Why the Juicing Fad May Not Be So Healthy After All

By April M. Short

It turns out that juicing may not be the nutritional breakthrough it was touted as and you’re likely better off just eating the right portions of whole fruits and vegetables.

A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which sought to “cut through the confusion about the best dietary patterns to reduce heart disease,” found that the purported health benefits of juicing are largely unfounded. The study’s authors assessed existing reports on a number of “nutrition fads,” seeking to separate the hype from scientifically authenticated health benefits.

The press release sums up the study authors’ findings:

“[W]hile the fruits and vegetables contained in juices are heart-healthy, the process of juicing concentrates calories, which makes it is much easier to ingest too many. Eating whole fruits and vegetables is preferred, with juicing primarily reserved for situations when daily intake of vegetables and fruits is inadequate. If you do juice, avoid adding extra sugar by putting in honey, to minimize calories.”

Basically, the study found that juicing packs in sugars from fruit and vegetables, while filtering out their beneficial fiber content.

This particular study was oriented toward cardiac health, so it’s possible some alternative, non-cardiac-related juicing benefits exist. But, as Rachel Feltman put it in a recent Popular Science piece on the study, “Let’s be real: if your diet is bad for your heart, can you even pretend it’s ‘healthy’?”

Reposted with permission from our media associate AlterNet.

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