Benefits of incorporating fresh fruit and vegetable juices in your diet

Maximized nutrition

We all know that fruit and vegetables are healthy. Fresh vegetables and fresh fruits are important sources of carbohydrates, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins. It is not always easy to eat the recommended amount of vegetables and fruit every day. A smoothie or juice then seems like a quick solution. It is recommended to  limit the use of fruit in your smoothie or juice, otherwise you will get too much sugar. 

Both for vegetable juices and for green smoothies, the nutrients from the vegetables are much easier to absorb because juice doesn’t take a lot of effort to digest. By drinking vegetable and fruit juice, you ensure that your body absorbs all the necessary nutrients.  With solid food, the stomach will need to work on breaking it down to turn it into a semi-liquid state before it is suitable for absorption into the bloodstream.

Enzymes

Cooking fruits and vegetables tend to cause nutrients in food to disappear and can destroy the enzymes. Enzymes are proteins that control the speed of chemical reactions in your body. Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables helps to retain their nutritional value and keeps enzymes viable and usable by the body. Without enzymes, several different processes in your system will cease to function. Enzymes are essential for respiration, digesting food, muscle and nerve function, among thousands of other roles.

Hydration

Juicing can increase your fluid intake as fruits and vegetables naturally contain water. Fresh juice not only provides you with most of the essential nutrients that your body needs, but it also keeps you hydrated even when you don’t get to drink a lot of water throughout the day. Vegetable juices are better for hydration than fruit juices because the natural sugars present in fruits may inhibit hydration.

Cucumbers are known to contain 90% water and are one of the most hydrating vegetables, even beetroot juice is great for hydration and also acts as a natural blood purifier. With other types of drinks such as carbonated sodas, liquor, and coffee, the body has the tendency to eliminate more water than it takes in. Juices contain water that can be readily utilized by the body because it comes in a clean and pure form.

Healthy habit

Fruit and vegetable juicing enable you to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Fresh fruit drinks can take the place of certain beverages that you tend to take in daily. With a steady supply of fruits and vegetables through juicing, you essentially gain a body that is revitalized. If you don’t like eating vegetables a lot, taking them in juice form makes them more toothsome especially when they are prepared properly.

Easy preparation

Juicing can be a big step towards getting proper nourishment for your body and does not take a lot of time to prepare. All you need is a steady stock of fresh fruits and vegetables and a juice extractor and you’re good to go. The possibilities and combinations are endless when it comes to fruit and vegetable juices so it’s difficult to grow tired of this healthy habit.

Blending or juicing?

A juicer separates the fiber from the liquid and nutrients, while a blender grinds up all of those ingredients together.

Blended fruits and vegetables retain all their fiber for healthy digestion. These fibers fill you up and also contain antioxidants.

With juicing you get more concentrated amounts of vitamins and nutrients and there is an easier absorption of nutrients. There is a lack of fiber, which is essential for healthy digestion, controlling blood sugar and lowering the risk of heart disease.

Juice Recipes:

Many of the vegetables you use in your juicer can actually work well in your blender as well. For smoothies, you need to add an amount of liquid, based on how thick you want your smoothie as well as how you want it to taste. For a green smoothie, you can use water, almond milk, coconut water, tea,…

The following are sample recipes that can help give you an idea of combinations of fruits and vegetables to use together:

Wash the fruits and vegetables with filtered or distilled water, cut and put in juicer.

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