This morning I was looking at Twitter and I saw a tweet that said that juicing really isn’t good for you and lead me to this article. I know many an IBD that swear to juicing so of course I had to take a look.
Of course like most click baits these days, the article wasn’t quite what was being described. It goes on to say that juicing as a form of detoxing the body doesn’t really work. Of course, this isn’t news to me because if you know anything about nutrition, fruits and vegetables while good for you, can actually be harmful in large quantities. There is the sugar contents and carbs. I very rarely touch any juice as it also doesn’t have as much vitamins or fiber then if you eat the actual fruit since most of the nutritional elements are in the skin and the skin a lot of times doesn’t make it into the juice.
The reason behind this post is because when I first saw the whole good or bad, I thought right away to all of my IBDers that juice and to them it is a life saver. Many people can’t tolerate or digest whole foods. Juicing is a big way for many of us with digestive issues to get our calories and vitamins. Of course, those needing this make their own juice and usually will have the skin as apposed to the commercial juices that don’t have them.
I actually got angry over the tweet because it should have been said differently. To just say it isn’t good is very misleading. The tweet didn’t mention detoxing. If it did, I would have ignored it. Instead, it was something just put on the surface which will somehow eventually be taken out of context. And then, this will lead to people thinking less of those of you that juice for your health. And also, if you look really fast at the article, which I just did, the first thing you see is Juicing is Officially Dead. Well, not for my IBDers, I can tell you that.
The one good thing that they do say in the article is this, and it comes at the very end,
“Juice still has its benefits. Juice squeezed from fresh fruits and vegetables is more nutritious than sugary, whipped-cream-topped Frappuccinos. It’s also a convenient way to consume healthy foods on-the-go: I wouldn’t gnaw on a carrot or a beet on my morning commute to work, but I’d certainly sip them through a straw.”
So how many of you juice? What has been your experience with it? Why do you juice and what is your favorite recipe? I would love to hear from you and hear about your experience.
One other big factor to consider, especially for diabetics or those watching their weight is sugar. Of course this applies more so to fruit than vegetables. For a diabetic, eating an apple may be fine but a glass of apple juice uses more than one apple. The sugar levels are going to be much higher. As you point out, it’s all relative- juicing is going to be better than soda, Frappucinos or other drinks with added sugar (don’t even get me started on artificial sweeteners.)
The bottom line still comes down that juice is nutritionally poorer than eating whole fruits and vegetables.
I juice with crohns when I’m well. Not in my current situation! I always go for banana based juices first and then build up to more kale and apple types .. I love ginger and apple so warm and good for you 🙂
Great blog from one crohnie to another ! X