Next turning point · Autumn Equinox · Sep 22–23, 2026 · in 55 days — claim your two days
Fresh Start

Honestly

Who should sit this one out

Two days of juice only is a real change to how your body is fuelled. Whether it is safe for you depends on your own health, your medications and your history — which is a conversation for you and your doctor, not a website. For some people it is genuinely dangerous. We would much rather lose a signup than be casual about it.

The list

Please skip this cycle if any of these apply

Or speak to your doctor first. Several of these are not obvious, which is exactly why they're written out rather than compressed into a disclaimer.

  1. Skip

    You take insulin or medication for blood sugar

    Juice delivers sugar quickly and without the fibre that slows it down, while your overall intake drops sharply. Insulin and sulfonylureas dosed for your normal eating can drive blood sugar far too low. This needs a doctor, not a pamphlet.

  2. Skip

    You have kidney disease or reduced kidney function

    Vegetable juice is extremely high in potassium, and juicing concentrates it — several pounds of produce into a single glass. Healthy kidneys clear the excess. Impaired ones don't, and high potassium affects heart rhythm. Some greens are also high in oxalate, which matters if you form stones.

  3. Skip

    You're pregnant or breastfeeding

    Both raise your energy and nutrient requirements considerably. Two days of restricted intake is the wrong direction, and unpasteurised juice carries a listeria risk that matters much more in pregnancy than it otherwise would.

  4. Skip

    You have a history of disordered eating

    Fasting and cleanse framing are well-documented triggers for relapse, and a structured two-day restriction with a community around it can be a very effective disguise for something else. If any part of you is drawn to this because it is restriction, that is the reason to sit it out. That isn't a judgement — it's the single most common way a project like ours does harm, and we'd rather say it plainly.

  5. Skip

    You're under 18

    Growing bodies need consistent intake and this isn't designed for them. Juice what you grow, drink it alongside your meals, and come to a cycle properly when you're older.

  6. Ask first

    You take blood thinners, lithium, or medication that needs food

    Vitamin K in leafy greens interacts directly with warfarin. Lithium levels move with hydration and sodium. Plenty of medications specify being taken with food, and grapefruit interferes with a long list of drugs. Your pharmacist can answer this in five minutes and it's worth the call.

  7. Ask first

    You're over 70, recovering from surgery or illness, or underweight

    Recovery and older age both raise protein requirements, and two days without any is a meaningful gap. Not automatically off the table, but a conversation with a doctor rather than a decision made off a website.

  8. Ask first

    You're managing any chronic condition

    Diabetes of any type, heart or liver conditions, IBD, gout, a history of gallstones. The honest answer for most of these is "probably fine, but ask" — and asking costs one phone call against a risk you can't calculate from here.

During

Stop and eat if this happens

There is no version of Fresh Start in which pushing through is the correct answer.

  • Dizziness or lightheadedness that doesn't pass when you sit down
  • Shakiness, cold sweats, or a racing heart
  • Confusion, or difficulty following a conversation
  • Fainting, or nearly fainting
  • Any chest pain, or an irregular heartbeat
  • Vomiting, or being unable to keep water down

Eating is not failing

If you stop on the afternoon of day one, you still spent two weeks learning where food near you comes from, still met a grower, and still know something about your region you didn't know before. That was most of the value. The juice was only ever the occasion.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. We are not, which is why we can say it.

Chest pain, fainting, or confusion are emergencies regardless of context. In the US and Canada call 911. Don't wait to see whether it passes.

You can still do the cycle. You just do it differently.

Instead

You can still do the cycle

The date, the sourcing, and the community are the durable parts. The juice-only rule is the part that has contraindications — and it's the part you can drop.

The alternative

Add the juice, don't subtract the food

Do the whole sourcing exercise. Press the same juices on the same two days. Drink them alongside ordinary meals instead of in place of them. You get the seasonal produce, the grower, the date and the shared moment.

This is a gentler route, not a risk-free one. Fresh unpasteurised juice and large volumes of particular produce can still interact with medications and conditions. If you are on the list above, talk to your doctor about your own situation before you press anything.

Start with sourcing →

Also worth it

One meal, entirely local

On the turning point, cook one meal in which every single ingredient came from within your own region. It is harder than it sounds, it teaches the same lesson, and it's safe for essentially everybody. Several of us do this as well as the juice.

Get the pamphlet →

Support

If this page touched a nerve

If the restriction is the appealing part, that's worth talking to someone about — and it's a far more common experience than the wellness industry lets on.

In the US, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders runs a free helpline staffed by licensed clinicians, on 1-866-662-1235. It costs nothing and you don't need a diagnosis to call.

Outside the US, your national eating disorder association will have an equivalent line.