It’s that time again – the New Year is here and people everywhere are committing themselves to eating better and becoming more physically active as a means of losing weight in 2016. When it comes to weight loss, there are a number of popular diets that take the cake on helping people to jump start the process of living healthier, happier lives. Juicing, for example, has become a very well recognized mechanism for weight loss over the past few years. Juicing, however, does have its fair share of advantages and disadvantages – both of which should be considered prior to embarking on this weight loss journey.
Great Way to Gain Nutrients
Juicing – especially for those who don’t traditionally eat many fruits or vegetables – can be a quick and easy way to ensure you are getting all of the nutrients you need on a daily basis in one simple process. Juicing is essentially the process of extracting the juice out of the whole fruit or vegetable. It allows the consumer to vary their fruits and veggies and really get the benefit of “eating” them without actually doing so. It is a great way for people who don’t love the taste or texture of certain fruit or veggies to attain the same nutrients in a much simpler way – thus securing the benefit without the poor taste implications.
Forgo the Fiber
While juicing is a great way to gain valuable nutrients throughout the day, it lacks the same amount of fiber that would be traditionally be found in a whole piece of fruit or vegetable. Hands down, the best way to consume fruits and vegetables is through eating them naturally – straight from the source. An apple, for instance, offers a tremendous amount of fiber in the skin. When we juice an apple, we are stripping away its fiber content – thus, streaming the nutrients into an enjoyable juice drink, but forgoing a lot of its natural fiber. Although this is seen as a disadvantage to juicing, many people elect to take a fiber supplement to offset the lack of fiber in juice – thus enjoying the juicing process with the health benefits of added fiber.
Cost
One of the downfalls to juice fasting for weight loss is that it can be quite costly. While it is possible to find both fruits and vegetables on sale at the supermarket for quite a reasonable price, juicing machines can be quite expensive. Typically, they can range anywhere from fifty dollars to a few hundred dollars, depending on the make and model. One thing to consider, however, is that although the machines are costly, investing in a healthier you is something that you simply can’t put a price tag on.
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