We have all seen the variety of juicing infomercials on T.V purporting the health benefits of juicing. Are these juicing benefits everything they are exclaimed to be or is the marketing a little overstated?
The Pros of Juicing
The main benefits of juicing is that of providing lots of fruits and vegetables in the diet. The exception being the health benefits of fiber, juicing machines discard this healthy part of fruits and vegetables. Even though we lose out on fiber, we get an extra dose of all the other nutrients instead. Juicing machines chop up fruits and vegetables extensively and this releases lots more of the antioxidant that are locked deep in the fibers of fruits and veggies. Simply chewing fruits and veggies will not unlock many of these antioxidants for digestion to the degree a juicing machine will.
If we combine this ‘extra accessibility’ of antioxidants with the fact that we need at least several fruits or vegetable to make a fresh juice than we can see just how nutritious a juice becomes. To make a pure carrot juice we will need to juice about 8 large carrots! That is a lot more than we would eat! So the fundamental health benefits of juicing is the sheer concentration of fruits and veggies we consume and the nutrition that it supplies. Research shows that antioxidants help to protect us from oxidative damage to our cells that can cause cancers, heart disease, other degenerative diseases and prematurely age our bodies. In addition we get lots of mineral, vitamins and enzymes that all work together to provide the optimum functioning of our bodies, such as boosting the immune system, aiding digestion and creating healthy skin, hair and nails.
The Cons of Juicing
The lack of fiber in fresh juice is a con not to be overlooked. Fiber has many important functions such as keeping us regular, removing toxins out of the body, helping to protect us from colon cancer and even lowering LDL cholesterol levels. So for that reason many health experts recommend that juicing is something we do in addition to eating fruits and veggies and not in place of eating them. Having said that, if someone is not getting hardly any vegetables in their diet and fresh juices is the only way to make that happen, then that will be of real benefit nonetheless.
Diabetics should also be careful with fresh juice, especially fruit juices. Fruit juice can get sugary and they will lack the fiber that slows down the digestion of sugar in the stomach. Vegetable juice and especially green juice on the other hand are less sugary and might be the best way to go, but always check with your doctor beforehand!
