Squeeze out those nutrients with the Juicing Trend

By Glynn Guerra |Staff Writer|

“It took me almost four hours to prepare for one day’s worth of juices,” said student Sara Nydam.

Not only was it a huge waste of time, but it made Nydam sick with a fever and she even reported having body shakes.

Yet, juicing has progressively become more trendy.

The health craze has pushed people to try every avenue possible to get healthier.

Juicing has become a popular choice to jump start people’s healthy lifestyle.

Skeptics wonder if it is truly beneficial to your health and if it is worth jumping on the juicing bandwagon.

People have taken different approaches to the trend.

You can use a juicer, which essentially squeezes and pushes out the juice, or you can use a juicing blender that purees the fruits and vegetables into a liquid, or smoothie.

According to an article on foodmatters.tv, juices are extracted by the use of some of the more affordable juicers.

This can result in the loss of vitamins and minerals that are found in the skins of fruits and vegetables.

The more you’re willing to spend, the more capable the juicer is of breaking down the nutrient-enriched parts of the fruit or vegetable.

More importantly, juicers remove most of the indigestible fiber.

As a result your body absorbs the juice more rapidly and decreases the body’s natural job of breaking down and digesting the food you intake.

A juicing blender, on the other hand, allows for no loss of any nutrients from the fruits and veggies, including the fiber.

According to foodmatters.tv, blenders do break down the fiber which make it easier to digest, but still allow the body to go through the digestion process more naturally.

“Juice can be used as a part of a cleanse, or maybe a snack, or a nutrient boost; yet shouldn’t be used for a meal replacement,” said Nydam while discussing her thoughts on the juicing trend.

Nydam tried juicing a year ago; she purchased a juicer and began a cleanse using the juices as meal replacements.

I own my own NutriBullet juicing blender and I drink a homemade juice almost every morning.

I’m not a huge fan of vegetables so I use juicing as an easy way for me to get a portion of my daily serving; as an added plus the fruit in the juice masks the flavor of the vegetables making it enjoyable to drink.

Outside of the initial investment of the juicer, the cost of making the juices myself has been less expensive than buying them pre-made at a supermarket or juice shop.

Although, I can’t imagine replacing any of my meals with one of these juices, I do see how it could be beneficial as a supplement to ensuring you get your daily nutrients.To juice or not to juice? That is the question.