Eating your vegetables and juicing them are not the same thing.
And trust me, there is a HUGE difference between the two.
In recent years, juicing machines have taken over as a popular Christmas gift, wedding registry item, and often advertised “must have” gadget. The market for juices is actually hovering around $2 billion annually. (Insert eye roll here). As thedailybeast.com states, “Juicing is the triumph of marketing over science.”
So why is juicing so bad for you? It comes down to a few things:
- Juicing is ultimately just squeezing the sugar out of the fruit or vegetable. This can lead to sugar crashes, metabolic changes (for the worse), and can even lead to pre-diabetes.
- The fiber and skin of the fruit or vegetable is lost when you juice. In other words, the primary nutritional value component of the produce is LOST, meaning it’s NOT TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF when you juice. The skin of fruits and vegetables are typically where the cancer-fighting goodies are. Leaving them out of your tasty, seemingly healthy drink is simply a bad decision. The fibers that are lost are important because they facilitate the absorption of the important vitamins (such as Vitamins A, D, E, and K), found in the produce.
- It’s also not good for the environment. Wasting the nutrient-dense pieces of the fruit or vegetable is a very wasteful way to consume it due to the nutrition that’s being lost.
- You could be putting yourself at risk for pre-diabetes, kidney disease, or thyroid malfunction.
What typically happens when folks opt to juice frequently? They lose weight. Sounds great, right? Except losing weight due to this liquid diet isn’t sustainable in the slightest. Most folks will find themselves in the bathroom often, and while they can be excited at first for the results they think they’re seeing, they’re often disappointed down the road when their energy levels decrease, they experience blood sugar crashes, and they hit a plateau.
According to Dr. Barr of WebMD,
“’If you’re doing a juicing diet, you’ll be so tempted to eat something like a cake or doughnut because you’ve restricted yourself.’
Not getting enough protein could also mean you lose muscle mass.
The bottom line: It’s too extreme, and the results aren’t likely to last.”
Another Option: Shakeology
What other options are there? Well of course… Leave it to us to recommend Shakeology, a daily dose of dense nutrition. It’s truly the best, whole food shake on the market, comprised of over 70 real foods (30 of which are superfoods). It loads your body with antioxidants, fiber, protein, probiotics, and digestive enzymes, and the best part: the actually FOOD part of the fruit doesn’t go to waste. Instead, your body uses it to thrive.
Regardless of whether you choose Shakeology or simply choose to start blending smoothies full of the whole fruits and vegetables, we hope you’ll truly consider STOPPING the juicing. Do your own research and you’ll hear similar things: It’s just not good for you.
Yours in Health & Fitness,
Jenny L. Swisher
Fitness Nutrition Specialist and Founder, Body Electric