Why is juice better than whole veggies/fruits?

[MrsJohnnyG]

Forgive me for the newbie question, and if there is a good FAQ somewhere, I would love to be pointed to it... I've been searching the entire web and still can't get a satisfactory answer.

WHY is juicing so much better than eating the whole foods that you are juicing?

I recently bought an Omega 8005 to juice wheatgrass. This morning, excited about the juicer, I juiced some carrots, cucumber and tomato.

I was horrified to see all the pulp that was extruded, and it reminded me of the question I've always wondered... doesn't juicing strip away the fiber, skin, and other very nutritive essence of the food??

I don't have any digestive problems, so that's not a good reason for me to juice... and I'd honestly prefer to eat a huge bunch of greens, rather than drink them. I get plenty of fiber in my whole foods diet right now, and I wouldn't want to start having to take a fiber supplement just because I'm stripping the natural fiber away through juicing.

So is there any reason for me to juice (other than wheatgrass which can't be eaten)?

Thanks for any great answers, links, etc. that can help me understand this!

[Revvell]

It's not. It's almost always better to eat the whole foods as chewing, being the first stage of digestion, begins the process and helps keep the jaw bones strong.

Next, for me, would be smoothies since I get the fiber and more nutrients than I could ever eat.

Juicing (except, as you said wheatgrass) would be last. My feeling on this is, if someone is ill and needs the support of the abundance of nutrients from juicing, this would be the way to go. I just don't find myself cleansing through the bowels as easily this way so, have to do enemas. Now, juicing in conjunction with the other two....

What some are doing is, when juicing, add the pulp to burgers, loaves, smoothies and such so they retain the fiber.

[RawSinger]

I second Revvell's response!! She summed it up perfectly, in my opinion.

[MrsJohnnyG]

Very good to know! Thank you! So basically, as I suspected, my Omega 8005 is just one very very very expensive wheatgrass juicer! That's okay, I didn't expect to get into juicing that much anyway... smoothies, yes... besides, I can use the Omega for grinding flax seeds (I think).

Thank you again!
Julia

[Raine]

Juicing is very good when you want to embrace a juice fast. The juice needs practically no digestion as it goes into the intestines and absorbed into the blood stream.

By doing this, the approximately 1/3 of daily energy your body uses to digest food is instead redirected to clean house by eliminating fat and disease. It's also a great energy boost throughout the day!

Some people say that juicing is dangerous because the body will eat itself. The body was made by God and as such is very intelligent. It will consume fat reserves and diseased cells long before it will think about consuming muscle or organs. Further, if you use a free site like www.FitDay.com (http://www.FitDay.com) you can see that you are in fact consuming protein when you juice.

Lastly, it's a lot easier to consume the necessary about of fruits/vegs you need daily via juice than by eating them -- though I do love eating them as well!

[MrsJohnnyG]

Thank you, Raine... during juice fasts, how on earth does the digestive system hold up with little or no fiber? As someone whose diet consists mostly of whole foods, I can't remember ever going a day without a lot of natural fiber in my diet and don't want to start having the intestinal problems I hear of others having.

[Eveleaf]

Hi Julia,

I'm 48 days into my 90 day juice "feast." The feast is designed to give you all the calories you need in juice form, while at the same time giving your digestive system a rest. It doesn't hurt you. On the contrary, it gives your body a fantastic chance to heal and repair.

If you think about it, you "fast" every night of your life. During that time, you give your digestive system at least a 12 hour break from work so energy instead can be used to clean house, repair, restore, detox. While you sleep, your body is hard at work taking care of you!

The juice feast is designed to extend that house cleaning to do some serious restorative work. You can do it for a day, or a week, or 90 days. It's like giving the over-taxed housewife a break to do spring cleaning by taking her six kids to grandma's house for a few weeks. Just think of the deep cleaning she's now able to accomplish that she never had spare time or energy for before. :)

It's amazing. I've taken in *all* the calories I need and I have lots of energy, but I've still dropped 30 pounds in 48 days. Additionally, I can tell you that even without fiber in my diet, I'm still having solid bowel movements (tmi, I know, lol). Our bodies are so intelligent.

Juicing also breaks the food down completely, stripping only the fiber away, and you get *so* much more nutrition from each bite, er, drink. :) If you eat a carrot or leaf of kale, you can only access a portion of that nutrition, because your teeth don't really completely break the food down. Animals in the wild chew their food a lot longer than we do.

Even if you were really committed to chewing each bite for 2 or 3 minutes, think how long it would take you to eat a great big salad full of dark leafy greens. You'd be at it all day. On the other hand, you can whip up a green drink with half a head of kale, half a head of romaine, a cucumber, half a head of celery, and throw it back in just a few minutes.

I'm not saying juicing is *better* than eating solid food. But don't write it off completely! Juicing can be an amazing addition to a healthy diet, whether used as a feasting tool for an extended time, or just added to your regular routine. Angela Stokes had a wonderful 92 day juice feast last year, and since has had fruit or veggie juices nearly every day, in addition to regular raw food. Think of it like liquid vitamins to supplement an already healthy lifestyle. :)

~Eve

[Raine]

Wonderfully put Eve!

[MrsJohnnyG]

Ah, this sentence finally made sense to me:

Think of it like liquid vitamins to supplement an already healthy lifestyle.
I still can't imagine going so long with no fiber... so I take it there is no elimination action going on that entire time??! and there's not a higher incidence of colon cancer in people who undergo juice-only diets over long periods of time? (eta: oops, I missed the part that you said BM's do happen... :D I don't get how that happens without fiber, but I will take your word for it!)

Thanks SO much again for the helpful info... I really really appreciate it!!

[Eveleaf]

There is elimation action - even though you aren't eating any solids, the body does take advantage of the "rest" to flush out the colon. I'm 48 days in and I still have solid bowel movements. Not every day, but I do have them. :rolleyes: