To Juice or Not to Juice - That is the Question.

I enjoy eating whole fruits and vegetables.  I like biting into a crisp apple better than drinking a glass of apple juice.  I love roasted cabbage and salads.  I think of juice as a sweetener not something that I will drink glasses of.  That being said, I am also not going to tell someone who feels great juicing that they shouldn’t because they are probably getting more nutrition than the standard American diet.  But, if you are considering this your next “diet” of choice, here are some things to ponder:

1.     You have a tendency to consume more fruits and vegetables in the juiced form then you would in their whole form.  More is not always better. 

2.     Juicing is high in sugar especially if you are including lots of apples and bananas.  Yes, it is natural sugar but it still impacts your blood sugar.

3.     Taking fruit and vegetables out of their natural state changes the way your body reacts to them.  Since they are easier to digest, your blood sugar rises faster and gut bacteria, which normally would break the food down into its smaller parts, are not used (use them or lose them!).

4.     Vegetables should be eaten with fat in order to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins.  Vegetables have limited amounts of fat-soluble vitamins and in order to take advantage of them you need fat like dressing on a salad or butter on your cooked vegetables.

I believe that what you eat and how you eat it is very personal.  Choose foods that make you feel your best!  If juicing does that for you then great but if it doesn’t the above ponder points could be the reasons why.