Juicing is an easy, digestible and customizable why to receive a powerful punch of goodness for your body. Through the process of extracting the natural liquid, vitamins and minerals from raw fruits and vegetables, juices can be incorporated with meals to help you to feel your best!
Why Juice?
There’s a whole slew of reasons! As an alternative to caffeinating, a juice can give you longer, more sustained energy that quickly takes effect. Juices are extremely dense in nutrients and loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and phytonutrients in an easy to consume and highly digestible form. It’s a whole lot easier to take a small shot of ginger juice than to consume the several pieces of ginger it takes to create that juice. Any person is able to customize their own juice, allowing them to focus in on the benefits they are seeking. For example, an endurance athlete may juice a different set of fruits and vegetables than a person seeking to loose weight or manage diabetes would.
Juices or Smoothies?
Below, McKel Kooienga of Nutrition Stripped shares the key differences between the two.
“Juices
-lack fiber
-only contain liquid extracted from the raw fruits and vegetables
-extremely easy and quick for the body to digest and assimilate nutrients
-contains the same amount of nutrient density as smoothies
-best consumed immediately after making, only stores for up to 48 hours maximum
-flavors of fruits and vegetables (especially greens) will be more pronounced and stronger
-aids in the bodies natural detoxification properties with the high amount of nutrients in a small volume
Smoothies
-contains a great amount of fiber, it’s completely intact
-provides satiety with the volume
-can be used as a meal by adding in proteins, superfood add-in’s, etc
-very easy for the body to digest and assimilate nutrients, just not as quick as juices
-contains the same amount of nutrient density as juices
-last a bit longer with storage, up to 4 days maximum
-easy to hide the flavor of “greens” when mixing with other fruits and add-ins a bit easier than juices
-supports the bodies natural detoxification channels, especially digestive with the high amounts of fiber”
What To Juice?
Leafy Greens
High in Vitamin K, C, B2 and Folate, leafy greens such as kale and spinach pack a heavy dose of nutrients and color to your juice. This set of nutrients will help your body regulate blood calcium, improve your immune system, help create new cells and assist in converting food into energy.
Carrots
Carrots are packed full of Vitamin A, a vital nutrient for healthy vision, skin, bones, teeth and reproduction. With a slightly sweet taste and affordable cost, carrots are an essential in juicing.
Beets
This earthy vegetable is known to help improve both blood circulation and blood pressure. It brings a vibrant color to your juice, and the highly nutritious leafy green tops can be juiced in for an extra boost.
Ginger
With a punchy taste, ginger delivers an immune boosting and energizing sensation. A shot of fresh ginger juice is the perfect start to the day and an excellent mid-day pick-me-up.
Wheatgrass
Delivering 17 amino acids, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and copper, this edible grass is a now brainer for adding into your juice! Studies have found it to improve heart health by reducing cholesterol levels. It contains chlorophyll which is known for it’s anti-inflammatory and cancer-fight properties.
Celery
Known to help with skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, celery is one of the easiest vegetables to juice. With it’s high water content and mild taste, it is one of our favorites for it’s anti-inflammatory, cholesterol-reducing and blood pressure-decreasing properties.
For more information on how to start juicing at home, Massage Therapy of Boston recommends checking out this link that compares the different techniques.