Freshly squeezed juices are nothing new but it wasn’t until recent years that juicing has become a trend, especially among the fitness and health-enthusiasts looking for ways to feel better from the inside out.

I had been contemplating doing a 3-day juice cleanse for about a month now and ultimately decided to incorporate a juice a day into my diet instead of going all in for three days because it seemed a bit too extreme for me. I’m on day 5 with Raw Generation juices and have enjoyed every juice I have had so far. With enough veggies to know and feel you’re doing your body good, the juices actually taste good with my 3-year-old even approving them and enjoying a few sips a day.

More than just a temporary fad, juicing has great health benefits but as with anything, also a couple of possible risks if not done the right way.

THE BENEFITS OF JUICING

EASIER TO CONSUME

One of the most obvious benefits of juicing is how much easier it is to drink a high volume of vegetables and fruit than to drink it. Chomping down on a bowl of cucumber, spinach and celery will not sound appetizing to most of us but add in a little apple and lemon and make it a juice and most of us will happily drink it.

FASTER DIGESTION

Since juicing provides a high concentration of vitamins and nutrients without most of the fiber, it allows digestion to happen much faster and with much more ease. If you’re hungry and about to get a workout in, a juice is also a good option since it will give you a boost of energy without weighing you down.

IMMUNE SYSTEM BOOST

Treating your body to so many immune boosting vitamins found in veggies and fruits can strengthen your immune system and help you say goodbye to the dreaded cold and flu.

FAST WEIGHT LOSS

When you hear juicing you will most likely hear it as part of a 3-day juice cleanse or 7-day juice cleanse. Suddenly cutting everything out of your diet and only consuming fruit and vegetable juices will help you shed anywhere from 5-10 pounds in a week. The quick weight loss and push into being more mindful of what you’re fueling your body with may be the perfect motivator to get you on a healthier track.

POSSIBLE RISKS OF JUICING

As with any other “healthy” activity, if done incorrectly juicing can bring along possible harms. The good thing is as long as you know the possible risks, you can take measure to avoid them.

LACK OF FIBER

One of the benefits of juicing is the fast digestion due to low fiber. This, though, can turn into a negative if you’re not getting enough fiber from other foods in your diet. If you’re making your own juices, adding some of the pulp back into the juice will help you add in some fiber.

TOO MUCH SUGAR

Naturally, most people prefer natural fruit juices over veggie juices because they’re clearly sweeter and taste better. The more fruit in your juice, the higher it will be in calories. Plus, a juice made mostly of fruits will be higher in carbohydrates which is associated with weight gain. Since your body digests juices much faster, a high level of fruit juice can also lead to a spike in your blood sugar.

This can easily be avoided by making sure you are tipping the scale more towards the amount of veggies you are adding to your juice as opposed to fruits. Another option for beginners is to slowly reduce the amount of fruit while adding more veggies until you get to a point where 80% of your juice is vegetables.

JUICING ALL DAY

Juicing became really popular as part of 3-day juice cleanse (some going as long as 7-day juice cleanse) promising to “refresh’’ your body. Giving your digestive system a break while getting rid of all the junk you normally consume and losing 3-10 pounds. Like mentioned above, the quick weight-loss motivates many people to giving juicing a shot but since you never know how your body will react to such a sudden change, it may be smarter to incorporate juicing into your diet as opposed to making it all you consume for a certain number of days.

As I said earlier, I opted to try juicing by incorporating a juice a day into my diet and have so far loved it. Maybe later on I will try a 3-day juice cleanse and let you know how I feel during and afterwards.

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