Should You Juice for Weight Loss?

By : Jodie Shield | 1 Comment | On : January 11, 2017 | Category : Adults, Kids, Seniors, Teens

Uncover the truths about juicing’s effects on losing weight.

Guest Post by: Gabriella Thompson, Dominican University Nutrition Student

Is juicing the answer to your weight loss prayers? Will it help remove your extra holiday pounds and detox your body? Juicing and juice cleanses are a fresh, popular health trend that has captured the attention of many people looking to shed a few pounds for the New Year. The truth: there is no scientific evidence supporting juicing and juice cleanses for weight loss. However, if your goal is to achieve an overall healthier lifestyle, juicing can help you reach your daily fruit and veggie quota. Let’s extract the ways juicing can help you splash in to the New Year feeling happier and healthier.

What’s In Your Juice?

As a whole, consuming more fruits and vegetables is healthy. However, blending too many fruits in your juices boosts the natural sugar content, which may be counterintuitive in your weight loss journey. Stick to ½ -1 cup of fresh fruits and concentrate on adding more vegetables (check out five vegetables everybody will eat). This will trim excess sugars and calories and decrease the risk for a blood sugar spike. Also, when buying juices, remember there are two main categories: fruit juices and juice drinks. According to food labeling laws, fruit juices must contain 100% natural fruit juice; juice drinks contain less than 100% fruit juice and typically have a variety of additional ingredients.

Full but Not for Long

When you “juice” your fruits and veggies, the results may not be as appealing. Juicing removes the pulp and peels, which contain fiber. With the loss of fiber in your juice, it may cause you to feel hungrier quicker and overall feel less full. Not feeling full can lead to more snacking and larger portions, which can spoil your chances of losing weight. To increase satiety and reduce hunger pangs, consider both blending or adding back fiber and protein to your juice. Nuts, flax seeds, and hemp seeds are all excellent sources of fiber and protein.

Leave Detoxing to your Liver

Your liver is uniquely designed to breakdown toxins and remove them from your body. Juice cleanses are not required for removing toxins, but eating more fruits and vegetables will benefit and support liver health.

Bottoms Up

After squeezing out the raw facts about juicing and juice cleanses, if your goal is to lose weight, there’s no proof that juicing is superior to eating your fruits and vegetables whole. If you choose to juice remember to:

• Concentrate on adding more vegetables than fruit.
• Limit the fruit to ½-1 cup
• Add nuts or flax seeds to help you feel full longer.
• Read juice labels carefully to determine the sugar content.

For delicious juice recipes download Jodie Shield’s FREE app Eat Healthy Homemade Meals available from iTunes or Google Play.