You can get numerous health benefits from implementing a good juicing plan. Besides knocking off those extra pounds of weight which you have put on, juicing will also energize you and put you on optimal health. Below are additional benefits of juicing.

Benefits of Juicing

1. Detoxification

Juicing helps in detoxifying the body. Your body’s digestion system could apparently be impaired following years of consuming junk foods and other chemicals. Since most home made juices are made from vegetables and fruits, they have nutrients which can fight toxins and chemicals that get into your body without your knowledge. Besides juicing helping in detoxification, it also enables you to consume the right amount of vegetables and fiber.

2. Weight loss

Juicing helps in curbing excess weight. Homemade juices have very few calories and no fat at all. Apparently, consumption of calories and fats leads to excess weight gain over time. If you are currently on a weight loss program, embracing juicing as part of your diet can effectively help you shed off excess weight. Juicing can further keep your stomach full, therefore, helping you control your eating habits.

3. Extra energy

Taking 6 to 8 servings of vegetable or fruit juice on a daily basis can surprisingly leave you with a lot of energy. Vegetable and fruit juices have plenty of nutrients which help in strengthening the body’s immunity and giving it extra energy.

4. Optimal digestion

Juicing will help your digestion system make the most of the fiber and nutrients contained in fruits and vegetables. Since our bodies have been ruined by chemicals, we have less optimal intake and digestion of nutrients. Juicing helps correct this anomaly. It also helps in countering the effects of chemicals and toxins which get into our bodies without our knowledge.

5. Other benefits

Besides the above three benefits, there are also other benefits of juicing. Juicing is time saving since you don’t have to take a lot of time preparing your favorite juice. Diversity of nutrients is also another benefit linked to juicing. You might be used to consuming the same types of foods every day. Therefore, you are more likely to suffer from nutrients deficiency. But if you embrace juicing in your life, you can consume a wide variety of nutrients. They say that juicing can reduce your risk of getting cancer and also boost your immune system.

More Facts about Juicing

The cons

It’s probable that juicing is not healthier than consuming whole vegetables and fruits. Juicing entails extracting juices from fresh vegetables and fruits. The resulting juices contain plenty of minerals, vitamins and plant chemicals (phytonutrients) found in fresh vegetable and fruits. However, fresh vegetables and fruits contain healthier fibers which are lost after juices have been extracted from them.

Calorie count

You should always consider the amount of sugars and calories in any type of food. For instance, a medium sized piece of fruit has an estimated 60 calories. Similarly, one cup of vegetables contains roughly 25 calories. There are 25 calories in 3 cups of green leafy vegetables. There are about 4 ounces of fresh juice in one serving of 60 calories. These calories add up. If you are consuming 4 fruits on a daily basis, these calories will add up.. Vegetable juice has fewer calories. If you want to balance fruit or vegetable juice with proteins, some of the best sources include peanut butter, Greek yogurt, almond milk and flaxseed.

Food safety

Here are some food safety guidelines that you should be keen on following when juicing.

• Always clean your hands prior to touching vegetables and fruits
• Thoroughly wash the vegetables and fruits before extracting juices from them.
• If you want to clean your blender or juicer, always clean it using hot and soapy water. Before keeping the blender or juicer, dry all its parts completely to curb bacterial growth.
• If your blender is dishwasher safe, make use of the dishwasher’s sanitize cycle.
• You should never keep your vegetables or fruit juice for more than a week. It is always good to consume your juice just the same day you have made it.

Health claims

You can read vast unsubstantiated claims regarding fruit and vegetable juice from the internet. For instance, fruit and vegetable fans insist that juicing can effectively reduce ones risk of getting cancer. Whereas it could be true that consuming a plant-based meal can reduce the risk of getting heart diseases and cancer, there is no scientific evidence supporting the claim. Though some scientific findings have established that juicing improves on the body’s immune system, immunity can also be improved by other plant-based products besides juices. There are fans of juicing who further insist that juicing is far much better than consuming whole vegetables and fruits. This is because your body can absorb the nutrients in juices better than nutrients from whole vegetables and fruits. Juicing can also help your digestive system take a rest from digesting fruit or vegetable fiber.

However, some critics of fruit juice maintain that juicing can suppress the nutrients contained in fruits and vegetables since juicing processes such nutrients. There are also some fruit and vegetable juices that contain some amount of fiber. Such fiber impedes the process of nutrients absorption. To avoid harmful food interactions, make a point of talking to your doctor first before you start implementing a particular juicing program. For instance, there are some fruits and vegetables that have a high concentration of vitamin K. They could end up changing the body’s blood- clotting process.