Most people truly want to be healthy. However, wanting to be healthy versus really being healthy are two very different things. In part because truly living a healthy lifestyle isn’t easy. Food is social and eating healthy can be a deterrent to many people. I mean, how many times don’t people bring in some sort of baked good to work or you go out to dinner where those cheese fries are calling your name? In addition, the time it takes to grocery shop and prepare food for the night/week takes a conscious effort. No wonder a “quick fix” is so appealing.
These “quick fixes” are the basis to fad diets and diet products. Many times these products are marketed to provide huge nutritional benefits (ex: consuming this protein powder will provide a full days worth of fruit and vegetables) while also losing weight. I can lose 5 pounds in just two weeks?!? Sign me up!
Now don’t get me wrong, some fad diets can be incorporated into a healthy diet – such as protein shakes and juicing – but they should never be the sole source of energy. Let’s talk about Juicing.
Advantages of Juicing
- If consuming the daily recommendation of fruits and vegetables is difficult, juicing is a good way to get them in.
Disadvantages of Juicing
- To properly juice is takes a juicer. Juicers can be very expensive ranging from $40 – $400.
- When juicing the juice must be drank the day it was juiced. Since there are no preservatives there is nothing that will keep your juice from “aging” over the next couple days.
- Juicing can be caloric. If you are mainly juicing fruit and not vegetables you are consuming a lot of sugar in a very condensed form. This can add calories quickly. Think about it…how many apples, pineapples, oranges, etc. did you juice to get that glass?
- When you juice you lose all the pulp which means you lose the fiber. Fiber is important as it helps keep our stools regular, prevents colon cancer, helps to lower cholesterol and much more.
- It is not proven that juicing will detox or cleanse your body. That is what your kidneys are for!
So for those of you who like to juice, enjoy it but continue to eat fruit and vegetables as part of balanced diet. Not only doing so improve your weight management, immune response and overall physical health, but your mental health and stress management can benefit dramatically as well.