Is Juicing Good for You?
Why is juicing so good for the human body?
Have you ever asked the question, “is juicing good for you”?
Don’t worry – you’re not alone.
Many people discover juicing when they want an easy way to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables. Juicing is perfect for this, and many people around the world are already experiencing the benefits of it.
Thousands of people have found that juicing for cancer and juicing for high blood pressure works.
Indeed, it’s hard to beat the large amount of fresh food that you can consume as a juice. Try eating what’s in a glass of carrot juice (eight large carrots). If anything, it’ll take a lot longer to eat it than drink it.
Put simply, is juicing good for you?
Yes!
However, it’s a little more complicated than that.
With the hype surrounding juicing, it’s only natural to question whether it is really beneficial. Like anything, juicing can be both beneficial and harmful. To understand why, let’s take a closer look. If you’re wondering why is juicing good for you, you’ll understand the healing power of juicing soon..
Juicing and the Benefits of Raw Fruits and Vegetables
Many people are aware of the beneficial effects of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. They contain various vitamins, minerals, enzymes and nutrients vital to good health.
Countless studies have found fruits and vegetables to be loaded with all sorts of disease preventing ingredients. One thing you might have heard about before is the antioxidants they contain. These are literally disease-fighting agents, and the best place to get them is from fresh produce.
Remember being told as a kid to eat your greens and you’ll grow big and strong?
These days, every second person is a health fanatic…
More and more people are becoming interested in health. Only the other day I heard one of my friends had become a vegetarian. We all seem to be looking for the magic cure to looking and feeling younger. However all too often we don’t get what we want.
We jump on the latest diet, buy the newest supplement and generally consume anything that we’re told is good for us.
However, every now and then, something gets exposed, and everyone is surprised to find out that so-and-so isn’t good for us after all.
So it’s only natural to be asking the question “is juicing good for you?”, especially with the hype surrounding it.
A quick look at why juicing is good for us
- It’s a great opportunity to consume much more fresh fruits and vegetables than you would otherwise.
- It’s great for kids who don’t eat much fresh food and drink too much soda. A lot of the juices you can make taste amazing – even to kids!
- Fruit and vegetable juices are easier to digest than eating the equivalent.
- People enjoy the taste of fresh fruit and vegetable juice more than a big plate of cabbage or carrots.
- Fresh fruit and vegetable juice is raw, which is the best way to consume fresh food. Cooking tends to destroy important enzymes.
For more information, check out the health benefits of juicing.
So what’s the… uh… bad stuff?
- When you juice, you lose the fiber from the fruits and vegetables. If you eat a typical western diet, you probably consume too little fiber already. Fiber is essential to good digestive health, and is impossible to get from animal foods.
- Trying to lose weight? Fresh fruit juice tends to be high in calories. Vegetables are an exception. Juicing for weight loss works.
- If you use large quantities of fruit, the carb load will be high which can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar.
- For some people, the worst thing about juicing will be the time it takes them. Unless you’re fairly organized, it can be a pain to prepare vegetables, juice them, and then clean the juicer. It can be fairly time-intensive.
- Sometimes I hear people say it’s expensive too.
Does this mean you shouldn’t juice at all? Certainly not!
And how do I avoid the bad stuff?
- Make sure you consume a diet high in fiber. This means that alongside juicing, consume lots of fruits and vegetables in their solid form. Whether it’s munching on a carrot at work, or sitting down to a killer salad, this is a must. Some juicing books suggest using the pulp (fiber) in cooking. You can even add it into your juice.
- If you’re trying to lose weight, just focus on vegetables and avoid fruits, especially fruits with high sugar content.
- If you’re lazy and move slow juicing will take much longer. But it doesn’t have to. Preparation amounts to a few minutes, as does the actual juicing. The cleaning is the only part which might take longer, and only by a few minutes.
- Far from being expensive, you can pick up fairly cheap juicers ($100) from most stores, and they do a fairly good job. Another question to ask is, how much is your health worth?
So is juicing good for you?
Of course!
Sure, there are a few things you need to be careful with, but with some basic education you’ll be fine.
Should you take the plunge and start juicing? If you or your family isn’t the sort that enjoys eating whole fruits and vegetables, it makes sense to give juicing a go.
If you enjoy fruits and vegetables even when they’re not in the form of juice, it makes sense to also enjoy them in salads and side dishes where you not only get the phytochemicals but also the fiber.
At the end of the day, the benefits of juicing are real. But always remember that juicing is not the only way to benefit from fresh fruits and vegetables.
Congratulations, you can now successfully answer the question “is juicing good for you?” if someone asks.
