One of the fastest growing dietary trends in recent years is juicing your food. Supporters claim it helps you to lose weight, absorb nutrients and detoxify your body of harmful chemicals. What are the real pros and cons of juicing?
What is Juicing?
Juicing simply means putting your chosen fruit and veg into a juicer, pressing a button, and drinking the juice that is extracted. After that, the pulp is thrown away.
The juice that remains contains the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that your body needs to function properly. Therefore, your body can easily absorb the nutrients, placing less strain on your gut.
The Pros and Cons of Juicing
Pros:
- Juicing your food is a quick way to add fresh vitamins and minerals to your diet
- It is easy to do if you have the right equipment
- A 2014 study in Preventative Nutrition and Food Science found that drinks that had been juiced rather than blended had a higher Vitamin C content[i]
- A study published in Nutrition Journal in 2011 found that someone who drank 2 cups of carrot juice daily had increased the antioxidant activity in their bloodstream significantly
Cons:
- If you have diabetes, juicing your food can dangerously destabilize blood sugar levels
- As there is no pulp, juices lack fiber of the fruits and vegetables. American Dietary Guidelines recommend that no more than half (1 cup) of daily fruit requirements should be in the form of fruit juice.
- The taste of the fruits and vegetables will be more pronounced and stronger
- Because fresh juice contains a lot of sugar (a fresh apple contains 19g of sugar), juicing could lead to blood sugar spikes
- Finally, only small amounts can be made at a time – because the nutrients in the juice don’t last long.
