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What is juicing?
Juicing is the process of extracting juice from fresh fruits or vegetables. Juicing supplies you with more fruits, vegetables, and phytonutrients.
If you believed everything you read, you would think juicing can do everything from detoxing your liver to supercharging your immune system, but is juice alone really that good for you?
Read on to find out what juicing does to your body and if juice lives up to the hype.
Juicing is the process of extracting juice from fresh fruits or vegetables. The resulting juice contains most of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients found in the fresh produce. Phytonutrients are plant compounds that have health-boosting effects. However, juice doesn't have any of the beneficial fiber that's present in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Advantages of juicing
A plant-based diet is one of the healthiest you can eat, so it makes sense that juice would be good for you. In fact, making fruit and vegetable juices a part of an overall healthy diet provides the following benefits to your body:
Getting enough fruits and vegetables
It can be hard to meet the recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Adding 100% fruit or vegetable juice to your normal consumption of fruit and vegetables can help you get more servings than you would otherwise.
Drinking juice or powdered concentrate of fruit and vegetable juice can also increase your levels of nutrients, including:
Improved diet quality
Children and adults who drink 100% juice have better quality diets than those who don't drink juice. Juice helps ensure children and teens get enough of the important nutrients folate, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
More phytonutrients
Phytonutrients are the compounds produced by plants. There may be as many as 4000 phytonutrients, but not all of them have been identified yet. Some common phytonutrients include:
Beta carotene
Beta carotene is found in orange and dark green, leafy vegetables. Research has shown it may benefit your immune system, vision, skin, and bones. Some foods that are rich in beta carotene include:
- Pumpkins
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
- Cantalope
- Collards
- Kale
Lycopene may help prevent prostate cancer and improve your heart health. Lycopene can be found in the following fruits and vegetables:
- Tomatoes and tomato products
- Pink grapefruit
- Red peppers
- Watermelon
Lutein
Lutein is found in the macula of your eye. It may improve eye health and help prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease. Foods high in lutein include:
- Collard greens
- Kale
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Artichokes
- Brussels sprouts
Anthocyanidins
Anthocyanidins are found in red and purple berries and may be able to help with blood vessel health. It's found in the following foods:
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Cranberries
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Red onions
- Plums
Resveratrol
Resveratrol may help with heart and lung health, reduce inflammation, and prevent cancer. It's found in red wine, peanuts, and grapes.
Disadvantages of juicing
Although there are some advantages to juicing, there are some disadvantages as well.
Lack of fiber
The biggest drawback to juicing is that it strips all of the fiber from fruits and vegetables. Relying on juice alone for all your fruits and vegetables can deprive your body of the benefits of fiber, including:
Lower cholesterol
Soluble fiber can help lower your cholesterol by binding with bile, which is a type of cholesterol, and taking it out of your body.
Helps regulate blood sugar
Fiber slows down how quickly your food digests, which can prevent blood sugar spikes.
Helps control weight
Fiber keeps you full longer, which can help you eat less.
May prevent intestinal cancer
A high-fiber diet makes your stool bulkier and helps it move through your digestive tract more quickly. Harmful substances won't have as much time to build up in your digestive system.
Prevents constipation
Fiber pulls water into your colon, which produces softer, bulkier stools. When your stools are bulky and soft, they're easier to pass.
Excess sugar and calories
When you drink juice, you get all of the sugar in a concentrated form without any fiber. Fiber helps slow the rate that sugar enters your bloodstream and fills you up. Since it doesn't have fiber, juice is a more concentrated source of calories and will cause spikes in your blood sugar.
Healthy juicing
Although juice doesn't have as much fiber and has proportionally more calories than whole fruit, it can be part of a healthy diet. Here are some ways you can take advantage of the benefits of juice:
Juice in moderation
Don't make juicing the primary way you consume fruits and vegetables. It can provide extra vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, but it doesn't have the fiber, fat, and protein that you need to eat healthily. It also has extra calories and sugar that can be harmful if you drink too much.
Use the pulp
If you juice your own fruits and vegetables, you can use the pulp that's extracted in the process. You can stir some of it back into your juice or mix it into batter for muffins or pancakes. You can use vegetable pulp to sneak some extra fiber into casseroles, soup, or stir-fries.
Start with vegetables
When you're juicing, use mostly vegetables, since vegetables contain less sugar. You can add some fruit for sweetness, but juices that are mostly vegetables won't have as much sugar.
Consider blending instead
Instead of juicing, you can blend the edible parts of fruits and vegetables. Blending will give you a drink that has more fiber and nutrients than juice, and it will be more filling.