To Juice, Or Not To Juice
All this hype about juicing...Is it really worth it? I’ll let you decide after you read some of my pros and cons on the matter, along with some interesting facts.
I just want to begin by saying, I am by no means an expert, doctor or nutritionist but I enjoy living a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle. With that said...
So a long time ago I splurged and bought a juicer when we had a mango tree. We needed to get creative with those tastey mangos. But once we cut down our mango tree for our solar PV system it never got used again until last year once juiceries started to pop up all over town. We decided to try out many of these juiceries and soon realized how quickly you rack up a huge new expense. You think $5 for a Starbucks is a lot try $5.50-$10 per bottle of juice. When you have a surplus of fruits and/or vegetables then juicing might be beneficial but do keep in mind, you waste a lot of the fruit/vegetable when you juice. You will need to go through pounds of produce in order to fill up a 16oz container of pure juice. You also throw away a lot of the best part of the produce that acts as ruffage and nutrients in the non-liquid portion.
Another huge difference between juicing at home and grabbing one of those cold-pressed juices from a Juicery is just that...its cold-pressed. Cold-pressed juice is made by a hydraulic press that smashes up the produce and then presses it. (click on link to learn more) It's then bottled and sealed. This method is extracting the most amounts of nutrients in liquid format, much more efficient than juicing at home. Now there is one more step that many larger companies are adopting called HPP, aka High Pressure Processing, High Pressure Pasteurization or High Pressure Pascalization. HPP is done after bottling and sealing and research hasn't found a big difference in nutrient/enzyme loss but it has increased the shelf-life of the juices for commute and distribution. Many disagree with the research and feel if the juice is treated its not in its purest state or fresh. Below are some highlights that can persuade you one way over another on juicing.
Pros
When you feel a cold coming on or you are full-blown sick, juicing can be a great way to keep you hydrated and filled with nutrients like vitamin C that help with recovery. Your body is already working really hard to fight your cold, drinking a liquid diet may make it easier to digest and uses less energy to break down liquid versus solid foods and therefore work more on fighting that cold.
If you have an upset stomach that isn’t holding solid foods down, there are certain juicing recipes that you can make to aid with upset stomachs but still help you keep down the necessary liquids and nutrients to recover quicker and stay hydrated.
If you are wanting to do a cleanse, there are healthy ways to juice or buy pressed juices that will give you enough nutrients, calories and substance to carry on in your day. Many juiceries already have cleansing plans for you that will help with the right intake, even if you are active and workout.
If you have a lot of produce in your fridge and you realize that the Costco-sized bags of fruits and vegetables are about to go to waste, juice it! It’s better than throwing it away a week later after they rot in your fridge.
If you don't eat veggies at all and would consider drinking your veggies, this is an option to get more veggie nutrients into your body but remember you lose the benefits of eating the veggies raw like fiber and ruffage. But hey, drinking your veggies is better than no intake of veggies at all!
Cold-pressed juices have more nutrients & enzymes than regular pasteurized juices. And even though the fiber and ruffage is removed during its process, it allows for the easy digestion. This comes in handy for cleanses allowing your body to work less on breaking down the juice. (click on the link for some helpful FAQ from another juicing company)
Cons
Expensive to juice pounds of produce for a fraction of juice.
Purchasing from juiceries can be very expensive.
You do not extract all the great nutrients of the produce when you juice, a lot of the “good stuff” is discarded.
The taste of vegetables aren’t everyone’s favorite, an acquired taste to say the least, so may be very hard to chug down, but the more you juice the more you tolerate.
It takes time to shop, prep, juice and clean machine.
It expires in a few days, no preservatives that will extend the life of the juice.
Juices are often high in calorie count. Even though it’s juice not from concentrate, even though it’s fruits and vegetables, even though it’s fruit sugar with no added sugars or artificial sugars, it still has a lot of sugar and calories. It will rack up if you are drinking these fruity juices as flavored water or drinks daily.
Overall, I love fresh juices. If they weren't so expensive or cost so much money and time to make on your own, I would partake on the regular. But due to cost and time, it is a luxury or bought when a cold comes up or a cleanse is needed. Hope this helps you decide to give juicing a try when the time is right! One of my favorite spots to buy juices is Jugo Life as they come up with different flavors that I enjoy and it’s a local company here in Hawaii and they officially do not treat their juices with high pressure processing (HPP). If you get a chance, visit them! Another is Pressed Juicery located at Ala Moana Shopping Center because the juices are consistent, priced best, they do have deals regularly (look above in the purple, good all day but they will probably have another deal soon) and a rewards program (make sure to sign up on your first visit). It is a mainland company that ships their juices so with that comes downfalls, it wasn't made daily and two, they run out of juices often and you just have to wait for the juice to come in. The other question is, do they treat their juices with HPP? I am still trying to find the truth to that. Most research I find is that they say they don't but they do not release their process and it is confidential. Interesting. They do have an awesome green tea matcha latte with a vanilla almond milk and yummy freezes which are frozen juices that are similar to a frozen yogurt and toppings in a cup, minus the yogurt. Try it out when you want a healthy treat!
