Juicers... Juicing... Juice machines... Good or Bad?

Question: A couple of my friends have recently started juicing. What are your thoughts?

Answer: Juicers are quite popular these days, but here’s my take on the whole juicing phenomenon. Occasionally, I’ll meet people that just hate fruit and vegetables. They pretty much avoid them altogether. But interestingly, a few of these individuals have said that juicing seems to work for them. They don’t seem to have a problem drinking their fruits and veggies. If this is the case for you or someone you know, I say “go for it.” However, we need to remember that most juicers remove virtually all of the fiber as the fruits and vegetables are processed. If you add in the research that shows that fiber may provide much of the health benefits attributed to fruits and vegetables, we have a problem here. I would argue it’s much better to eat fruits and vegetables intact—the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Plus, most folks consume far too little fiber anyway, so juicing is just going to exacerbate this problem. Bottom line—save your money and stick with whole fruits and vegetables whenever possible.   

About the author: Grant Pritchard is the club owner at Anytime Fitness in Orting & Buckley.