Increased energy
• Relief from bloating and constipation
• Mood enhancement
• Freedom from carbohydrate and sugar cravings

It’s important to note that these claims are quite ambitious, and the effects of the diet are not clinically proven. Regardless, there are some positive aspects worth examining. Before doing this, let’s examine what the Fruit Flush Diet is.

The Fruit Flush Diet Protocol

The Fruit Flush Diet is a strict 3-day elimination diet that removes processed foods, starchy carbohydrates, and all beverages except for water, seasonings, sweeteners, and salt. It’s a low-calorie diet that isn’t recommended to be followed past the 3-day schedule.

It’s also advised for the flush followers to refrain from exercise during this 3-day period since they may not have enough calories to support the energy output needed for a quality workout.

Day 1 of the Fruit Flush Diet starts with protein shakes from morning until late afternoon as needed according to hunger. The protein being used should be low in carbohydrates and sugar. Followers are also advised to drink a glass of water within 1 hour following each shake. This may help to fill the stomach with volume and reduce hunger cravings.

Dinner on Day 1 should be a salad of leafy greens with lean protein and minimal dressing. Protein choices could include chicken, fish, or turkey, and the dressing can be composed of simple ingredients like vinegar or lemon juice mixed with a small amount of olive or flaxseed oil.

After this, Day 2 and Day 3 are the same. The protocol is 1 serving of fruit every few hours from morning until late afternoon. Dinner should once again consist of a leafy green salad with protein in the form of a protein shake or the food options from Day 1’s dinner.

A full glass of water should be consumed between each fruit serving and after dinner. This will total up to 12 glasses of water per day. All types of fruit fit into the diet. They can be fresh, frozen, canned, or blended as long as they’re consumed in their whole form without any other ingredients added. Organic produce is preferable.

Though there is some variety in the amount of calories this diet protocol will have based on portion sizes, it’s safe to say it’s an unsustainably low amount of calories. Some estimates say it often works out to 1000 or fewer calories per day.

Positives of The Fruit Flush Diet

The main positive of the Fruit Flush Diet is that it will greatly increase one’s intake of fruits and vegetables, which come with a host of beneficial substances like vitamins, minerals, and bioactive plant compounds. This is a big positive feature of the diet since most people don’t even come close to meeting their fruit and vegetable intake recommendations.

Another benefit of the diet may be relief from gastrointestinal issues. Most of the foods that people struggle with sensitivities to fall outside the category of fruits. More common gut irritants often include gluten, highly processed foods, gums and thickening agents, food preservatives, beans and legumes, oligosaccharide-containing foods, and low-quality, high-fat foods. The Food Flush Diet eliminates all of these categories, so it may provide temporary relief.

Additionally, many of the compounds found in fruits, such as polyphenols, are shown to help improve gut microbiota composition, which is one of the most important factors determining overall gut health and digestion comfort.

Negatives of The Fruit Flush Diet

As mentioned previously, though there are a few benefits of the Fruit Flush Diet, the negatives outweigh them, according to most diet experts.

The most obvious negative is the overall lack of sustenance the diet provides. It’s likely for diet followers to feel lethargic, have brain fog, have difficulties sleeping, and decreased productivity. There are simply not enough calories or carbohydrates to adequately fuel the brain or body.

Secondly, the vast amount of fruit consumed on this diet may far exceed regular fiber intake for the majority of people. Fiber intake should always be increased slowly to avoid gastrointestinal discomfort.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, the diet simply doesn’t live up to all of its claims. It’s not proven to increase detoxification, it likely won’t improve energy, and the weight loss that may be seen after 3 days is mostly water weight from the reduced carbohydrate intake, which will return swiftly after reincorporating them back into one’s diet.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there are much easier ways to increase fruit and vegetable intake, which is the main benefit of the diet. There are also much more evidence-based, effective, and sustainable methods of weight loss that don’t require such drastic lifestyle changes.

Though it may not be as flashy or sell as many books as the 3-day Fruit Flush Diet, simply following a consistently healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet rich in produce, protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats is a superior option for weight loss and general health.