juicing: yay or nay?

katcunock

So, my partner bought me a juicer.

I don't like to think of doing a purely juice fast, because i've read lots of horror stories about gaining all the weight back, unhealthy defecits, yada yada. I also don't want to lose muscle mass.

So, my thoughts so far are maybe juice and protein at every meal? For example, a juice with a steak. What do people think? have you done a juice fast? Did it help you?

For info: I mostly do body strength exercise, I work 5/6 days a week on my feet for ten hours a day being a chef. I'm 5'4 and around 240lbs. I have lost 62 lbs in the past but gained much back after a long term illness.

katcunock

bump

laurenz2501

Bump. Curious about this also

katcunock

Bump. Curious about this also

thank you

Unknown

This content has been removed.

katcunock

Nay. I prefer chewing my food.

i like that too!

AmigosRanger

If you want to lose a ton of weight fast, yes, it works. But you're practically starving yourself. I did it for 3 days and I felt great and lost 6 pounds, but after I was super hungry and irritable and ate a ton to make up for it.
I don't know what the research is on it, but short term for me it was a nice confidence booster, but it probably did more harm than good in the long run

katcunock

If you want to lose a ton of weight fast, yes, it works. But you're practically starving yourself. I did it for 3 days and I felt great and lost 6 pounds, but after I was super hungry and irritable and ate a ton to make up for it.
I don't know what the research is on it, but short term for me it was a nice confidence booster, but it probably did more harm than good in the long run

what makes you think it did harm?

MichelleLaree13

I do think lots of fruit and veggies are good for everyone. Raw has more nutrients, regardless of whether you eat it or juice it. The only thing about juice is the fiber has been removed. I have seen newer versions of juicing that is done in the blender to keep the fiber. I personally like frozen leafy greens and frozen fruit blended with coconut water. It is kind of like a shake. I eat regular food too

MichelleLaree13

People advocate that juicing is great because they would never eat that much raw fruit and veggies with out it

darrensurrey

For example, a juice with a steak.

What, like grind it up with the apples and beetroot?

neandermagnon

consuming nothing but juice is a bad idea. humans over the age of 6-9 months need solid food. any diet that involves too big a calorie deficit is likely to be counterproductive and hard to maintain long term, especially for people who don't have that much weight to lose

juicing to supplement an otherwise balanced diet is a good way to get micronutrients, but eating fresh whole fruits and veggies gives you a lot more fibre. And there's no benefit in getting more micronutrients than you actually need, so if your number 1 reason for juicing is health and good nutrition, you'd do better eating fresh whole fruits and veggies.

drinking juices because you like the taste is cool though, so long as you're getting fibre from other sources.

MichelleLaree13

For example, a juice with a steak.

What, like grind it up with the apples and beetroot?

:laugh: don't do that :noway:

neandermagnon

I do think lots of fruit and veggies are good for everyone. Raw has more nutrients, regardless of whether you eat it or juice it. The only thing about juice is the fiber has been removed. I have seen newer versions of juicing that is done in the blender to keep the fiber. I personally like frozen leafy greens and frozen fruit blended with coconut water. It is kind of like a shake. I eat regular food too

not always, some nutrients are more bioavailable after the foods been cooked - that means your body can absorb it more easily.

neandermagnon

People advocate that juicing is great because they would never eat that much raw fruit and veggies with out it

one of the reasons people need to eat more veggies is because of the fibre - juicing removes most of the fibre. If someone prefers to drink their fruits and veggies and doesn't like to eat them whole, then smoothies would be better, as the whole fruit or vegetable stays in the smoothie, so you get the fibre too.

cosmichvoyager

juicer can be great for making stuff to cook with, like ginger juice for stir frying or salad dressings.
My friend recently juiced fresh corn and then reduced the juice by cooking in a saucepan on low heat and made amazing pasta sauce with it.

Too much fruit juice can be high in calories even if you juice it yourself.

nicolemtracy

Well i juiced for a while. I put a ham and a Krispy Kreme donut in and let me tell you, if you're drinking ham juice and your arm goes numb wait an hour. I'm not a doctor, but just saying...

kdeaux1959

Nothing wrong with making a little juice every now and then. I would not recommend it as an alternative to healthy eating.

darrensurrey

For example, a juice with a steak.

What, like grind it up with the apples and beetroot?

:laugh: don't do that :noway:

Suddenly, I'm having a deja vu moment. Chicken smoothie, anyone?

MichelleLaree13

I do think lots of fruit and veggies are good for everyone. Raw has more nutrients, regardless of whether you eat it or juice it. The only thing about juice is the fiber has been removed. I have seen newer versions of juicing that is done in the blender to keep the fiber. I personally like frozen leafy greens and frozen fruit blended with coconut water. It is kind of like a shake. I eat regular food too

not always, some nutrients are more bioavailable after the foods been cooked - that means your body can absorb it more easily.

What fruit and veggies have more nutrients after being cooked? I have always heard the more you cook a fruit or vegetable the less nutrients it has.

thebigcb

It really depends on what you decide too juice.

MichelleLaree13

People advocate that juicing is great because they would never eat that much raw fruit and veggies with out it

one of the reasons people need to eat more veggies is because of the fibre - juicing removes most of the fibre. If someone prefers to drink their fruits and veggies and doesn't like to eat them whole, then smoothies would be better, as the whole fruit or vegetable stays in the smoothie, so you get the fibre too.

FYI, I did mention the fiber thing in the post immediately above this one

tycho_mx

I have a juicer, I love my juicer. My favourite are beets - great source of NOX, proven to increase aerobic performance in recent studies. My wife hates the flavour, though.

So I juice beets, carrots, apples, ginger, kale, cucumber, etc. Sometimes mixed with other juices for flavour, or made into a soup (rarely). And yes, you lose the fiber with some juicers (mine certainly filters them out), but that's not always a bad thing. Easier to do a hard workout with no fiber bulk.



I don't believe in detoxing fads, so I can't help you there. My body has a liver and kidneys, they seem to do a good job. Heck, take enough beet juice and you'll "pee the rainbow" , if you get my drift.

superhamdi

Cleansing/fasting: meh/nay. I did it for 3 days once, lost a few pounds that I gained back and felt crappy along the way. Short term solution.

IMO, juicing is good for a few things:

1a) Meal replacement: If you want an easy, healthy, quick lunch that you don't have to think about or plan (cut veggies at night, juice in the a.m. and take to work!) In light of your profession, perhaps not relevant for you. I wouldn't replace more than 1 daily meal because...food.
2) Supplement: Have a juice 15 min before a meal, eat less.
3) Good way to get fresh veggies in when you otherwise wouldn't.

Just be sure not to use too much fruit. I usually limit to 1 piece of fruit + 1/2 lemon in my recipes.

BrianSharpe

People advocate that juicing is great because they would never eat that much raw fruit and veggies with out it

And there is probably en element of truth to that........I could see someone using juice to supplement their intake but my personal preference is still real food from both an aesthetic point-of-view (chewing and enjoying the textures and flavours) and getting all the nutrients (including fibre)

tycho_mx

I do think lots of fruit and veggies are good for everyone. Raw has more nutrients, regardless of whether you eat it or juice it. The only thing about juice is the fiber has been removed. I have seen newer versions of juicing that is done in the blender to keep the fiber. I personally like frozen leafy greens and frozen fruit blended with coconut water. It is kind of like a shake. I eat regular food too

not always, some nutrients are more bioavailable after the foods been cooked - that means your body can absorb it more easily.

What fruit and veggies have more nutrients after being cooked? I have always heard the more you cook a fruit or vegetable the less nutrients it has.

Vitamin D. Doesn't need to be cooked, but needs some oil to facilitate absorption. One of the issues with cooking is that people then dump the liquid that has some of the nutrients dissolved in it. Make a soup stock with that

Other nutrients that are made more bioavailable by cooking: carotenoids, like the orange and red pigments in peppers and carrots. Of course, some other nutrients are also thermolabile and get destroyed by cooking. So as usual, balance.

tycho_mx

People advocate that juicing is great because they would never eat that much raw fruit and veggies with out it

And there is probably en element of truth to that........I could see someone using juice to supplement their intake but my personal preference is still real food from both an aesthetic point-of-view (chewing and enjoying the textures and flavours) and getting all the nutrients (including fibre)

And if you think about it, nutritionally probably is better to have some V8 equivalent than another can of coke...

mustgetmuscles1

If you are using it to get in some extra veggies that you might not eat normally then it is fine but there is nothing magical or extra healthy from grinding it up in machine. It also removes a lot of the beneficial part of the food so make sure you are actually getting the nutrients that you think you are.

katcunock

Cleansing/fasting: meh/nay. I did it for 3 days once, lost a few pounds that I gained back and felt crappy along the way. Short term solution.

IMO, juicing is good for a few things:

1a) Meal replacement: If you want an easy, healthy, quick lunch that you don't have to think about or plan (cut veggies at night, juice in the a.m. and take to work!) In light of your profession, perhaps not relevant for you. I wouldn't replace more than 1 daily meal because...food.
2) Supplement: Have a juice 15 min before a meal, eat less.
3) Good way to get fresh veggies in when you otherwise wouldn't.

Just be sure not to use too much fruit. I usually limit to 1 piece of fruit + 1/2 lemon in my recipes.

i actually think in my profession, since i only get 15 mins break a day and that's not enough time for me to eat a decent meal, juicing would be really good for taking to work / having a quick breakfast or no effort dinner after a shift.

Can you make a juice the night before and drink it the next day?

neandermagnon

I do think lots of fruit and veggies are good for everyone. Raw has more nutrients, regardless of whether you eat it or juice it. The only thing about juice is the fiber has been removed. I have seen newer versions of juicing that is done in the blender to keep the fiber. I personally like frozen leafy greens and frozen fruit blended with coconut water. It is kind of like a shake. I eat regular food too

not always, some nutrients are more bioavailable after the foods been cooked - that means your body can absorb it more easily.

What fruit and veggies have more nutrients after being cooked? I have always heard the more you cook a fruit or vegetable the less nutrients it has.

tomatoes, can't remember the compound in it, but it's one of the anti-cancer ones. I don't know any more off the top of my head.

it's not that it has more nutrients, it's that the body can absorb the nutrients better. cooking doesn't add nutrients. and overcooking will destroy some of the nutrients, so it's a happy medium thing. I eat both raw and cooked tomatoes, to get the best of both worlds (in terms of both taste and nutrition)

ETA: thanks to the poster above for answering the question better than me - I did think of carrots in relation to this question but couldn't be sure that I'd remembered it right.

jkwolly

Cleansing/fasting: meh/nay. I did it for 3 days once, lost a few pounds that I gained back and felt crappy along the way. Short term solution.

IMO, juicing is good for a few things:

1a) Meal replacement: If you want an easy, healthy, quick lunch that you don't have to think about or plan (cut veggies at night, juice in the a.m. and take to work!) In light of your profession, perhaps not relevant for you. I wouldn't replace more than 1 daily meal because...food.
2) Supplement: Have a juice 15 min before a meal, eat less.
3) Good way to get fresh veggies in when you otherwise wouldn't.

Just be sure not to use too much fruit. I usually limit to 1 piece of fruit + 1/2 lemon in my recipes.

Why not too much fruit?