The truth about juicing

Is the ongoing health trend sneaking loads of unwanted sugar into our diets or is it a wellbeing wonder? Lowri Turner tells us the truth about juicing.

Fruit juices and smoothies are the new enemy in the fight against obesity, with the government advising that children shouldn’t be given fruit juice at all between meals. As for adults, health concerns about high-fructose corn syrup – the fruit sugar derivative widely added to convenience foods – has now moved over to fructose in general. One theory is that it could be more fattening than ‘real’ sugar.

But before you stick your juicer on eBay, take a breath. It’s worth reminding ourselves that juices do actually have some real benefits. Yes, of course, if you glug back gallons of banana and mango smoothies, or have apple juice on a drip, then you’re going to cause yourself problems. Fruit contains sugar and little or no fat or protein to slow down the sugar hit, so it can upset blood sugar. Unbalanced blood sugar can cause weight gain and hormonal disturbances linked to depression and even type 2 diabetes.

But fruits and vegetables are also high in fibre, which we need for good digestion. As long as you drink your juices with the pulp rather than strained, you get this benefit. They’re also full of disease-fighting antioxidants that are key to lowering your risk of things like heart disease and cancer.

The important point about juicing is to remember to include vegetables as well as fruit, as these often have even more fibre, more vitamins and minerals and a lot less sugar. However, vegetables aren’t quite so yummy whizzed up into a juice – not many people would choose to drink a 100% vegetable juice – so it’s helpful to combine the two.

But certain fruits, like carrots and tomatoes, actually have a natural sweetness. You can use apples as a base for many vegetable juices as their sweetness offsets the natural tartness of things like celery or the earthiness of beetroot. Banana, a common smoothie base, is high in magnesium which is a great muscle relaxant, but should be used sparingly due to its high GI.

One of the most important benefits of juicing is that you’re getting your fruits and vegetables raw, with all their micronutrients and enzymes in tact. Good news, but not without a warning sign: the brassica vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale – are often added to detox juices because their natural sulphur content supports liver detoxification. However, when eaten raw, as in juices, compounds in these vegetables can slow down the metabolism by affecting thyroid function. So, if you’re trying to lose weight, it might be worth limiting or avoiding these vegetables in your juices and sticking to having them cooked during meals.

Healthy juice recipes

Detox juice 1 – Apple, carrot and ginger

Makes 1

2 apples

1 carrot

½ cm piece of peeled ginger

Put in a juicer and serve.

Detox juice 2 – Supergreens

Makes 1

Small bunch watercress

2 broccoli spears

Small bunch parsley

½ celery stalk

¼ fresh pineapple

Put in a juicer and serve.

Detox juice 3 – Tomato and celery

Makes 1

3 tomatoes

1 celery stick

¼ red pepper

Put in a juicer and serve.

Lowri Turner is a nutritionist who specialises in hormone balance and weight loss. Her new book The Hunger Types Diet is available to pre-order on Amazon.