I feel like I've heard about juicing at least once a day for the past month, so I've decided to bore you with my thoughts tell you how I feel about juicing.
In my opinion, it's just another fad.
First, let's talk about "juice cleanses" or using mass amounts of juice to "detoxify" your body.
Honestly, it's sort of a gimmick... a marketing ploy if you will.
First and foremost, God did an excellent job making us humans. He equipped us with a few "detoxifiers" of our own - the liver, kidneys, and respiratory & digestive systems.
I really don't believe in detoxes. We don't need them. If your liver, kidneys, and/or lungs work correctly then you have your own detoxification system built in.
God sure did know what he was doing when He created us!
There are multiple problems with so many of these juice cleanses...
They lack sufficient calories, especially from protein and fat, to provide your body with adequate energy; this in turn, causes your body to hoard any incoming calories. So now your body thinks it's starving, so it holds on to every.single.calorie.you.consume.
Your body starts breaking down muscle instead of using food for fuel because it's not getting adequate calories and/or protein from your diet. Also, the weight you lose with cleanses is almost always water weight, which you will quickly gain back after resuming a normal diet.
You know how it's recommended that you eat 9 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday? Well, it's for good reason: fruits & veggies contain antioxidants that fight and help remove toxins from your body.
Basically, fruits and veggies are excellent for your health and help expedite those bad things out of your body.
However, if you're not getting enough fiber or protein how can those toxins you're releasing get out of your body? You consume all these fruits and vegetables that help our detoxifying systems work in tip top shape, but then you don't give anything for the toxins to latch onto to get out of your body. Hmm... not good.
Some fruits & veggies that help your natural detoxifying systems include:
asparagus
artichokes
cherries
green leafy vegetables {spinach, kale, lettuce}
garlic {pretty much every savory recipe I have uses garlic}
broccoli
cauliflower
cabbage
lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruit
arugula
beets
berries
Another reason why I'm not a fan of juicing is because juicing removes some of the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Don't get me wrong... I love that people are trying to take a step closer to good health, but juicing really isn't a cure-all.
When you juice something, the juicer extracts the fibrous parts of the fruit or veggie. That's the pulp that you find after you stick all your produce in the machine. So you're leaving out the fiber and extra nutrients that are contained in the skin & pulp of the fruit and/or veggie. How sad to waste that highly beneficial stuff...
Plus, that fiber that you're throwing away? Well, it binds to the toxins in your body and excretes them. Oh and it helps keep your blood sugar a little more stable as opposed to a fiber-free juice that spikes your blood sugar {causing low energy later on}
The best way to drink your fruits & veggies? A smoothie
But I'm talking about a smoothie preferably made from home - not one of those sugar-sweetened, is-there-any-fruit-in-here smoothies from the so called king of smoothies...
The best smoothies contain whole fruit & veggies plus protein {yogurt, milk, protein powder}. Antioxidants + fiber + protein for the win.
My favorite is strawberries, blueberries, spinach, lemon juice, and plain yogurt {regular or Greek}.
That way, you are getting all the fiber that comes naturally in fruits & veggies.
However, if you do not consume any fruits and/or vegetables but you like {100%} juice, then juice is better than no produce at all.
Bottom line: I love the fact that people want to be healthier and get their fruits & veggies from juice but remember to consume something with that juice so it doesn't spike your blood sugar. And please skip a full juice cleanse.
And that's all I have to say about that...
Meme
What do you think about juicing?
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