Parul Kharod
A quick simple answer that will make many folks unhappy is “not to juice”!
Juicing has been a growing trend among fad diets since 2010 when Joe Cross from Australia decided to go on a juice cleanse to combat obesity and other chronic diseases. Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, a documentary about his experience made juicing popular as the most efficient way to lose weight fast. Juice bars popped up all over the place. Major companies such as Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Campbell Soups, Coca-Cola and Pepsi all got into the juice business. Barron’s Financial Magazine reported juice sales worth $5 billion dollars in 2012 with a projected growth of 8% per year.
An internet search for “juice cleanse” yields a long list of websites and blogs that promise various quick solutions to rid your body of toxins and help you achieve your ideal body.
So what is bad about juicing?
Here are several points that show why it is important to eat your food instead of drinking it.
1. Our bodies were built for chewing our food. Digestion starts in the mouth. When we chew food, the mechanical action helps release digestive enzymes in the mouth. These enzymes with the help of saliva mix with the food and start breaking down the major nutrients. Chewing properly allows your stomach to work more efficiently and break down your food faster, making digestion easier on your stomach and small intestine. This also makes it easier for your intestines to absorb nutrients from the food particles as they pass through.
2. When we chew our food, it takes longer to finish a meal. A glass of juice can be gulped down fast, but eating takes time. Research shows that the longer it takes for us to eat, the better control we have at what we eat and how much we eat. It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the brain that it is full. So if we finish a meal too fast, the brain may not receive the signal and this can make you go for a second serving.
3. When we juice fruits and vegetables, we throw away the most important component – fiber! Fiber from food helps bring down blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure. Fiber-rich foods are pre-biotics. They help feed the healthy bacteria that live in our gut. The good bacteria feed on fiber and produce short chain fatty acids that have a number of health promoting effects. The bacteria use fiber to balance fluid and electrolytes in the colon and improve mineral absorption. When we juice fruits and vegetables, not only do we lose all the fiber, we also lose all the nutrients that are bound to the fiber. Fiber supplements and foods fortified with artificial fiber do not function in the same way.
4. With the fiber removed, juices become simple sugars (or simple carbohydrates). All simple sugars are rapidly absorbed. This can increase blood sugars and triglycerides. Rapidly absorbed simple sugars can also damage the protective lining of the walls of the heart and blood vessels.
5. The most important argument against juice cleanses is that our bodies do not need to be “cleansed”. If we eat the right foods, our liver and kidneys function to filter out toxins. We don’t need to do anything special. However, when we eat junk food and foods made with artificial chemicals and preservatives, the organs are not able to function, which can create health problems.
So what about smoothies? Depends on how they are made – smoothies can be a healthy choice, or they can be filled with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients.
Restaurant smoothies are best used as a sometime treat rather than your go-to smoothie choice. Most of them are very high in calories and sugar. Planet Smoothie, Jamba Juice, Smoothie King and other such places have smoothies that can range from 250-750 calories with the average sugar amount of 40-70 grams in a small size serving!
Smoothies do have one advantage over juicing; the fiber is not lost. To make a smoothie, whole fruits and vegetables are blended so the fiber is not removed. The chewing action of eating food is still missing, but a good smoothie can be part of a healthy balanced diet.
Smoothies are an easy healthy option for a breakfast or snack. Smoothies don’t have to be complicated with a ton of ingredients. The one important thing to remember is that as with any other meal, a good balance of carbohydrates and protein is necessary. If you make a smoothie with lot of fruit and use fruit juice as the liquid, the whole smoothie will just be full of sugar. Using plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, nuts, and nut butters can make the smoothie much healthier as the carbohydrates in the fruit get balanced with fat and protein.
Tips for making healthy smoothies:
1. Choose fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Buy plain fruits and veggies and don’t go for “smoothie mixes” as they may have some other ingredients added. You can pick just one fruit or do a combination but keep the total to one cup fruit per serving.
2. Add greens and other vegetables if you wish.
3. Choose a protein – low-fat plain or vanilla yogurt, 1% milk, plain Kefir, plain unsweetened soy milk, nuts or natural nut butters all work well. You don’t always need a protein powder to make a smoothie. If you want to add a protein powder, choose a simple protein powder and avoid ones labeled as shake mixes. Avoid whey protein and use brown rice, hemp, or pea protein powders.
To summarize, avoid juicing. Eat most of your food and chew well. Make a good balanced smoothie as part of a healthy breakfast or a snack and avoid restaurant smoothies.
Posted: Monday, June 27, 2016
