A Touch of Southern Grace : Is Juicing Healthy

About three or four years ago juicing really started to gain momentum in a way that it has not been able to do ever before. Personally, I haven’t gathered the ingredients and juiced at home, but I have taken advantage of the Whole Foods juice bar and the Juice Bar store and there is a noted difference in taste in quality. Over the years I have heard mixed reviews from it’s one of the best things you can do for your body all the way to juicing contains a lot of sugar, causes breakouts, and leads to weigh gain. Alex, a health blogger, has been so kind as to write a guest post for today to set the record straight about juicing, once and for all.

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Juicing was never this trendy until a few years ago when celebrities like Rachel Zoe and Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, started posting and sharing about the benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables at home instead of buying juices straight from the store.

The short answer to the question “is juicing healthy” is yes, but you’ll need to make sure you prepare it yourself. First, let’s talk about the benefits.

The Benefits of Juicing

It’s not surprising that juicing has caught on. Many fruits and greens are already healthy when consumed as they are or in salads. There are fruits such as blackberries, kiwi and vegetables such as kale, that have incredibly high levels of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function well. These include Vitamin B, C, and E, beta carotene, dietary fiber, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Calcium, Phosphorus and Potassium. That’s just for starters.

Juicing can have even more benefits, such as the following:

Convenience

The body needs to have several servings of fruits and vegetables every day to meet daily nutritional requirements. This might seem like too much work especially for people who barely have the time to eat a proper home cooked meal.

Juicing fruits and vegetables allows you to save time and still meet those daily nutritional requirements. You don’t even have to have a juicer to do it. Since almost any fruit or vegetable can be juiced, you can just quickly put the ingredients in your food processor or blender, place the fluid in a bottle and bring it with you – perfect for those who are always on-the-go.

Kid-friendly

Parents who have a hard time getting their children to eat vegetables and fruits will also find juicing a godsend. You can mix in vegetables with fruits that taste better to mask the taste.

Fast-absorption of nutrients

The insoluble fiber that takes more time to be processed in the body is removed during the juicing process. Insoluble fiber is known for decreasing the absorption of nutrients like carbohydrates. Without this fiber, the body can easily absorb and digest the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes from the fruits and vegetables.

Minimize Waste

Fruits and vegetables that are overripe can still be juiced so there is no need to throw those out. In this way, you can save money through juicing.

What You Need To Know

Before you jump in on the juicing bandwagon though, you need to know a few things, just to set your expectations right.

No guaranteed weight loss

Many celebrities advocating juicing claim that it helps them lose weight. However, drinking meals instead of eating solid foods usually leads to increased hunger. There are also times when the calorie count of the juice you’re having is equivalent to the calorie count of one solid meal because of the high amount of fruit sugars if you use lots of fruit. So, if you are planning on adding this to your diet, you have to be careful because you might end up increasing your average calorie intake.

Not good if you’re doing strenuous workouts to build muscle

If you are planning to build muscle, you should not rely on juices for your energy needs especially since they have very little or no protein. After all, protein is essential for muscle growth and cell repair. However, you’re still going to get a whole lot of nutrients from juicing so you can drink juice but only as a supplement to your regular diet.

If you’re not just on a detox though and are merely supplementing your diet with healthy juice, you can increase it's protein content for workouts by adding collagen protein powder. They’re the perfect addition to your because collagen dissolves easily in fluids and is completely tasteless – it won’t affect how your juice tastes. Not to mention that collagen is famous for it's beautifying effects in reducing wrinkles and improving the skin tone and hair health.

Blood Sugar Swings

Like previously mentioned, certain kinds of fruits may contain lot of natural sugar in the form of fructose. Too much sugar can result in fluctuations in blood sugar levels that may lead to lethargy and dizziness. People with diabetes should manage their sugar intake and juicing fruits is probably not good for them no matter the nutrient content. Remember, sugar is still sugar even if it comes from fruit.

There Are Other Ways to Detoxify

Juicing is not the only way to detoxify the body. Your body already has a way to detoxify regularly – that’s what your liver and kidneys are for. Still, you can give them a little help by juicing and eating healthy. Depending on juicing to cleanse the body can lead to lower energy levels. The best way to detoxify the body is to eat healthy foods regularly, drink lots of water, manage stress, and exercise daily.

Costly

Investing in juicing is not cheap. Buying the juicer alone can be expensive. Fruits and vegetables cost money (especially organic which is recommended), and you’re going to need a lot of them if you’re going to jucie for an entire family.

Fiber Intake Is Reduced

Even if insoluble fiber takes time to digest and absorb, it is still essential in your diet. The body will need fiber to clean the digestive tract. It also helps in preventing blood sugar swings by slowing down the absorption of sugar.

Verdict

Juicing your fruits and vegetables has a lot of benefits. However, it also comes with costs. It is not a necessity to get a juicer to be able to enjoy juicing. You can just use a blender or eat fruits as is, this way you also get plenty of healthy fiber which is usually discarded when using expensive juicing machines. People with diabetes should also be wary of drinking juices, even if they’re all natural, due to the sugar content.

All in all, if you’re too busy to prepare salads and dishes to incorporate fruits and veggies into your diet, and you happen to like your juices, by all means enjoy juicing!

ABOUT ALEX:

Alex Eriksson is the founder of Anabolic Health, a men’s health blog dedicated to providing honest and research backed advice for optimal male hormonal health. Anabolic Health aspires to become a trusted resource where men can come and learn how to fix their hormonal problems naturally, without pharmaceuticals. Check out his guide on 50 Foods That Boost Testosterone or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.”