Despite the data supporting the benefits of the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, most Americans aren't getting their fair share. With so many people leading busy lives that leave little time for a sit down meal, fruits and vegetables are an often overlooked component of the American diet. Enter juicing. You've probably seen the late night infomercials extolling the health benefits of juicing, encouraging you to get out your credit card to buy your own home juicer. Is juicing healthy or is the concept of juicing overhyped?
Juice and health benefits: The Positives
There's no doubt that fruits and vegetables are rich sources of powerful phytochemicals which help to promote health and, most likely, play a role in preventing certain chronic diseases. Juicing with a home juicer provides the average person a way to get several servings of fruits and vegetables in a single glass of juice. Plus, fresh fruit and vegetable juices are generally easier to digest than eating the whole fruit or vegetable. It's true that more people enjoy the taste of a glass of freshly squeezed glass of fruit and vegetable juice more than a plate of spinach or broccoli. Since freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices are raw, there's also the advantage of the many enzymes present in fruits and vegetables that are destroyed by the cooking process.
Hate the taste of vegetables? Fresh juicing allows the person who doesn't enjoy the taste of vegetables to hide the taste behind sweet fruits such as strawberries and bananas. The juice concoctions that can be created by combining fruits and vegetables are endless allowing you to get a variety of different types of phytochemicals in one glass of juice. Juicing also offers benefits to kids who don't like vegetables. Mom can use the juicer to make a vegetable and fruit combination that masks the taste of the vegetable behind the more prominent taste of the fruit. It's a great alternative to soft drinks for both kids and adults.
Juice and health benefits: The Negatives
Juicing also has some potential negatives. When you juice, the fiber of the fruits and vegetables are generally discarded. Most Americans get too little fiber in their diet already and this invaluable source of heart healthy fiber is lost when only the juice is consumed. Watching calories? Freshly squeezed fruit juice can be high in calories, particularly when such fruits as banana and pineapple are used. Plus, if large quantities of fruits are used, the carb load will be high which may cause rapid rises in blood sugar.
One of the most annoying aspects of juicing is that it can be time intensive and cumbersome, not to mention expensive. Not only do you have to invest in the juicer, you have to buy large quantities of fruits and vegetables which can be expensive, particularly if purchased organic. Plus, the preparation of the fruits and vegetables as well as the clean up involved after juicing takes time. Despite juice and its health benefits, juicing can be a time intensive endeavor.
When it comes to juicing and health, should you take the plunge and get a juicer? If you or your family and kids don't enjoy eating whole fruits and vegetables, it makes sense to try juicing since you'll be unlikely to get your quota of fruits and vegetables any other way. If you enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables even when they're not in the form of juice, it makes sense to enjoy them in the form of salads and side dishes where you not only get the phytochemicals but also the fiber. By eating both raw and cooked fruits and vegetables, you'll still retain some of the healthy biochemicals and enzymes that are lost by the cooking process. You'll also realize a significant savings in terms of calories. Plus, you'll save money by not having to buy a juicer or purchase large quantities of fruits and vegetables just to get a few glasses of juice.
The bottom line? Juicing and its health benefits are real but juicing is not the only way to benefit from fresh fruits and vegetables. You need to decide what's right for you and your family.
