Now that the fad seems to have died out and juicing is no longer the buzz-word in the healthy eating and fitness/exercise world, I can weigh in with my two cents worth on the topic. I am indeed talking from my own personal experience on juicing and quite honestly I can truly say that I understand why it was somewhat of a fad over the past couple of years or so.

Here’s a quick guide to demystify the juicing phenomenon…

Juicing is not a permanent dietary solution

As convenient as juicing can be if you’re pressed for time and yet you still want to get a good helping of nutritional and filling goodness from your fresh fruit (and vegetables), beating it all up in a blender to create a juice is not meant to be a permanent solution to this problem. At some point you have to make time to get the full nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables you eat by eating them whole or cooking them.

Some of the important nutritional constituents of the fruits and vegetables typically put through the blender to make juices will always be eliminated as part of the juicing process, such as the all-important natural fiber fresh foods usually have. Also, when you “juice” you effectively concentrate the lighter constituents of the fruits and veggies you put through the blender, often accounting for some nutritional value which is above the recommended daily allowance or even just beyond the amount your body can actually absorb naturally. So it essentially creates a bit of waste since everything that isn’t absorbed by your body pretty much just passes through your system and leaves the body very soon after entering it.

So juice, yes, but this should never make for a complete replacement of the means through which to get your recommended daily allowance of the nutrients contained in the fresh ingredients you’d use for your juices.

Smaller portions of different juices work best

Aim for smaller portions of juices, such as a helping equal to one glass of two or three different juices. Not only does this keep things fresh, but it also means you’ll be catering to different nutritional needs your body has. Don’t fall into the trap of creating a full blender of just one type of juice to fill up on.

The pulp is the best part

It may not necessary taste the best, but in terms of nutrition, the pulp of the juice is indeed the best part. This is the bit which tends to settle right at the bottom of the blender after the blades have been thoroughly run through it, so this is the part you should be aiming to drink up. Use a thick straw to get your juicing fix so that you can get some of the pulp as well, otherwise pouring the mix into a cup will only really have you drinking the watery bit at the top, with a lot of the nutritional goodness left behind.