Fruits are a healthy addictive taste perfect for the summer and beyond. Juicing them into refreshing beverages is an easy way to get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals in one glass. Gone are the days when only dieters drank juice - it's now a simple, low-calorie way to bring antioxidant-rich nutrients into your life with just one gulp.
According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, you should get most of your fruits and vegetables from a variety of different fruits and vegetables. For beginners, choose one fruit per day that you can eat without cutting up or peeling (e.g., an apple) and drink as juice each day for maximum effect. You can even experiment with new varieties of fruits from the supermarkets each week to find out which ones you like best.
The nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables vary. There are antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin A, which can help support a healthy immune system and good vision. Fruits also contain fiber, which helps you feel full between meals. They are rich in minerals such as potassium and magnesium that help to keep nerve and muscle function. Dark-colored fruits contain more nutrients than white ones, so it's best to eat more red or purple ones daily. And be sure to eat all stages of fruit from the vine (e.g. a grapefruit) to the ripened fruit (e.g. a pineapple).
It's best to consume fruits alone because the high-fiber content can impede digestion if eaten with other foods. However, if you must eat them with other foods, wait at least 30 minutes after eating fruits to eat other foods again, otherwise digestion will be impaired and you will feel hungry sooner. Go ahead and enjoy fruits in your favorite juices and smoothies.
A well-stocked kitchen with these healthy foods can help you not only to save time, but also to ensure that you are eating a variety of different foods in your diet.
Juicing is one of the best ways to get lots of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants into your diet because most people simply don't eat as many fruits or vegetables as they should. Juices also are absorbed by the body more quickly than whole fruits and vegetables. So that's another reason why juicing is such a great way to start getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
There is no doubt that most juices, smoothies and smoothie mixes are packed with nutrients, but the question remains – how healthy are they?
There is no doubt that juicing can be a very beneficial way of consuming fruit but there are also dangers in juicing. It all depends on what you put into the blender. Some of the most common issues include:
Juicing removes the fiber from fruits and vegetables, so you don't get all of the nutrients present in the original food. Many people consume additional fruit sugars by drinking juices that they would normally not eat. Juice can also be high in oxalates, which are naturally occurring substances in plants and these may bind with calcium causing a lack of calcium absorption and possibly contributing to osteoporosis. Some people are unable to process the high amounts of sugars that juices can contain and this can lead to conditions like obesity and diabetes. Juice is often consumed in large amounts. It's easy to drink a whole pint or quart at a time if you're not used to eating whole fruits and vegetables. Juices also have very little in the way of protein, which is essential for your body's normal functioning, so drinking too much juice can lead to deficiencies. Juicing can also be an extensive way to consume the sugar alcohols found in juices, like sorbitol and mannitol. These substances are not considered to be harmful or even a problem in much larger amounts but they can contribute to insulin resistance and fatty liver disease.
There is also a risk of consuming too much salt and other unhealthy ingredients such as nitrates from vegetables that are often added to juices that are being pre-made at the store.
For the most part, however, juicing is a great way to add much-needed nutrients into your diet. It's important for you to start slowly by adding one or two fruits at a time and then gradually try more and more. The most important thing is to make sure that the fruits and vegetables that you use are actually edible – no chemicals or pesticides should be used! Be sure to find out as much as possible about the ingredients used in the juices you are drinking so that you can make sure they are truly from natural sources.
Another way to get the same great benefits with a more healthful approach is to make your own juice. Some of the benefits of homemade juices include:
Homemade juices are much better for you than store-bought because it's far less likely that you'll be getting all of the ingredients from artificial sources, like additives and preservatives. While store-bought juices will usually have a recipe on the container, they may also be higher in sugar or other ingredients that you don't want in your juice. It's important that you have complete control over the ingredients you use so you know exactly what you are putting in your body. Homemade juices can be more affordable than store-bought. If you already have a few pieces of fruit lying around, it's easy to put together a juice that will save you money and is still healthier than store-bought juices.
If you are looking for a way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet, juicing can be a great way to do that, but only if you take the time to do it right. There's no doubt that juices are better for you than juices from the store since they are less processed and can have more healthy ingredients added to them (like wheatgrass or kale), but it is important not to drink your calories. Fruits also contain fructose which your body metabolizes differently than other sugars. If you're consuming lots of fruit juices, it's best to avoid other foods that contain refined sugar as this can lead to the same problems as drinking too much pure juice.
Juicing and smoothies are very popular these days, but are they truly living up to their potential? Let's take a look at what you should be getting out of a good, healthy juice or smoothie.
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