Juicing has been a trendy way to get lots of nutrients and vitamins into your body with very little effort. But, just because you can buy juices in the grocery store, doesn’t mean they’re all good for you—or equally bad! Find out how to pick the best juices to drink, and which ones you should avoid, with this handy guide on juicing.
A tall glass of fresh, cool juice has a vibrant color, a mouth-watering taste, and it’s good for you. But that’s not true, say some dietitians. While the best juices have some nutrients in them, the worst are little more than liquid candy. The only thing you need to know is the difference between the two.
Why juicing?
There are a lot of benefits to juicing. For one, it helps you consume more fruits and vegetables in one sitting than you would if you were eating them whole. It also gives your body a concentrated dose of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Plus, juicing can help boost your immune system, improve your digestion, and promote healthy skin.
Over the past few years, juicing – the process of obtaining juice from fresh fruit and vegetables – has become a hugely popular activity.
There are many people who use it for cleansing, for detoxifying, or for adding more nutrients to their diet.
Juicing can enhance nutrient absorption according to some, but it can also strip important nutrients away, like fiber.
This is a detailed exploration of juicing and its pros and cons.
* Vegetable Juice: the Best Choice
Vegetables are convenient to drink and good for you. Tomato juice is a good source of lycopene which may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Beet juice may help you maintain a healthy blood pressure. Vegetable juice with pulp has fiber; and fiber is a hunger-suppressant. Not only do you get less sugar, but you consume fewer calories than you would with a typical fruit juice. And keep an eye on the sodium, or choose a low-salt version.
Vegetable juice is not only the best choice for your health, but it can also help you lose weight, have more energy, and sleep better. Here’s why:
1) Vegetables are packed with nutrients that are essential to our health, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals.
2) juicing vegetables helps to extract these nutrients so that our bodies can easily absorb them.
3) Vegetables are low in calories and high in fiber, which means they can help us lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
4) The nutrients in vegetables can give us more energy by helping our cells to function properly.
* Juice Cocktails: The worst choice
If you’re looking to improve your health, steer clear of juice cocktails. These drinks are often loaded with sugar and calories, which can offset any potential health benefits from the fruits and vegetables used to make them. Plus, many juicing recipes call for adding in unhealthy ingredients like honey, syrups, and even ice cream! If you’re looking to make a healthy choice, stick to simple juices made with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Real juice is usually only found in small amounts in these products. Main ingredients usually consist of water, small quantities of juice, and some form of sweetener, such as high-fructose corn syrup. From a nutritional standpoint, these drinks are equivalent to most other soft drinks: full of sugar and calories but low in nutrients. Drinking water is better for you.
Is juicing better than eating whole fruits and vegetables?
While whole fruits and vegetables are definitely good for you, juicing them can actually help your body absorb more nutrients. Plus, juicing allows you to consume a wider variety of fruits and vegetables than you might normally eat. However, not all juices are created equal. Some juices are actually quite high in sugar and can be bad for your health if consumed in large quantities.
Juices And its Benefits
- Pomegranate Juice: Good For Health
Choose to drink only one glass of juice per day and it should be one with a lot of nutritional value. Pomegranate juice is the best on the list. It’s high in sugar and calories, but is packed with nutrients known as antioxidants. As a matter of fact, pomegranate juice is more powerful than either red wine or green tea.
- Cranberry Juice: Good In Vitamin C
You need vitamin C for your immune system, and drinking unsweetened cranberry juice may help prevent the growth of bacteria that cause urinary tract infections.
- Red Grape Juice: Good For Heart
In moderation, red wine can be good for the heart. Similarly, red grape juice contains about a third of the calories of other juices. Red grape juice contains beneficial nutrients like flavonoids and resveratrol. Red wine and juice are both made from the entire grape. peel, seeds, and all. But you won’t get the fiber that you would from the fruit itself.
- Prune Juice: Good Source Of Fiber
It’s common for people to use prune juice to help with constipation. This is because it is high in fiber and has a natural laxative in it called sorbitol. In addition to the benefits of prune juice, the juice also contains plenty of antioxidants, iron, and potassium.
- Acai Berry Juice: Contains Antioxidants
Acai juice is made from berries found in South America. More antioxidants are found in acai pulp than in cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries.
- How About Orange Juice?
Some good news: orange juice is a good source of vitamin C. Not only that, but some brands also have added calcium and vitamin D, which help build your bones. Sweetened juices such as some berry and grape juices have more calories than an unsweetened orange juice. As a result, it contains fewer antioxidants than darker juices like grape, blueberry, and pomegranate.
