A few decades ago, juicing was a hobby for people who were really into health and fitness. Today, more and more people are starting to juice because of the benefits it has like weight loss, cleansing, and consuming more nutrients. Juicers can now be found easily in stores, and juice bars are becoming popular in many areas. Just like with many other aspects of fitness and nutrition, there is no single answer to whether or not juicing is right for you. Keep reading to learn more about the potential benefits of juicing.
What Exactly Is Juicing, Anyway?
The process of extracting juice from fresh fruits and vegetables is called juicing. Juicers, which can range in price from $50-$500, are small kitchen appliances used to extract the juice. Drinking the juice of fruits and vegetables means consuming their water and much of their vitamin and mineral content; however, the pulp, or fiber, which also has many health benefits, is removed. (Note: Some high-powered juicers do retain most of the pulp in the juice, thus resulting in a thicker juice.) There are a few main types of juicers out on the market today: ”Fast” Juicers This type of juicer is one of the most common varieties on the market. A fast juicer (or centrifugal juicer) grinds your fruits and veggies and then pushes the extracted juice through a strainer by spinning at a very high speed.This type of juicer produces pulp-free juice very quickly, but it also tends to extract less juice than other types of juicers. It also generates more heat than other types, which some experts say could compromise the nutrients in the produce. “Slow” Juicers: These juicers produce juice in two steps, using one or two gears. First, it crushes the fruits and veggies, and then it presses out the juice. These types of juicers take longer to produce juice, and they tend to be more expensive than most centrifugal juicers. However, they are said to extract more nutrients. They yield a thick juice with more pulp, yet still produce some pulp extract in a separate compartment. ”Whole Food” Juicers: These juicers are reminiscient of blenders. Using sharp blades at high speeds, they are able to pulverize whole fruits and veggies into liquid. These do not have a separate pulp compartment.
Is Juicing Good or Bad Nutritionally?
Youdim says that juicing can lead to problems for people with diabetes, low blood sugar, or who are taking blood thinners or steroids. She also notes that juicing can make some health conditions worse. “Just because a fruit or vegetable is healthy, doesn't mean that juicing it is automatically good for you,” says Adrienne Youdim, MD, an expert in medical weight loss and nutritional therapy. Youdim explains that juicing can cause problems for people with diabetes, low blood sugar, or who are taking blood thinners or steroids. She also warns that juicing can make some health conditions worse.
How Juice Stacks Up against Whole Foods
Proponents of juicing argue that juice is more nutritious than consuming whole fruits and vegetables. To compare the nutrition of whole fruits and vegetables to juice, they must be compared based on equal portions of weight. If using a juicer or blender that retains the pulp, the end result will be similar to the whole fruit.
By looking at the chart, you'll notice:
- Whole foods usually contain more vitamins and minerals. This is most often due to the fact that many of these nutrients are in (or very near) the skin of fruits and vegetables, which gets discarded as pulp when fruits and vegetables are juiced.
- Whole foods always provide more fiber. As expected, fiber content is always higher in the whole produce because it is primarily found in the pulp, which is removed with the traditional juicing process. Fiber is one of the key reasons that fruits and vegetable are so good for us.
- Gram for gram, juice is slightly lower in calories due to its slightly higher water content. The calorie content of your juice will be dependent on the combination of produce used in your given juicing recipe. However, this is only the case if you stick to the small 3-fluid ounce portion of juice listed in this chart. Many people drink large cups of juice, which can double or triple the calories listed. Notice that fruits do have a higher calorie content than most non-starchy vegetables, primarily due to their natural sugar content.
- Both juice and whole foods provide a lot of water. No matter which option you choose, juice, whole fruits and whole vegetables all provide needed hydration for the body.
- Whole fruits are lower in carbs than their juices. Both fruits and vegetables contain carbohydrates, but fruits contain more carbs than veggies typically do. These carbs come primarily from the natural sugars contained in the produce, but are considered ”smart carbs” because they are nutrient-dense and rich in fiber, which helps to slow blood sugar response in the body. Yet, for people following a weight-loss program or a diet to control blood sugar levels, the carbs in fruits, vegetables and their juices should all be monitored. When making your selections, note that fruit juices are usually higher in carbohydrates.
You may think the Glycemic Index (GI) would be a helpful tool for calculating the nutritional differences between whole produce and juice. However, for people with diabetes, counting total carbs is the most valuable tool for regulating blood sugar. If you are having difficulty controlling blood sugar readings, work with your healthcare provider to adjust your eating plan.
When juicing, another concern is the cost because a lot of fruits and vegetables are needed to make a little bit of juice. If you get rid of the pulp, you're spending a lot of money on fresh juice when it would be beneficial to your wallet and body to just eat the fresh produce. You don't need to spend a lot of money to eat healthy, but if you're worried about money, juicing isn't the best option to get the most nutrition for what you're spending.
So Why Do People Juice? What Are the Benefits?
People who juice usually fall into one or more categories based on the reason:
- The juice cleanser uses a juice concoction with the goal of detoxing the body and giving the gut a rest.
- The juice faster is typically looking to jump-start their weight loss by using fruit and vegetable juices as their main source of nutrition for up to a few days, weeks or even months.
- The juice snacker enjoys freshly squeezed juice with a meal or snack, and occasionally replaces a meal with only juice. This juicer simply likes juice or feels that fresh juice is a healthy addition to their diet on occasion.
There is little evidence to suggest that juicing helps people to meet health goals, despite the extensive research on the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables. It is still unclear how juicing affects health, but common sense suggests that it is unlikely to have significant benefits.
Will Juicing Improve Your Health?
Drinking juice is no more beneficial to your health than eating whole fruits and vegetables. In fact, juice is often lower in many nutrients than whole produce, and the beneficial fiber is near zero. Your body does not absorb the nutrients better in juice form, despite some claims. However, juice does contain nutrients. Many people prefer drinking juice to eating whole fruits and vegetables. Therefore, if juicing helps you increase your consumption of produce, that is generally a good thing. Although, you will get more health benefits from finding ways to increase your daily consumption of whole fruits and vegetables than by only drinking their juice, so that should be your main goal if health is your reason for juicing.
Will Juicing Cleanse or Detox the Body?
No, juice does not cleanse your body. There is no scientific evidence that the ingredients in juices help to eliminate toxins. Your body has its own detoxing systems, including the circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems. To keep your organs functioning at peak performance, you need a balanced diet of minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods. The body cannot survive on the nutrients in fruits and vegetables (or their juice) alone. Therefore, a juicing cleanse may actually prevent the body from functioning optimally. In addition, healthy adults have no reason to give the gut a rest from fiber intake. For optimal intestinal function and overall health, you should consume nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods every day.
Does Juicing Help With Weight Loss?
Juicing can help with weight loss if it is done in moderation and with the understanding that it is not the only factor that affects weight.If you follow a juice diet for a long period of time, you could experience complications due to a lack of certain nutrients. A 12-ounce glass of juice typically contains 180 calories, which could lead to weight gain if you continue to eat other foods.Eating more food is not going to help you lose weight. Weight loss is not a simple fix.
Dangers and Side Effects of Juicing to Be Aware Of
It's important to consider the following things before grabbing a freshly squeezed juice:
A juice may not be as harmful as one might think, but there are some juices that don't go well with medication. For example, grapefruit juice can interact with drugs that lower cholesterol or blood pressure. As the FDA explains, grapefruit juice can increase the amount of medication entering the blood, which can over-enhance its effects.
If you consume too much vitamin K at one time, it can have the opposite effect of blood thinners like warfarin. This is often prescribed after a stroke, deep vein thrombosis, or other circulatory conditions.
While there is no evidence to suggest that you should avoid foods rich in Vitamin K while taking medication, it is advised that you keep your intake consistent. For example, if you plan on drinking green juice daily, consult with your doctor first to see if the medication dosage needs to be adjusted.
2. You May Increase Your Risk for Type 2 Diabetes if You Have Prediabetes
Prediabetes is a condition affecting 84 million American adults, where blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. A study published in September 2019 found that increasing intake of sugary beverages by half a cup or more per day increases the risk of diabetes by 16%. However, replacing a glass of juice with a calorie-free beverage such as water, tea, or coffee decreases the risk by up to 10%.
If you've been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you should eat whole fruit instead of drinking juice, according to Carol Koprowski, PhD, RD, assistant professor of clinical research in preventive medicine at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. A study published in July 2013 in BMJ found that while fruit juice was associated with a higher type 2 diabetes risk, whole fruit had the opposite effect on risk, likely because of the fiber contained in whole fruits. Researchers particularly singled out blueberries, apples, and grapes as having protective effects against diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association says that fresh, frozen, or canned fruit without added sugar is a great option. However, if you can only choose one, fresh fruit is the best option nutritionally.
3. You Could Damage Your Kidneys if You Have Kidney Disease
Fruits and vegetables which are naturally rich in potassium are good for you, as potassium plays an important role in regulating blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. Your kidneys excrete excess potassium, but if you have chronic kidney disease (CKD), your kidneys don't function as well and potassium can build up in your blood. Too much potassium can be dangerous and cause side effects such as an irregular heartbeat or heart attack, so if you have CKD, you need to limit your potassium intake, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
If you have chronic kidney disease, you will probably need to limit your potassium intake to 2000 milligrams a day, according to the National Kidney Foundation. This means avoiding high-potassium foods such as bananas, grapefruit juice, avocados, dates, honeydew, kiwi, mangoes, carrots, oranges, greens, pomegranates, prunes, and vegetable juice.
If you have kidney disease and you experience weakness, numbness, or tingling, which are signs of potassium overload, you should call your doctor right away, suggests Judy D. Simon, a clinical dietitian at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
4. You May Face Food Poisoning if Choosing Cold-Pressed Juice
The FDA warns that cold-pressed juice might not be safe to drink because it is not pasteurized. Pasteurization is a process that kills bacteria that could cause food poisoning. Without pasteurization, bacteria on the outside of the produce can get into the juice.
People who have a healthy immune system are not typically at risk, but those who have a compromised immune system, such as pregnant women, children, and older adults, are more vulnerable.
The symptoms of food-borne illness include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and headache.
Pre-bottled cold-pressed juice is more likely to cause food poisoning than homemade or ready-to-made varieties, because microbes have more time to multiply. However, if you make your own juice at home, you need to take proper food safety measures, including washing your hands and the produce during preparation, to reduce the risk of illness, says Kelly Johnston, RDN, a health coach with Parsley Health in New York City.
Some bottled cold-pressed juices are made with flash pasteurization, a process in which juices are brought to a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time compared with traditional pasteurization. This process can help preserve nutrients without compromising the safety of the juice. If you're buying your juice bottled, do your research first.
5. You May Be Setting Yourself for Weight Loss Failure
A juice cleanse is when the only source of food is juice and the idea is that it allows the body to get rid of toxins. However, this does not work because the body already has a system to get rid of toxins on its own.
6. You May Be Undernourishing Your Body When Using Juice as a Meal Replacement
A balanced meal contains all three of the macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. juice cannot provide these macronutrients in the correct proportions, so it is not a good meal replacement, according to Johnston. Protein and fat are essential for feeling full and satisfied after a meal, and juice does not have enough of either to effectively keep blood sugar stable or provide the energy necessary to get through the day. In fact, a juice cleanse is likely to make a person feel terrible because they are not getting enough protein or fat.
7. You May Be Unnecessarily Depriving Yourself of Fiber
Simon says that drinking orange juice gives you vitamin C, but it is not as good as eating an orange. That is because the juice removes the pulp, which is necessary for a healthy colon, reducing heart disease risk, lowering cholesterol, and helping improve blood sugar levels if you have diabetes. The whole fruit has the vitamin plus the pulp, with fewer calories than a glass of juice.
A juice by itself is fine, but only drinking juice as part of a cleanse can cause constipation, because there is no fiber to help waste move through the intestines.
8. You May Suffer a Dreaded Blood Sugar Crash
According to Johnston, nature is inherently smart in the way that fruits high in sugar are also accompanied by a fibrous matrix that slows down sugar absorption. Without this fiber barrier, sugar would be able to enter the bloodstream much more quickly. She points out that even one glass of juice made with high sugar fruits like apples and beets can contain 20-25 grams of sugar, whereas the presence of fiber would balance this out somewhat. For example, the USDA reports that 1 cup of fruit juice made with apple juice and organic cranberry juice concentrate contains 25 grams of sugar.
Foods thatGI), including can cause a blood glucose surge. The explains Harvard Health Publishing, is how quickly or slowly a food tends to release glucose into the bloodstream. Juice is an example of a high on the GI. Foods like this typically have lower protein and fat levels, and are higher in carbs. Eating these can create a spike in blood sugar that then sharply falls, leading to a sudden loss of energy, Johnston says. Headache and brain fog can also follow.
9. You’re Passing on Energy-Sustaining Protein
Youdim states that it is perfectly acceptable to have a green juice drink as part of breakfast or lunch. However, if you drink it alone, you miss out on the opportunity to get protein. Protein is important because it helps preserve and build lean body mass, which keeps you healthy and even burns calories. Fruits and veggies on their own are not a great source of protein.
10. You May Gain Weight if the Juice Is Packed With Calories
If a juice is mostly made of fruit, it can contain a lot of sugar and calories. This can cause weight gain if the calories are not burned off. It is better to choose a juice that is mostly made of vegetables, with a little fruit added for sweetness.
