Juicing – When and why you should do it?

It’s common knowledge that Fruit and Vegetables are good for you, aside from tasting great, known benefits include reducing the risk of chronic diseases such as cancers and heart diseases.

Juicing, a process that involves extracting the nutritious juices from fresh fruits and vegetables, has become increasingly popular in recent years, some people use it to detox, whilst others use juicing as a means to increase the number of nutrients to their diet.

Common claims include that juicing can improve nutrient absorption from fruits and vegetables, while others say it strips away their important nutrients like fiber.

So, what exactly should we be doing with Juicing?

Many of us in this day and age don’t obtain enough nutrients from our usual diet, we consume lots of processed foods, and they’re not all good for you. Furthermore, according to the National Nutrition Survey, which was last done in 2010, it was revealed that 9 in 10 Singaporeans do not eat enough fruit and vegetables. That number has since increased, but there is still much room for improvement.

Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and plant compounds that may protect against disease and illnesses. If you find it difficult to get the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables into your diet each day, juicing can be a convenient way to increase your intake.

A good way to approach this is to supplement your daily diet with mixed fruit and vegetable juice! Studies have shown that supplementing your daily meals with a mixed fruit and vegetable juice over an extended period of time can increase the nutrient levels of beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and folate.

Don’t ignore the Fiber

The health benefits of fruits and vegetables are partly due to their high antioxidant content, but fiber also plays an important role. Many antioxidants are bound to fiber and get released in your digestive system. The consumption of fiber has been associated with lower risks of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Studies have also show shown that increasing soluble fiber, in particular, may improve blood sugar and cholesterol levels

Aside from this people also tend to feel more full when they eat whole fruits, compared with when they drink their juice equivalents!

Fruit Juices and Sugar

What you choose to juice is important, and its important to know that Fruits contain way more sugar than vegetables. A good rule of thumb if you are planning to juice, 75% of your juice should be from vegetables. For that added flavor without the extra juice, try using lemons and limes, fresh herbs like mint and parsley, and roots like ginger and turmeric.

The Bottom Line

While fresh juices contain important vitamins and antioxidants that can benefit your health, a juice-only diet is a big no. However, they are a great way to supplement your diet with additional nutrition, especially if you aren’t a big fan of eating vegetables!

Here are some seriously great tasting juice recipes you can start with!

Spinach Watercress Juice

  • 3 sprigs of Parsley
  • 1 handful of Spinach
  • 1 handful of Watercress
  • 3 apples

Remove the apple cores. Juice the apples plus all the greens together and serve.

 

Carrot Tomato Celery Juice

  • 3 Carrots
  • 2 Tomatoes
  • 2-3 Celery Ribs

Juice the carrots, tomatos and celery together

Refreshing Veggie Honeydew White Grape Juice

  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/4 a small Honeydew melon (without skin)
  • Small bunch of seedless white grapes
  • 2 kiwi fruits (without skin)
  • Large handful of spinach
  • Small sprig of mint
  • 1 lemon

Cut a cucumber in half. Cut the honeydew, and remove the rind as it’s not good for juicers. Juice the cucumber, honeydew, grapes, kiwi, spinach, lemon and mint.