Jan. 16, 2012

2 comments

Ask Trainers: What is your opinion on juicing and is it healthy to do as a cleanse?

So I thought of another question…well a series of related questions actually. Juicing…and I dont mean steroids icon smile Ask Trainers: What is your opinion on juicing and is it healthy to do as a cleanse? What is your take on it? Is it healthy to do as a cleanse? Is it healthy to drink once a day as a supplement? I just got a juicer for Christmas and Im excited to try it.

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Posted in Fitness by talltrainer | 2 Comments

 

2 Comments "Ask Trainers: What is your opinion on juicing and is it healthy to do as a cleanse?"

  • Bo says:
    January 18, 2012 at 12:11 am
    Reply

    Trainer Bo Knows:

    Juicing can be an excellent diet addition if done correctly:

    The idea behind juicing is basically to try and concentrate the vitamins and nutrients in a plant in a liquid form to make eating fruits and veggies easy. Anyone can easily down a glass of juice that might be composed of 6-8 carrots, but to sit down and eat 6-8 carrots would be tough. The one thing juicing enthusiast often neglect to mention, however, is that juicing not only concentrates the vitamins and minerals, it also concentrates the sugar and calories. This means that you can quickly down a lot of calories all at once and not even feel like you’ve eaten a thing. Furthermore, the fiber that is naturally found in fruits and vegetables serve as a great benefit to our health–juicing removes it. Fiber not only helps with regularity, it also slows down the release of sugars into our blood. This is why most fruits and veggies have a low glycemic response in our blood. Removing the fiber causes our blood sugar to spike. In fact, one glass of carrot juice may raise blood sugar higher than a bowl of ice cream. This doesn’t mean that juicing is bad, per say, but it does mean we should always at least mix some fiber back into our juice to moderate the glycemic response. You could use a fiber supplement like psyllium or just use fiber that is separated in your juicer. Another thing to add to your juice that will moderate the glycemic response is fat. Add healthy fats with your juicing “meal” like flax seed oil, fish oil, avocado, or some raw nuts. Try to stick more with veggies and less fruit. Green foods like spinach, kale, parsley, and Swiss chard are great. Even better than juicing would be whole food fruit and veggie smoothies!

  • talltrainer says:
    January 23, 2012 at 8:31 pm
    Reply

    From the desk of the Tall Trainer:

    I’m going to leave the juicing response mostly to Bo. He is our Juicing and smoothy expert.

    My quick take on it:

    I think juicing can be beneficial for some of us. Especially those who won’t eat those foods otherwise. Juice will be better than none at all. Pay attention to Bo’s points about sugar and fiber.

    I think Jack Lalanne was a smart fellow and lead a good example. He exercised 2 hours everyday and juiced as well as ate lean proteins and fruits and vegetables. He lived to 94 I believe.

    Not bad.

    I would juice if I had one. It’s yummy. But I would also eat well too.

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