Many of us today want to optimize our health, and our diets are often one of the first places to start. One great option for increasing our overall health through diet is to consume fresh juice. While it’s possible to get many different types of juices in a store, I highly recommend either making your own juice at home or purchasing your juices from somewhere that they will be made to order.
Choosing just-made juice rather than store-bought allows you to select your own ingredients and also ensures freshness. Since nutrients in juices can degrade with exposure to light and temperature, it’s best to have freshly made juice so that you can maximize the benefits of juice.
So…how does juicing work and why is it so beneficial?Juicing is a process that extracts water and nutrients from produce while discarding indigestible fiber. How a juicer breaks down fruits and vegetables allows for nutrients to be readily available to the body when you consume the juice. In fact, the nutrients are available in larger quantities than if you were to eat fruits and vegetables whole!
Also, the fiber in fruits and vegetables in general slows down digestion and allows for a steady release of nutrients into the bloodstream. Consuming fruits and vegetables in the form of juice, without the fiber, expedites this process. Therefore, drinking fresh juice can give the body an instant energy boost since there’s no wait time for digestion and the absorption of nutrients is essentially instant.
The absence of fiber in a juice also gives the digestive system a bit of a break, since fruits and vegetables are already broken down by the juicing process, the digestive system doesn’t have to work as hard to break them down and absorb their nutrients. While the body is experiencing this break, it is better equipped to heal itself. With little to no effort being spent on digestion, energy can be put toward ridding the body of waste and toxins while the body is still receiving vitamins and minerals from juice.
These vitamins and minerals support the immune system and fight oxidative stress in the body, yielding highly beneficial results. Nutrient-rich juices help the body to nourish and restore at a cellular level. For these reasons, juices are especially helpful to those with sensitive digestive systems, those who have an illness or condition that prevents the body from processing fiber effectively, and those who have various chronic illnesses or conditions that require the body to put a greater amount of energy toward healing.
In addition to these benefits, juicing can help to boost one’s intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Cutting out the fiber makes fruits and vegetables less filling, therefore allowing us to consume a greater amount of fruits and vegetables without feeling “too full.” Juicing is also a fantastic way to reap the nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables that you might not necessarily enjoy eating.
By taking advantage of creative combinations, you can mask the flavor of certain healthy options that you might not find as tasty. There are also parts of fruits and vegetables that we don’t usually eat but that can be wonderful in a juice. Broccoli stalks are one of my favorite ingredients for juicing! Not only do they add great nutritional value to a juice, but they also add a hint of sweetness that helps to improve the flavor. By juicing food “scraps” such as these, we can also decrease the amount of waste that we produce—a win for both our bodies and the planet!
While fresh juices can have tremendous health benefits, there are also a few important things to be aware of. As discussed, the removal of fiber makes the juice more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream, so be careful of the amount of sugar in your juice. If you consume a juice that is primarily or solely fruits, this fast absorption can spike your blood sugar. As long as you balance the ingredients in your juice though, this potential problem is easily avoidable.
Also, be mindful that since fiber is filling, you might get hungry fairly soon after consuming a juice, especially if you have it in place of a meal. Juices are packed with nutrients, but without fiber or protein they won’t necessarily give you the feeling of being full. One of my favorite remedies for this is to have a juice at breakfast time and then a banana and/or granola bar (preferably homemade) as a mid-morning snack. Once you know what to be cautious of when juicing, you can enjoy your juice to the fullest and experience maximum benefits from it.
Happy juicing!
-Charlie Berman, Massage Therapist