Juicing isn’t healthier than eating whole fruits and vegetables

By Shyla Cadogan, RD

Today, you hear a lot about the health benefits of juicing in the media, but it really isn’t all that special. If you compare not eating any fruits or vegetables at all to consuming them in a juiced form, it’s obviously better for your health. However, if you compare juicing to eating whole foods, the nutritional difference might shock you.

Have you ever heard that whole grains are better for you than white grains like those found in white bread or refined crackers? A similar principle applies to the idea of eating fruits and veggies whole versus juicing them. Juicing strips away a lot from produce, similar to the refinement that processed grains undergo to make them turn white.

One of the most important reasons to eat fruits and vegetables is their fiber content, which is what disappears during juicing. Much of the “waste” from juicing is perfectly edible and healthy fiber. Fiber helps to promote optimal gastrointestinal health and also keeps you full by promoting blood sugar stability.

Once you finish juicing, you’re really just left behind with the fruit or vegetable’s sugars, water, and a few vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. You’d still get all of these things by eating the fruit whole but with the fiber intact.

Fruit sugar isn’t bad, but it comes with fiber for a reason. Juicing all of the fiber out means your blood sugar is more likely to become unstable from the drink, meaning you’ll be much less satisfied overall.

Think about it: don’t you feel fuller and more satisfied overall when you eat an apple compared to when you drink apple juice?

Some people also opt for juicing because they think it’ll be the key to weight loss. There’s no doubt that it’s been promoted that way by the wellness industry, but the claim itself doesn’t really hold up. To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. As we examined before, fiber is removed during the juicing process, but it’s key to helping you stay full and reduce the chances of overeating. Additionally, you have to use more produce to get enough juice, meaning more often than not, juices will have more calories than a serving of whole food. Let’s look at an example of these differences:

• One cup of orange juice has over 100 calories, no fiber, and close to 25 grams of sugar.
• One medium orange has around 60 calories, 3 grams of fiber, and around 15 grams of carbs.
• The potassium content is also higher in whole fruit than in juiced fruit.

Bottom Line

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with juicing. It can be a fun way to get some extra fruits and veggies into your diet. However, if you are doing it because you think it’s the best way to go about improving your health, that isn’t true. If you’re looking for an alternative to eating whole foods, try blending them into a smoothie instead. This way, you aren’t tossing out valuable nutrients.

Source: Study Finds

Shyla Cadogan is a DMV-Based acute care Registered Dietitian. She holds specialized interests in integrative nutrition and communicating nutrition concepts in a nuanced, approachable way.

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