Juicing – To Juice Or Not To Juice?

Ready to give juicing a whirl? Juice is an easy way to get more fruits and vegetables into your diet, but before you get started there’s some essential things you should know…

If you’re not getting at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables each day, then juicing may help you get a good blend of essential vitamins and minerals into your diet.  Choose a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables for the best nutrition and a variety of natural antioxidants.

When you juice you miss out on most of the dietary fiber naturally present in fruits and vegetables… so think about adding some pulp back into your juice. You can also add the pulp to muffin batter and “fortify” your meal.

Balance out your juice by adding a protein source. Some good options are low/non-fat milk, Greek yogurt and flaxseed.

Juicing diets may seem like a great way to lose weight, but they often have unintended consequences. Like most fad diets, where several nutrients such as protein and calcium are frequently absent, juicing diets can result in a significant loss of muscle mass and can even have a negative impact your bones if done long-term.

There isn’t any scientific evidence that juicing diets can “cleanse” or “detox” your body. That’s your liver and kidneys job. These diets are often a waste of money.

Talk to your doctor if you are on medications such as warfarin since large amounts of foods like spinach and kale contain higher amounts of vitamin K that may interfere with blood thinning.

Once your juice is ready its best to drink it on the same day. Storing your homemade concoction isn’t a good idea from a food safety standpoint. Also remember to wash your blender on each occasion to prevent food borne illness.