Is Juicing Actually Good For You?

Juicing is the process used to extract juices from vegetables and fresh fruits. During this process, fruits and veggies are squeezed by a juicer to get all the fluid content. This means that juices are very rich in minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. The methods used to extract these juices are very different.

In this article, we shall compare both the advantages and disadvantages of juicing to help you make a choice on whether it is good for your health or not.

Advantages of Juicing

1. High concentration of nutrients– One of the major benefits of juicing is that it is highly concentrated with minerals and vitamins. With juicing, you don’t need to eat a whole bunch of kales to get the available nutrients such as vitamin K, vitamin C and potassium. All you need to do is to juice them and you can also combine other ingredients to enhance the taste and also to add more nutrients. They are also an excellent alternative for those who don’t love certain veggies and fruits.
2. Enhances absorption – Drinking juice in the morning is an excellent way of starting your day. The good thing about juices is that they do not require digestion which means that they get absorbed easily by your body. This is also good for those with digestive problems because juicing helps to break down vegetables and fruits for easier absorption.
3. Convenient – Juicing allows you to combine different types of fruits of veggies anytime you need them. This is very convenient because you may not always have the money to buy your favorite juices from the shop or supermarket. Again, most of the juices you will find in the market are not healthy since they have unhealthy ingredients.
4. Helps to detoxify the body – Detoxification is the process of removing toxins that accumulates in our bodies due to various reasons such as lack of exercises, poor diet and unhealthy lifestyles. Juicing contains important nutrients and vitamins which flushes out body toxins to keep your body healthy.
5. Boosts the immune system – Fruits and vegetables are full of important nutrients and vitamins which may help to boost your immune system. This means that juicing can keep you safe from different diseases and potential health risks.
6. Weight loss – If you are searching for a perfect weight, you should add juices. However, you will also need to ensure that you are consuming foods with low calories and fats since juicing alone may not help you to lose weight.
7. Boosts energy levels in your body – Again, vitamins and nutrients found in veggies and fruits enhance the energy levels in your body and this keeps your energized.

Disadvantages of juicing

1. Lacks fiber – Even if juicing allows you to add important vitamins and minerals to your body, you don’t enjoy maximum benefits from the fruits and veggies since it lacks fiber. Most fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber which is also a key component since it helps in digestion. Apart from that, it keeps you fuller for long and it has also been proven to lower the risks of chronic diseases.  It also slows the release of glucose which prevents sudden drop or spike of sugars in the body. Our bodies needs between 25-38 grams of every day and adding veggies or fruits is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you have reached the goal.
2. Sugar concentration – Most fruits have high levels of sugars which might be dangerous to our health. This means that apart from the minerals, juices also contains high levels of sugars which adds calories to the body. This is not healthy especially to those who want to lose weight.
3. Messy and time consuming – In order to get a perfect juice, a lot of preparations must be done which requires some time. For instance, you have to rinse the fruits or vegetables and then cut them into smaller units. This means that you will need some time to get quality juice when you are using a high quality juicer. This is among the reasons why most prefer to buy ready juices from grocery stores or juice bars.
4. Cleaning – After juicing, you will need to clean the countertop and the machine which may require some time. To clean the juicer, you will need to disassemble all the parts first. This should be done immediately to prevent the pulp from drying up on the surfaces of the unit. You also need to be careful since not all juicer parts are dishwasher safe.
5. Stomach upset – The non-digestive sugars sound in fruits can cause stomach problems such as gas, diarrhea and other stomach problems.

Recommended Articles:

• Cold-press Juicer Vs Centrifugal Juicer
• Do Centrifugal Juicers Destroy Nutrients?
• How Many ML In a Shot?

Conclusion

Even though the benefits of juicing are more than the disadvantages, you need to be very careful because it can also be dangerous. The sugars found in fruits may increase calories in your body and this is not healthy for those who want to lose weight.

Again, fiber contents from vegetables and fruits are very important because they help in the digestion process. This means that apart from juicing, you should also add a lot of whole fruits and veggies to enjoy maximum benefits. Smoothies are also great alternative to juicing although most people don’t like their taste.