Stephanie Organ

The Benefits of Juicing Fruit and Vegetables Juicing is a healthy and exciting way to get some extra nutrients into your diet and cleanse your body, especially if you usually struggle to hit your five a day. Using a juicer is incredibly simple and it can provide you with excellent, nutritious, home made juice in minutes. There are plenty of health benefits to be reaped from a juicing detox, such as weight loss, clearer skin, and it can even reduce the effects of ageing! Will you be persuaded to give it a go? First of all, juicing is considered a better option than smoothie making because more nutrients are retained in juices than in smoothies. This is because blenders introduce a lot of bubbles (therefore oxygen) into the smoothie in the blending process which causes oxidation — this results in loss of nutrients such as enzymes and vitamins. The other difference between juices and smoothies is that juices have the pulp and fibres removed. Of course fibres are good for your digestive system, but there are cases where the removal of such can be beneficial. Without all the pulp, your body can absorb the nutrients much more efficiently. This also means you can take in a lot more nutrients at one time. A juice detox is probably the best and most fun way to get yourself started on a diet. Embarking on a juicing cleanse may mean consuming nothing but juice for at least 3 days. This is only possible because so much nutrients are packed into one cup, that you don’t need to consume anything else, and you can give your digestive system a rest and time to repair itself. Juicing can help set you up for the rest of your diet because it gets you out of the habit of snacking and into the right mentally for controlling your food consumption, as well as rehydrating the body and ensuring the sufficient consumption of liquids. Not only does the cleanse rest your stomach and gut, but it gives your liver a break, which is usually working so hard on a daily basis to remove toxins from our systems. This has a double effect when you use ingredients such as beetroot which contain antioxidants and have detoxifying properties that are good for the liver and can fight cancer, too. Juicing allows us to intake everything our bodies need without putting pressure on our digestive organs, allowing them to set things straight. When our bodies are working in this way, it allows us to lose weight, an often desirable effect of detoxing. It is important to note that most of these benefits will only take effect when using organic ingredients! The point of detoxing through juicing is to remove toxins from your system. By not using organic produce, you end up putting toxins such as pesticides straight into your system, defeating the point. You should also be careful to use a high vegetable to fruit ratio, as too much fructose (the sugar in fruit) can overload the liver. Using the right ingredients, such as ginger, carrots and other roots, can result in boosted energy and boosted immune system. Finally, juicing gives you the opportunity to be creative with your meals, but without too much pressure of meal choice. There are thousands of recipes you can follow, or you can just ty mixing it up in whichever way you like! Which would you choose?