Juicing: From Detoxing to weight loss, what is the hype? (November 2012)

Many people struggle to eat fruits and vegetables and it seems that the rage has increased beyond green powders to juice bars all over town. We hear the term “cold pressed” amongst others and it sounds very inviting to have that fresh squeezed kale, cucumber, lemon, parsley juice perhaps with a splash of apple as many of us can’t tolerate the straight vegetables.

The term juicing for many people may be synonymous with fasting where as I always emphasize to my clients it may be more physically satisfying and emotionally satisfying to have a solid meal than a liquid meal. Juicing can be great to “sneak” different types of produce into your diet that you would not ordinarily eat but to “detox” is unnecessary. Having a fresh juice is wonderful to work in especially if you see this as your only way to obtain variety in your produce intake.

Many people do not realize that by increasing their fruit and vegetable intake they may experience gas, bloat or diarrhea; well at least in the beginning. The other situation is that if you are on a blood thinner such as Coumadin or Plavix having large amounts of vitamin K foods (kale, spinach, rainbow chard, collard greens) may affect your protime if you do not consume on a regular basis.

For those of you that see me in my office or work with me professionally it is known that I like to help people learn how to develop a healthy relationship with food. I don’t believe detoxing, “juice diets” are long term approaches to help one change their outlook with food and I do not endorse them. I do however like to suggest everything within moderation and if you are craving juice fresh squeezed or not, to have it. On this same topic buying pasteurized juice drinks such as Odwalla, Naked Juice, Trader Joes, are great options because many of them do provide fiber and they will be more sustaining then a “cold pressed” or “expeller pressed” juice. Also all of the nutrients will still be there. They will not be lost.

For those of you that like to juice your own produce please make sure you wash your fruits and vegetables thoroughly before juicing it. Don’t forget that fresh juice can develop harmful bacteria faster than pasteurized juices, so it would be recommended to consume it immediately. You can always add yogurt (non-dairy options also: rice, almond, soy, goat, sheep, coconut) or milk (non-dairy options: rice, almond, soy, hemp, flax, coconut, potato).

Living in Southern California we can always take advantage of our wonderful produce. If it is difficult for you to consume it whole, remember you can always juice it, make a smoothie or go to one of the many fresh pressed juice shops around down.