Reap the benefits of fresh veggies – try juicing.
Dear Jess, I have been trying to eat more vegetables on a daily basis and I have heard that juicing is a good option, but have heard mixed opinions. What are your thoughts on juicing as a way to increase vegetable consumption? Thanks, Patty
Dear Patty, Good for you for choosing to eat more vegetables. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention along with the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Cancer Institute has developed the “5-a-day” program to promote the increased consumption of vegetables and fruits. The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion recommends 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables, and some professionals recommend 2+ cups of fruit and 3+ cups of vegetables depending on age, sex, and activity level.
No matter how you slice it, dice it, chop it or juice it, that’s a lot of produce. I definitely think that juicing is a tasty addition to eating both raw and cooked vegetables in an effort to boost your intake.
What is so magical about fruits and vegetables? Plants are amazing biochemists…much better than we are. Plants are able to produce every thing they need for reproduction, growth, maintenance, and protection from disease, insects, and environmental stress. Because we aren’t quite as gifted as the plant kingdom in this regard, we need to eat a variety of plants to realize the health benefits derived from all the nutrients available in plants. Along with essential vitamins and minerals, plants contain a class of nutrients called phytochemicals, or phytonutrients. Plants produce literally hundreds of thousands of different phytochemicals that, until 20 years ago, we didn’t even know existed. Research is exploding about the health benefits of phytochemicals; it seems each day we hear about a new one…lycopene in tomatoes, resveratrol in grape skins, allyl sulfur compounds in garlic and onions, lutein in blueberries…the list goes on and on. Phytochemicals are powerful anti-oxidants, anti-microbials, and are protective against cancer and other chronic diseases. Eating vegetables is a good way to get an abundant supply of phytochemicals, as well as vitamins and minerals. All so important in keeping our cells healthy. And, yes, vegetables just taste good.
Here’s my plug for choosing organic produce: While research makes headlines in popular media proclaiming that there is no nutritional difference between organic and conventional produce, this is simply not true. While there does not appear to be a significant difference in the vitamin content between the two, phytochemical content is much higher in organically grown plants. Also, organic soils are typically much richer in nutrients, especially trace minerals, due to sustainable agricultural practices leading to produce with higher mineral contents. Couple this nutrient advantage with chemical-free produce (see: The Hundred Year Lie), and there is no contest…organic is better for our bodies and better for the environment. Choose organic produce when you can. Visit your local farmer’s market. If the cost of organic produce is a concern, go to Environmental Working Group for the “Dirty Dozen” list showing the produce containing the most pesticide residue…at least you can avoid those.
Raw vs. cooked: As a very general statement, raw vegetables and fruits are a better choice than cooked foods because they contain more nutrients (and the necessary enzymes to best utilize those nutrients). Heat destroys many nutrients and all enzymes. However there are some exceptions to this rule; lycopene in tomatoes is more available to the body after cooking. So, the focus should be on just eating more vegetables, with an emphasis on raw, but not to the exclusion of cooked. Take the opportunity to enjoy vegetables in any form, any way you can get them.
An interesting side note: because vegetables contain fat soluble vitamins, especially carotenoids (the plant precursor to vitamin A), it is essential to eat a bit of healthy fat with your juice so that you can ensure optimal absorption of these nutrients…a small handful of almonds or an ounce of cheese with a glass of juice makes a great snack.
The drawbacks to juicing: In a nutshell, juicing is a great way to add large amounts of vegetables to your diet and, therefore, a concentration of healthy nutrients…vitality in a glass. However there are a few drawbacks. Unless you use the fiber that is separated during the juicing process, you lose out on one of the many health benefits of eating lots of produce…the fiber. Fiber is essential for intestinal health and is the food of choice for the healthy bacteria residing in our large intestine (look for upcoming post on Probiotics: a primer). Often when people start to juice, they complain of loose stools-just what you wanted to hear. This is easily remedied by eating some of the extracted fiber. Eat it with a bit of avocado (everything tastes good with avocado) and a hit of your favorite salad dressing and you have an easy-to-eat salad. Or you can add a bit of the fiber back into the juice – but a little bit goes a long way; start slowly or you will end up with sludge.
“Juicing takes time” is another frequent complaint. Yes, a commitment to good health does take more time that stopping by the drive-thru at the nearest fast food joint, no two ways about it…but I would advocate that taking a bit of time is a fair trade-off for tasty foods with amazing health benefits. Either we find a way to take time now or we lose it down the road. It takes me 15 minutes, from start to clean-up, to prepare 16 ounces of delicious vegetable juice…a sharp knife makes all the difference! While vegetable juice is a healthy choice, I DO NOT recommend drinking fruit juice in any appreciable amounts. While vegetables are quite low in natural sugars and therefore, have a negligible effect on blood sugar, insulin levels and calorie intake, fruit juice is loaded with natural sugar, fructose, so it is much higher in calories, and has a pronounced effect on blood sugar and insulin levels…not a good thing.
Be brave, venture into the unknown in your quest for good health! Give juicing a try as an excellent way to increase your consumption of health-giving vegetables and fruts.
Tomorrow I will give some suggestion as to what to look for when choosing a juicer.
Seek health,
Jess
Jessica Adlin, MS, CN
