Juicing seems to be one of those things that people either love or hate in terms of health benefits. On one hand, it is a fantastic way to get a concentrated injection of natural nutrients. Raw whole fruits are a great way to supplement your diet. On the other hand there is more in the fruit than just the water soluble nutrients. Most people don't realise that fruits and vegetables are in fact the best source of fibre. You can also get more pieces of fruit (and in particular sugar) concentrated into a glass of juice than you would ever consume in one session.
Well, juice can be a really important part of your diet so long as you consume it intelligently. Here are five great tips to help you continue to enjoy your juice.
- 1. Make sure that your juices contain mostly vegetables (and a little bit of fruit for sweetness) to help minimise the sugar content.
- 2. Dilute your juice with water. I usually use around one part juice to four parts water. This ensures you get a nice refreshing drink, an important nutrient top up and not too much of a sugar overload whilst also helping to hydrate your body.
- 3. Add some protein into your juice. This helps to minimise the sugar rush and provides you with a more sustaining, nourishing, filling drink. Add some ground up nuts or a raw egg to help balance out the sugary juice. Trust me, it tastes better than it sounds!
- 4. Make your own juice using fresh organic fruits and vegetables to avoid the added sugar, sweeteners, flavourings and preservatives that are found in many of our off-the-shelf juices.
- 5. Get the majority of your fluids from pure water rather than juice. Unless you are doing huge amounts of exercise, you simply don't need all those extra calories.
More often than not you are better off eating the whole fruits and vegetables than the juice. But if you do it intelligently, you can enjoy a fresh fruit and vegetable (and maybe protein) juice as part of a balanced diet.
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written by Rika Susan Vegetable Juice Recipes, June 18, 2010
