Have you heard about the term ‘juicing’ and wonder whether it is good for you?
Eating a balanced diet is essential in ensuring your body is benefitting from healthy food and receiving all of the vital nutrients it needs. One of the primary sources of these essential vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need to function correctly is source directly from fruits and vegetables. That being said, not everyone is a fan of eating fresh produce every day, or at all for that matter, because they are not a fan of fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, to compensate for this lack of interest in eating fresh produce, some people turn to juicing as a substitute, which leads us to ask, “Is juicing healthy?” Let’s explore the topic!
What is Juicing?
Simply put, juicing involves extracting all of the juice from fruits and vegetables, usually through a juicing machine. You can also buy juices more conveniently now, with juice bars being more accessible. The result, of course, is the juiced version of the fruit or vegetable without any solid matter, including the pulp and seeds that contain vitamins and minerals that were naturally abundant in their solid form.
What Do People Juice?
Juicing has long been utilised as a solution in the health and beauty community to cleanse the toxins from your body. People who do a juice cleanse will typically do the cleanse for approximately a week. That being said, some juice cleanses do last longer. People have turned to juicing to help promote weight loss by using the juice as a substitute for a meal.
Is Juicing Healthy?
With that being said, dieticians and health experts have long debated whether or not juicing is good for you instead of consuming physical fruit and vegetable. While some say that juicing is healthy, others claim that there are some flaws in the act of juicing.
Potential Positives Of Juicing
There is little positives to cleansing on one food group over a well-balanced diet. Juicing as a way to get more fruit and vegetables into your diet is great for those who lack consistently hitting their 5 a day or none at all. By having more fruit & veg in your diet, you may gain the following positives:
- Less prone to infections
- More vitamins and nutrients
- Less prone to chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes and strokes
- Aid digestion
- Vitamins consumed can help hair, skin and nails
Negatives Of Juicing
Here are some of the reasons why select dieticians and health experts state that juicing is not healthy for you:
- Not enough diet balance: Like we said, juicing is often used as a substitute for meal replacements in weight loss. However, people fail to realize that juicing they are depriving themselves of all the other vitamins and nutrients such as carbohydrates and proteins that their body needs to function correctly by replacing meals.
- Not all juices as made the same: If you are purchasing fruit and vegetable juice from your local supermarket, there is a high chance that the juice you select is full of refined sugars and additives. That being said, not all store-bought hand-squeezed juices are the same, so you will be able to find ones without additives and sugars.
- Lack of fibre: When we eat fruits and vegetables, the fibres within the produce signals to our bodies when we are full, for those unaware. However, by extracting the juice out, we eliminate the pulp which contains this fibre. Additionally, this fibre is also beneficial in preventing the risk of developing heart disease and can lower your cholesterol levels.
- Risk of dehydration: Attempting to flush out toxins through a juice cleanse could result in losing too many nutrients and good gut bacteria.
Keep This In Mind When Juicing
While the above-noted points are valid when it comes to whether juicing is health for you or not, it should be noted that not all juicing is bad for you. If you take the initiative to juice your fruits in vegetables at home instead of purchasing store-bought juices, there is nothing wrong with doing so. By juicing your fruits and vegetables at home, you can know exactly what is going into your juice. That being said, we do not suggest using juicing as an alternative to meals.
Can You Actually Lose Weight While Juicing?
Reducing your food intake and replacing with juices could result in weight loss, however, it is important to remember that is not a recommended way and doesn’t always work. If you do, the results are most likely temporary. A well-balanced diet made up of different food groups will help maintain a healthy weight.
Does It Really Reduce Toxins?
Most people who have a well-balanced diet and are healthy do not need a juice cleanse to reduce or remove toxins. Your body naturally disposes of these, so you run the risk of removing ‘good’ bacteria too from your gut.
Getting More Fruit & Veg As An Alternative
People who find it challenging to keep up with their daily intake of fresh produce should preferably use juicing to incorporate more fruit & vegetables into their diet and other foods that they need to help sustain their health. Not necessarily a ‘cleanse’ but rather a diet addition.
Here at Marvellous Greens & Beans, we strive to provide a service that helps people benefit from eating healthy with our customisable fruit and veg boxes. With UK wide delivery, our flexible service can provide customers with individual fruit boxes and veg boxes to work around you and your household.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there is a lot of controversy surrounding juicing. That being said, while juicing isn’t technically bad for you, you should remember to refrain from using it as an alternative to food and should only be used as a way to enhance your fruit and vegetable intake on top of your food intake to ensure you are not depriving your body of many essential vitamins and nutrients of your other food. Before making any dietary changes or have concerns, please consult your GP for advice.
