Juicing Nutrient Limitations!

Vibrant green juices are all the rage with many health conscience individuals striving to maximise on healthy lifestyle habits. As with most new trends, many individuals tend to become a little obsessed with their new found health boosting regime and unknowingly become distracted from the core principles relating to embracing healthy habits. It is very easy to become consumed with the green juicing infatuation as the internet displays mass reports, usually from unqualified sources, of the huge health benefits in regularly consuming this convenient health boosting beverage. It is my intention to highlight the importance of moderation when considering an overindulgence of certain dietary choices, and to ensure individuals are aware of the detrimental health consequences if overindulging occurs.

We will begin with the broad leaf vegetables that are responsible for providing that vibrant green colour that seems to scream out ‘good health’. Broad leaf green vegetables such as kale, spinach, and numerous other varieties are heavily sprayed with chemical fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides that have been exhaustively proven to induce cancer and other degenerative diseases. The whole purpose in consuming these health boosting beverages is to capitalise on the provided nutrition in an attempt to prevent degenerative diseases and alkalise the body, so common sense dictates that juicing chemically sprayed vegetables kind of defeats the purpose. It is strongly advisable to seek out organic or chemical free vegetables for the purpose of juicing at home. These days, organic or chemical free labels may not be as truthful as you may think so when in doubt, soak your vegetables in water and apple cider vinegar for at least twenty minutes to reduce any chemical residue.

Kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy, and collards all belong to the brassica family, and are known as cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables are widely known to be an extremely rich source of soluble fibre, vitamins, phytonutrients, and selenium which are all protective agents against cancer and cardiovascular disease. But cruciferous vegetables such as kale are also known as goitrogens, meaning that they suppress the function of the thyroid gland by interfering with iodine absorption thereby potentially encouraging goitre formation. Goitre formation is associated with underactive thyroid disease or overactive thyroid disease and in turn will unleash a plethora of detrimental health issues. These unhealthy consequences are caused by ingesting too much of the raw cruciferous vegetables that contain the enzyme that interferes with the formation of thyroid hormones.

The health benefits of consuming cruciferous vegetables does out weigh the negatives, but it is crucial that individuals understand that loading up on too much raw cruciferous vegetables, and in particular kale, can actually be doing more harm than good. Correct nutrition is all about balance, it is recommended to lightly cook or steam all cruciferous vegetables to reduce the goitrogen content. It is also advisable to increase your intake of iodine rich food types such as sea vegetables or seaweed to increase the iodine availability within the body. Individuals suffering underactive thyroid issues will discover that consuming too much raw cruciferous vegetables is detrimental to their health. Cruciferous vegetables also contain very high levels of oxalic acid which may intensify the symptoms for individuals suffering irritable bowel syndrome.

Juicing our fruit is such a novelty and convenient way to avail our body with all those vitamins, minerals and disease preventing phytonutrients, but fruit is also a rich source of the natural sugar called fructose. The purpose of consuming fruit is to eat it whole, by juicing fruit the all important fibre is broken down so much that it is rendered useless and all that remains is nutrient rich pure fructose, now this is when consuming fruit becomes fattening. When considering how many pieces of fruit are used in some juicing recipes, it may concern you to find out that you are probably consuming as much sugar as found in most bottles of soda. If you are still content to enjoy your morning juice regime it is recommended to only use fresh grapefruit and fresh lemons as these are very low in fructose and very high in alkalising benefits. At first you may prefer to tame down the bitterness of the grapefruit and lemons with half a green apple, but as you become used to consuming less sugar in your diet, you should not require any extras.

Consuming your favourite green juices or freshly juiced fruits is a convenient way to provide your body with the much required nutrients that you would probably not source from your regular diet. The intention here is to make you aware that juicing should be considered as a supplement to a healthy balanced diet. Many individuals are convinced that having their green juice each day compensates for poor eating habits. The above few paragraphs have explained that juicing alone can actually cause more harm than good, but if juicing is considered as a supplement to a healthy balanced diet then we will all notice the health boosting potential of consuming these juices. It is worth noting that a temporary arrangement of consuming juices alone is acceptable in the circumstance of indulging in a body detoxification diet plan.

In the interest of gaining maximum benefits from your juicing efforts, it is imperative to consume your juice immediately as the delicate enzymes will deteriorate when exposed to oxygen. So you see by juicing your fruit and vegetables you are effectively putting a time limit on the availability of nutritional benefits. Many health conscience individuals recommend consuming freshly juiced fruit or vegetables first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and before eating to maximise the absorption of nutrients. But personally I am not very comfortable with filling my system with such a high dose of sugar first thing in the morning and choose to include my juice as part of a healthy breakfast. The key to gaining maximum benefits from juicing your nutrients is to rotate your source of green vegetables or fruit, and treat your juice intake as a supplement to a healthy balanced diet, and not as a meal in itself.