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Juicing has become an increasingly popular trend
over the past few years. With juice bars popping up all over the UK and juice
cleansing programmes ever popular, it's a trend that doesn't look set to
leave us any time soon. So is juicing actually good for us? Or is it just
another sugar hit disguised as something healthy? One of the main benefits of juicing is the fact
that it enables you to consume a high concentration of natural nutrients easily.
Think about it, you're unlikely to ever sit and eat ten carrots in one go,
however ten carrots would make a moderately sized glass of juice, easy to
consume in one sitting. This is of course beneficial but don't forget that
while you're concentrating the nutrients, you're also concentrating the sugar
content of anything you juice. All fruits contain sugar and so whilst we
recommend eating moderate amounts of low sugar fruits in their entirety,
juicing them can add a lot of unnecessary sugar to the diet. Did you know
that a small, 300ml, single serving bottle of Tropicana orange juice contains
the equivalent of 7.5 teaspoons of sugar?! No sugar has been added to this, all 30g comes
from the juice of the oranges. We have been made very aware of the negative
effects of sugar on our health and fruit sugar is no different. The body
cannot tell the difference between sugar from a Mars Bar, or sugar from an
orange. It affects our health and increases our weight in the same way. For
this reason, fruit juice, however fresh, is not something that we recommend
consuming regularly. If you're a fan of juices, then vegetable juices
are your best option. Green vegetable juices in particular are incredibly
rich in nutrients whilst being virtually sugar free. Cucumber and celery make
good bases as they provide substantial amounts of juice. You can then add in
spinach, kale and other leafy greens. Juicing ginger, lemon and lime is a
good way to add some flavour and give some additional health benefits. Vegetable juicing can be a fantastic way of
increasing your vitamin and mineral intake and if you start juicing at home,
it can become strangely addictive! Many shops now offer vegetable juices but
be sure to check the ingredients carefully and ensure they're not secretly
fruit juices with a few spinach leaves added for effect. Embrace vegetable
juices but remember that fruit is best left for eating! |
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Original article available at http://www.alohealth.co.uk/the-truth-about-juicing.html Written by Kim Pearson |
