The Truth about Juicing and Your Health

I started juicing occasionally last summer. I have a varied work schedule since I work two jobs and many times it is just too hot to cook in the summer (or too late by the time I get home). I throw in a bunch of veggies from my garden and some fruit and drink away. It keeps me from either skipping a meal or eating junk/fast food when things get hot - 5/6/2013 11:36:25 AM

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The point that was completely left out is that with a juicer my family is actually eating vegetables. before the juicer my kids ate NO veggies. Plus, they are getting more nutrients since we will juice more veggies. I totally disagree with the tome of this article. Since I stared juicing I have not gotten sick, and neither have my kids. My fridge is loaded with healthy fruits and veggies that would have remained untouched before I began juicing. - 4/24/2013 4:26:32 PM

A few points; first off, it's not just juicing, its getting off red meat and processed foods. 2nd, juicing is good because it allows you to get a lot of nutrients without eating mounds of fruits and vegetables every day and 3rd, if I waited for science to confirm what is healthy for me, I'd be dead. I went out and bought a juicer after watching "fat Sick And nearly Dead" and the results have been incredible. I juice during the day and eat a nutritious meal for dinner. It takes a few days for your body to adjust, but now I feel fine just juicing during the day, and I've lost 30 pounds in less than three months, but even better than that, my energy and mental sharpness has increased immensely. My sleep is better and I quite having all these headaches I've been having. For me juicing has worked, and it's so much more than just the weight. We have to get off the processed crap we are filling ourselves up with, it's not just calories, you may lose weight by reducing your calories, but you won't necessarily be healthier. Juicing is an easy way to fill your body with good nutrition and antioxidants. That said, when I do reach my goal weight, I may think about a different kind of juicer that saves a lot of the fiber, but I'm not changing a thing right now because it is working. - 4/23/2013 3:43:32 PM

I was hoping this article would be balanced - unfortunately it's not but so what else is new with sparkpeople these days? Same old retoric and millions of people all over the world are still struggling with lifestyle diseases and obesity. My husband and I saw the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and had a juicer attachment for our blender so we thought we'd give it a try. We juiced every morning supplementing our normally healthy flexitarian diets and found that there are immense benefits to juicing primarily a lot more energy and we both just felt better as a result of getting more vitamins into our diet. After test running daily juicing in the am for a week we had a vacation and found ourselves craving greens and veggies and as a result made healthier food choices. We both have nothing against veggies but CRAVING them? that just seemed like an awesome side benefit to us! After our long weekend without juice we came home and invested in a Breville juicer and juice daily and have been able to put in the best workouts ever with this energy and while he's at a healthy weight, he's been increasing muscle mass and I've lost 4 lbs in two weeks with nothing more than adding green juice to our morning regularly. Before this I had just been gaining and losing the same two lbs for the past month and the energy really helped me. - 4/23/2013 9:58:42 AM

As most people are, I'm really busy and eat dinner quite late. I used to include a salad with dinner but found it was pushing my calories up higher than I wanted. Now, I have a smoothie for breakfast that consists of lots of spinach, carrots, whatever fruit I have, and a small spoon of greek yogurt. It starts my day off right and at least now I'm getting my five servings of fruits and vegetables in. Not perfect but I feel better! - 4/23/2013 9:46:35 AM

I love my Vitamix and use it every morning for a green smoothie with blueberries or other fruit added. I have never felt better. I like that is retained. - 4/23/2013 9:23:58 AM

I use juicing in my meal plan, but limit it to basically one large (16oz) cup in the morning with a complete breakfast (toast, fruit, & egg, etc). I count the juice calories in my tracking, and have also ADDED FIBER to my tracking options to make sure I am not short changing myself there. I also have found that having a Bolthouse Juice product or Naked juice product on hand for a fast snack if I need to grab it gives me great energy to get through the afternoon to dinner. Treat it like a smoothy or energy bar - I highly nutritious burst of energy.

I think the biggest benefit (and it is mentioned above) is that I can squeeze beets, kale, spinach, celery, fennel, and carrots into a juice with a couple of apples and a lemon, and all I taste is the lemon/apple. So bonus on that for getting some more exotic veggies into my diet!

Thanks to Coach Becky for the extra information and comparisons, though ... I have been wondering what the pros and cons were! - 4/23/2013 8:00:25 AM

I don't have anything against juicing but, as with any type of weight loss plan people are considering, you should ask yourself the question, "can I live happily by juicing forever?" If you can honestly answer yes, carry on. If you have your doubts, try looking for a more inclusive program to follow. We're in this for the long haul, not a quick fix. - 4/23/2013 4:01:55 AM

There's another thing you should take into account when comparing juice to whole fruit, in terms of weight loss. When eating the 2-3 apples/carrots/or
anges (whatever you use to make one cup of juice) your brain registers the activity as eating, checks it off and you're done. Drinking one cup of juice is not the same as eating and the brain will tell you that at some point you have to actually EAT, it won't tell your body "sorry pal, you got all your nutrients, you're not hungry anymore". That doesn't make it easier on people trying to lose weight. You want to chose a diet option that doesn't work against your natural instincts: in this case, eat and not drink when you're hungry. Your brain won't automatically make the difference between a glass of water and a glass of OJ, you have to consciously ask your brain to tell your body to stop feeling hungry because you drank your calories already. To me, that's counterproductive
.
Before juicing your breakfast try cutting the fruits/vegetables into small pieces, arrange them nicely on a plate and note the visual impact. You'll feel like you're eating a huge breakfast and that's a lot easier to handle, for a lot of people on a diet. - 4/23/2013 3:40:07 AM

My hubby and I watched Fat sick and nearly dead almost 2 years ago. We started juicing using the blender and thought we could really get into it and bought a juicer few next days. We only juiced for breakfast. In 3 months we each lost 30 lbs and have kept it off by drinking one for breakfast each day. Once in awhile we have a smoothie cuz we extra bananas, melon,mango etc. Maybe 1 time a month we have an egg,waffle or pancake breakfast. I had been frustrated about eating gluten free and gaining weight when we started juicing and I was so glad there was one meal a day I didn't have to worry about. We haven't bought cereal, frozen waffles or much bread in over 18 months! Another great thing is getting in the servings of fruits and veggies each day. I have also tried three new veggies thanks to juicing kale,fennel and parsnips. Now I cook with them too! - 4/23/2013 2:05:22 AM

"First, it's important to remember that no single food causes obesity, and the inclusion or exclusion of any single food or food group will not cause weight loss" Im sorry but I laughed when I read that. When you eat fruits and veggies juiced; blended; or whole your going to lose weight no matter what. If you eat burgers or greasy food your going to gain weight. Ive started my diet and I am on day 5 and Ive lost 9 lbs by blending my whole fruit in the blender and i have so much more energy! - 2/20/2013 6:15:12 PM

A product made of all fruits and vegetables is so much safer than soda, junk food, sugar, processed toxic food with antibiotics, steroids, preservatives and chemical. Basically I really love it minus the cost . Do what makes you happy :) I havent heard of anyone dying from too much juice yet. - 2/19/2013 4:45:32 PM

Wow, these are inspirational stories... I own a juicer too. I only juice once in a while and make recipes with the pulp. I like the ice cube idea with the juice for future smoothies... - 2/18/2013 2:12:19 AM

Wow, these are inspirational stories... I own a juicer too. I only juice once in a while and make recipes with the pulp. I like the ice cube idea with the juice for future smoothies... - 2/18/2013 2:12:19 AM

I had chronic hip pain, with no known cause, which was tentatively diagnosed as bursitis. Thought juicing was a bunch of hooey. Then I saw "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", and decided to give it a try. I got a Breville juicer (expensive, but worth it), and made up recipes of almost every freggie that listed anti-inflammatory or tissue repair as one of their benefits. Then, a vegan I know told me that if I didn't like the taste (which I really don't), if you throw the juice with a bananna in a blender, all you taste is the bananna. Well, since I had my blender out, I also threw in an avacado (anti inflammatory, healthy fat, and too dense to juice well). That juice got me walking, and kept me walking, WITHOUT PAIN. A friend visited me who is very overweight, has significant joint pain, and takes a vitamin regimen to help with it. She tried my juice. The few days she stayed with me, she didn't take her vitamins and drank my juice instead because it worked better. Finally docs discovered the source of my pain and fixed it, so stopped juicing, but considering it again--my husband misses it. - 2/17/2013 4:14:15 AM