8 Facts About Juicing That You Should Know
Juicing is extracting juice from fruits and vegetables. The juicing trend doesn’t show any signs of letting up, most people consider it a popular way to squeeze in fruits and veggies for a well-balanced diet. But this will only work if you do it right! Read on for some surprising facts that you can make the healthiest juices from home.
1. Avoid juicing too much fruit
Fruits are great but don’t forget that they contain a lot of sugar. Consuming too much will increase your sugar levels quickly, and those levels will then drop rapidly. Instead, use more vegetables like celery, spinach, or carrots, then add fruit for sweetness.
2. Drink the juice immediately
As Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, chef and nutritionist at The Healthy Voyager advise, "It's imperative that you drink fresh juice right away to get the maximum amount of nutrients."
Over time, fruits and vegetables oxidize when exposed to oxygen, this is the reason why some of them turn brown. Fruit juice is also oxidized, so it's best to drink it immediately after juicing.
3. Juicing relieves your digestive system
You can relieve your gut from heavy digestion by drinking juice several times a week.
4. Wash but don't peel the vegetables
The peels of fruits and vegetables contain a lot of essential nutrients for the skin. However, some fruit peels are not very suitable for juicing, such as oranges, pumpkins, cantaloupe, lemons, limes, grapefruits and mangoes. They are quite bitter, and some are too hard.
5. Start your morning with juicing
Early morning is the best time to get a lot of nutrients into the body because your body has just woken up from a fast. Adding freshly-squeezed fruit and vegetable juice or a smoothie is a great way to get extra nutrients as soon as you wake up. You'll reap the overall benefits and feel energized for the day.
6. Nutrients are absorbed quickly
Valuable vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables are absorbed straight into your bloodstream.
7. Juicing is not a replacement for meals
Most experts agree that replacing meals with juice is not good for you. If you choose to drink only juice, you won't get enough protein. Green leafy vegetables do not provide enough for your body's daily needs. While kale, spinach, and other veggies offer modest amounts, nothing matches a diet filled with lean proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, and cheese, among others. Consider juice a complement to your diet, not a replacement for actual food.
8. Juicing is not a detox
The body has its own cleansing and detoxifying mechanisms in place - that's the function of your liver and kidneys. So cleaning juice is a lie.
When juicing properly, you will get a lot of benefits and you will know exactly what ingredients are in your juice. Many juice enthusiasts recommend using only organic produce because non-organic foods have pesticides and other contaminants, so consider using organic fruit products to get the best effect!
Credit: Soletoscana
