Freshly squeezed juices and smoothies – how good are they actually?

The manufacturing of vegetable and fruit juices used for juice fasts has turned into a huge, multi-million dollar business and as the trend continues to spread, the market of healthy bottled juices continues to grow.

Is it really that healthy to drink the juices of vegetables and fruits instead of actually eating them?

Not necessarily.

Before you fill your pantry with freshly squeezed juices, carefully consider the following:

• It’s a huge waste to use a basket full of vegetables and fruits to make a small bottle or glass of juice while eating them in their original form or preparing them with traditional methods can be enough for far more people.

• A lot of useful ingredients end up in the waste bin: the fibre and fruit rind are filled with vitamins and heart-friendly and anti-carcinogenic flavonoids.

• Raw dishes aren’t always better options than foods made with traditional culinary procedures. The human stomach is unable to perfectly digest raw, plant-based foodstuffs. The absorption of plant nutrients is facilitated by baking, cooking and pickling. Don’t forget that many vitamins are only soluble in fats or oils.

• Some vegetable, fruit juices and smoothies with a low fibre content can contain as much sugar as the beverage you tried replacing with a healthy drink.

• These are often produced with a huge waste, the decomposition of which generates toxic, greenhouse methane gas which is far more (21 times more) harmful than carbon dioxide. Without composting, they merely generate heaps of waste and contribute to global warming – entirely unnecessarily.

Even apparently healthy foodstuffs should be consumed with moderation and forethought. This can help you preserve both your health and the environment.