It continues to be a popular health craze, but is juicing healthy? It can be, but there is a dark side to juicing that you need to know about!
Juicing is the process of squeezing juices out of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can use a juicer at home or buy pre-packaged fruit or vegetable juices.
Even better, eat whole fruits and veggies!
You’ll consume more fiber, which promotes lower cholesterol, increased satiety, reduced risk of heart disease, and effective healthy weight management.
But if you prefer juicing over whole fruits and vegetables, drinking juices in moderation is fine as it adds fluids, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to a healthy meal plan.
Moderation is vital so that you don’t develop nutritional deficiencies by consuming excess juices in favor of too few foods from other food groups. A good rule of thumb is to add juices to one or two of your meals or drink juice as a between-meal snack.
So, overall, juicing can be a healthy option when used in moderation.
Read on to learn the REAL truth about juicing, including the good, the bad, and the ugly!
Are fruits ACTUALLY healthy? This video addresses this commonly asked question and more!
The Benefits of Juicing
There are several benefits you can take advantage of by juicing.
It helps preserve many vitamins and minerals in your favorite fruits and vegetables. So, while you’re not getting all of the fiber found in these foods, juices are still loaded with micronutrients.
Some people who juice use it for a quick boost of energy, as natural sugars in juices help keep you energized. Others use juicing to detoxify the body or lose weight, especially when they drink juices instead of meals or snacks.
Juicing fruits and vegetables can increase your intake of the essential nutrients in these foods, which is helpful for people who have difficulty meeting daily fruit and veggie intake recommendations.
However, while juicing has various benefits, it’s a good idea to drink juices in moderation as part of a well-balanced meal plan.
The Dark Side of Juicing
While juicing is ideal for many people in moderation, drawbacks exist, too — especially if you drink too many juices instead of whole foods.
Examples of possible concerns associated with drinking excessive amounts of juice include:
Diarrhea
Drinking a lot of juices rich in fructose, a naturally occurring sugar in fruits can cause diarrhea in some people.
Examples of foods rich in fructose include grapes, apples, watermelon, peas, zucchini, and asparagus, but other fruits and veggies contain fructose too.
The amount of fructose the human body can tolerate without causing diarrhea varies from person to person.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Drinking too many juices over time, especially if you’re juicing for weight loss, can fill you up and cause you to eat too few of the other food groups.
Your body needs a good balance of fiber-rich foods, proteins, and healthy fats to function at its best.
While drinking juices in moderation as a part of a well-balanced is OK, avoid overdoing it by drinking too much juice.
Lower Fiber Intake
Juices are lower in fiber than whole fruits and vegetables, so if you’re able to consume whole foods instead, it’s best to do so.
Fiber offers an array of health and wellness benefits. It can maximize your digestive health, reduce constipation, aid in healthy weight management, and keep cholesterol levels as low as possible.
Another option is to blend whole fruits and vegetables with milk or water in a blender rather than juicing these fresh foods. Doing this preserves the fiber content of your favorite produce.
Higher Sugar Intake
While foods rich in natural sugar, including fruit and 100% fruit juice, are much healthier than added sugar, you shouldn’t go overboard by consuming large amounts of high-sugar foods.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend consuming 2 cups of fruits and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables daily when eating 2,000 calories per day.
Other food-group recommendations (following a 2,000-calorie meal plan) include 3 cups of dairy foods, 5 1/2 ounces of protein, 6 ounces of grains, and 27 grams of oils (healthy fats). These food-group recommendations decrease if you take in fewer than 2,000 calories daily.
Is Juicing Healthy? It Is If You Use These Recipes!
If you choose to add juices (in moderation) to a well-balanced meal plan, consider trying the following juice recipes!
Carrot Orange Juice
This carrot and orange juice recipe contains vitamins C and A and other essential vitamins and minerals.
Ingredients
1 bunch of carrots, washed and rinsed (about 4 large carrots or 6 to 7 medium carrots)
2 navel oranges, peeled and cut into slices
1 lemon, peeled and cut into quarters
1 1-inch piece of fresh ginger with the skin removed
Instructions
Place the carrots, orange slices, lemon pieces, and ginger in your juicer and begin juicing.
Divide the juice between two glasses, serve, and enjoy!
Servings: 2
Superfood Green Juice
This green juice recipe contains nutrient-dense fruits and veggies as ingredients, and it offers a quick boost of energy from a drink that’s packed with fiber-rich carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins!
Ingredients
1 bunch of chopped kale
1 large lemon, peeled and quartered
1 inch of ginger, peeled
1 large cucumber, cut into strips
2 large granny smith apples, cored and sliced
4 whole celery stalks
Ingredients
Wash and prepare the fruits and vegetables.
Juice them in the order on the ingredient list.
Strain the mixture through a sieve to remove the pulp if you’d like.
Serve, drink immediately, and enjoy!
Servings: 4 cups
Strawberry Apple Lime Juice
This delicious strawberry apple lime juice recipe is loaded with nutrients and flavor!
Ingredients
3 cups of fresh strawberries rinsed, stemmed, and halved
1 green apple, cored and cut into large pieces
1 lime peeled and quartered
Instructions
Turn on your juicer.
Add all of the ingredients, one at a time, and power on the juicer.
Divide the juice between two glasses, add ice, serve, and enjoy!
Servings: 2
Healthy Smoothie Recipes
The nutritious, delicious smoothie recipes below often contain more fiber and protein (if you add milk, yogurt, or protein powder) than simply juicing fruits and vegetables.
You’ll use a blender instead of a juicer to make the smoothies below!
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Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
This peanut butter banana smoothie is loaded with protein, fiber, and heart-healthy fats, offering you more nutritional benefits than juices alone.
Ingredients
1 cup of milk or plant milk
1 medium ripe banana, frozen and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons of peanut butter
A few dashes of cinnamon
Ice cubes
Instructions
Blend all of the ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
Add additional milk if your smoothie is too thick.
Serve and enjoy!
Servings: 1
Watermelon Protein Smoothie
This watermelon smoothie recipe contains more protein and fiber than juice, and it will make your mouth water!
Ingredients
3 cups of diced watermelon
1 cup of frozen strawberries
3 large ice cubes
1 5-ounce container of Greek yogurt
1/2 of a banana
1/2 of a lime, juiced
Instructions
Combine the watermelon, strawberries, ice cubes, yogurt, banana, and lime juice in a blender.
Blend the mixture on low speed to break up the strawberries and ice. Scrape the sides of the blender when needed.
Blend the ingredients on high until the mixture is smooth.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Servings: 2
Superfood Protein Smoothie
This superfood protein smoothie is packed with the most nutritious foods.
It’ll give you a boost of energy and is rich in essential micronutrients and macronutrients.
Consume this smoothie in place of a meal to lose weight or maintain ideal body weight.
Ingredients
1 cup of frozen sliced bananas
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 cup of fresh-packed kale
2 Medjool dates, pitted
1/2 tablespoon of ground flaxseed
3 large frozen cauliflower florets
1/2 cup of chocolate protein powder
1 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 cups of unsweetened almond milk (plus more to taste)
Instructions
Place all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Add ice to the mixture if you’d like.
Blend it until smooth.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
Servings: 2
If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight,
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If you’re a busy mom who wants to finally lose weight,
get healthy, and actually keep the pounds off for good,
this is the simple program you’ll love sticking to…
*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on healthy juicing.
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