Diet and Nutrition

Is Juicing Healthy?

Is Juicing Healthy?

Experts are of the opinion that if you are not so interested in having a whole fruit or vegetable, juices are a good option to include the nutrients in the diet. You can think of different varieties, like kale, carrots, parsley, and apples to have the benefits. This is true because juices contain most of the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients from the fruit or the vegetables that can provide a lot of health benefits. But juicing involves removing the skin and the pulp of the fruit or vegetable, both of which contain the much needed fiber from the fruit. Moreover, it also reduces the amount of vitamins and minerals available to the person when compared to a whole fruit or vegetable.

Some say that juicing is much better than eating whole fruits as the digestive system is able to absorb the nutrients better. It also gives rest to the digestive system from digesting the tough fiber. But there is no scientific evidence to show that extracted juices are healthier than a whole fruit or vegetable in any way. One of the best ways to add the benefits is to add a little bit of pulp into the juice or use it in cooking other recipes like muffins or broth. Instead of an expensive juicing machine one can use a blender to make the juice so that the pulp remains.

Although juices contain most of the nutrients and minerals from the fruit or vegetable, it also has a lot of calories added to it. A small sized fruit contains an average of 60 calories, while a cup of juice will contain approximately 80 to 90 calories. So, juicing adds up the calories. To make it more balanced, one can think of adding some protein options like almond milk, peanut butter or Greek yogurt.

Juicing alone as an option for weight loss is not a suitable one. It deprives the body of the much needed fiber and is not good long-term. Juicing may also result in loss of muscle mass as you do not get enough of proteins from the diet. As in the case of many other fad diets, juicing as a method of dieting and weight loss may slow down the metabolism. Thus, as soon as one gets back to the normal eating pattern, the lost weight would be gained soon. Further, there is no evidence to show that juicing helps in cleansing the system.