Juicing is a big diet trend where people replace meals or snacks with blended fruits and vegetables.
It can help to cut calories and lose weight, but are there real benefits with all the hype?
Reviews are mixed. For some people, yes, there are benefits and for some, no.
Gabriela Gardner, clinical dietitian at Memorial Hermann & UT Health Ertan Digestive Disease Center, said it's not really worth its weight.
“There are going to be juices that they're putting three or four fruits and only one vegetable, you know, that's not quite a good ratio. I do recommend having more vegetables. You want to have two or three right there and maybe one fruit,” Gardner said.
If you really want to drink kale, carrots or spinach, go ahead and have all three, but also know that you're missing one of the biggest benefits of the vegetables.
“The problem with juicing is that you are getting rid of that fiber,” she said.
Gardner said most juicers separate fiber, which can be good if your stomach aches with too much, but you need the nutrients. She also said juicing is good if you need to reboot your diet.
“I think the reason why people see benefit with juicing is that they use the juicing with some fasting. On top of that, part of those regimens include maybe having one meal, which they encourage fruits and vegetables and a lot of water. So, all of those are healthy components of a healthy diet,” Gardner said.
This type of healthy eating will make you feel lighter and healthier. However, Gardner’s general recommendation is to ditch the juice trend and simply eat your vegetables.
The fiber in fruits and vegetables plus water will flush your system and keep toxins out of your body. You can do that without necessarily juicing them into a drink, she said.