The current trend of juicing maybe just that, a trend, says Jaimette McCulley, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at Fontbonne University.
“People are looking for an easy way out,” McCulley said. “They’ve been told forever to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, and they haven’t figured out a way to do that.”
In juicing, whole fruits and vegetables are broken down into liquid through a juicer. Through this process, the fruit and vegetable pulps are removed, therefore removing the highest source of fiber, McCulley says. She adds the fiber “holds the satiety factor,” the reason for feeling full.
“So we can drink a lot of calories and not feel very full whereas if we’re eating whole food and chewing our foods, it’s going to stay in our stomach longer and help us feel fuller longer,” McCulley says.
Her advice: Simply eat the whole fruit. McCulley says she’s not aware of any dieting benefits to juicing over eating the whole fruit or vegetable.
The only way juicing could be used medically, McCulley says, is for people with bowel issues who have difficulty absorbing fiber. They still can absorb vitamins and minerals in the foods and avoid the fiber.
Kim Croteau, a registered dietician with nutrition.gov, said in an email interview that people who juice and want to still receive the pulp’s benefits should add the pulp in other foods, dishes, or even soups.
McCulley adds that drinking whole fruits and vegetables could act as a replacement for beverages like iced tea and soda.
“There’s about the same amount of calories in four ounces of juice and four ounces of soda. But (with juice) you get the vitamins and the minerals that you wouldn't be getting in the empty calorie, sugar-sweetened beverages,” McCulley says.
McCulley also says people should not use juice as a fasting method.
“I don’t think anybody should be fasting, no matter how it’s done. We need fuel all the time; for thinking, for activity, all the time,” McCulley explains. “There are more benefits to eating four to six times a day than not at all.”
Weight loss is a result of eating less calories than consumed, Croteau says, and consuming less than 800 calories daily for an extended period of time could cause heart problems.
“For some people, going on a ‘juice fast’ may mean that they are not taking in as many calories as they normally do, and therefore weight loss can be rapid depending on how severely they are cutting their calories,” Croteau explained. “However, many diets that require you to strictly reduce what you eat, or avoid certain types of foods are difficult to follow for extended periods of time and may rob you of essential nutrients…Also, make sure you are not eliminating other food groups such as protein foods, so that you don’t compromise muscle mass.”
In terms of juicing as a way of body detoxifying, McCulley said she also could not recommend any form of detox.
“You’re body is already good at detoxifying itself…There’s no evidence that detox has any real benefit,” McCulley says.
For those, who decide to somehow incorporate juicing into their diets, Croteau says to juice fruits and vegetables that satisfy individual taste buds. She also advises mixing in new foods.
“For example, if you would never eat kale normally, you can try putting it in your juice to try something new and add variety…In the process you might find that you like it, and may end up incorporating it into your regular diet,” Croteau said.
Croteau explained that eating a mixture of vegetables, particularly dark green, red and orange ones, is an important recommendation from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She also said, “Most healthy adults (who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity) need 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5-3 cups of vegetables daily.”
Both registered dieticians recommended that people talk to their doctors or health care providers before changing their diets.
McCulley says people should give the juicing craze time to phase out.
“It really is a trend. Give it a little while, and something else will come along.”
