Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables is used in some diet and cleansing plans as a meal replacement and adds vitamins and antioxidants to a balanced diet. Blending juices is one way to consume less-than-favorite nutritious veggies, and juice can provide a quick energy boost. But juicing isn't always the best strategy for weight loss and efficient digestion. There are pluses and minuses to incorporating juicing into a healthy diet.
Juicers
Most juice is made at home in juice extractors or citrus juicers. Citrus juicers squeeze the liquid from the pulpy fruit, leaving most of the pulp and the albedo, the white inner rind. Juice extractors pulverize fruits and vegetables like carrots, apples, celery and pineapple. They typically have pulp collectors to separate the fiber from the juice and some can juice whole produce that isn't pre-cut into chunks. According the Stanford Cancer Institute, 1 cup of carrot juice is the nutritional equivalent of 5 cups of chopped carrots, minus the fiber. Juicing produce is time-consuming and can be expensive because it takes so much raw material to produce each serving of juice.
Juice Delivers Nutrition
Juice provides all the nutrients you get from fruits and vegetables: vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and carbohydrate benefits. Fresh-squeezed orange juice has all of its vitamin C, which is too unstable to survive processing, according to Columbia University Health Services. Juice can be a great way to consume all or most of your daily quota of plant foods and makes a healthy replacement for less nutritious beverages and for occasional missed meals or snacks. Because it is so concentrated, juice provides essential nutrition to someone who is too sick to have an appetite for whole food and it is a healthy way to kick-start a cleansing or weight loss diet.
Loss of Fiber
Juice shortchanges your digestion because it leaves out most of the fiber in vegetables and fruits. Fiber is necessary for healthy digestion, helps to move food through your system, lets you feel full longer without adding calories, helps to stabilize your blood sugar and may protect you against several cancers. The Harvard School of Public Health recommends choosing whole fruits and vegetables over juice for the greatest health benefits.
Calories and Blood Sugar
The fructose in fruits and "sweet" vegetables like carrots is concentrated in a glass of juice which can boost your glycemic index. The other concentration is calories -- juices are higher in energy density, according to the Centers for Disease Control, which means you get more of everything, except the filling bulk which is nearly calorie-free. If you are sensitive to spikes in blood sugar or diabetic, or if you are trying to lose weight or maintain a weight loss, juice can work against you. But if you are trying to gain weight or participating in vigorous sports, you may need to pack in some extra energy and concentrated nutrition. Juice can supply the additional calories and fuel you need.
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