Juicing: A Nutrient Insurance Plan

Juicing has a variety of benefits, but they are not what many of the claims are.

There are a number of misconceptions about juicing, which ultimately lead many people to believe (falsely) that it is a useless endeavor. Nothing could be further from the truth, but it might be helpful to distinguish facts from some of the fictions out there.

Juicing/juice fasts are good weight loss strategies.

Going on a juice fast might temporarily make it seem like you are losing weight, but as soon as you cease the juice fast, most of the weight you thought you lost will likely come back. Juicing, exclusively, will not eliminate body fat.

Doing a juice fast is the only way to detox.

Juicing can provide an array of phytonutrients that can assist in sweeping out some unwanted contaminants from the body. Chlorophyl and cilantro, for example, are good chelators of heavy metals, like mercury.

Juicing, however, is one strategy used to accomplish this, and you do not necessarily have to consume juice exclusively to achieve the desired results. Some people may choose to do this, which is fine––assuming you are in good health and otherwise have clearance from your licensed healthcare professional to do this. It is not necessary though, either for detoxification purposes or to derive the benefits from juicing.

Juicing any fruits and vegetables is ok.

Juicing removes the fiber and pulp from fruits and vegetables, concentrating the nutrients. In addition, it also concentrates the sugar content of whatever is being juiced. Particularly, on The Kaufmann Diet, being mindful of what vegetables––and particularly, fruits––go through your juicer is important.

Also, certain fruits and vegetables should not be juiced, such as avocados, bananas––these will likely do more to gum up your juicer rather than yield any juice.

What Is juicing good for, then?

Juicing is a powerful way to concentrate phytonutrients into an absorbable package that is easy to consume and digest. There is likely no other way to get so many fresh, plant-derived nutrients in such a small package.

Nutrients derived from plants, of course, are likely the best, most absorbable forms of nutrients that our body needs. There are a variety of ways to synthetically derive nutrients, but often our body simply does not react in the same way as when we acquire nutrients from food.

Juicing remains one of the best ways to get plant-based nutrients in a fresh, raw, absorbable way.

Water-soluble Vs. fat soluble.

Many nutrients in fresh juice are absorbable in the presence of water while they are being digested. Others require some sort of fat in order to be properly absorbed. An example is vitamin A. When you drink fresh juice, it might be beneficial to drink the juice with some sort of healthy fat, such a spoonful of olive oil, a slice of avocado, or a bit of almond butter. This will ensure that you absorb as many nutrients as possible.