"Juicing" vegetables, or simply turning them into juice, does not seem to be healthier than eating whole vegetables, despite health claims associated with it, notes the February 2011 issue of "Mayo Clinic Health Letter." Nonetheless, juicing might be a simple way to add vegetables to your diet, including if you are trying to lose weight on the South Beach Diet. The South Beach Diet is broken up into phases and the types of vegetables you are allowed change with each phase. Account for this with your vegetable juicing.
Phase 1
The purpose of the first phase of the South Beach Diet, which lasts for two weeks, is to stop your food cravings for refined starch and sugar and in the process, to regular your blood sugar. During this phase, you are allowed nonstarchy vegetables like spinach, broccoli and kale. You are not allowed starchy vegetables like sweet or white potatoes, pumpkin, squash or turnips. Juice nonstarchy vegetables to stick to your diet.
Phase 2
Unlike the first phase, which is to jump-start your weight loss process, the second phase is more long-term with the purpose of losing the bulk of the weight you hope to lose. During this phase, you can juice all the vegetables from the first phase, as well as sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, squash, turnips and green peas.
Phase 3
The third phase is a lifetime maintenance phase, which includes most of the foods you had to give up during the first two phases. This phase includes all the vegetables from the previous stages, and although they might not be common juicing vegetables, you can add corn, beets and white potatoes.
Expert Opinion
Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, LDN, of the American Dietetic Association, finds both positives and negatives with the South Beach Diet. In her review of the latest version of the diet, "The South Beach Diet Supercharged," she notes that the first phase is not balanced and doesn't include enough of certain nutrients. However, Blatner says that the second two phases are healthy and balanced; they also include exercise -- a positive feature. She recommends skipping the first phase.
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