Healthy juice is a practical way to enjoy fruit and vegetables. Even though it loses some fiber, vegetable or fruit juice still contains vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. So, how do you consume healthy juice correctly so that you can still feel the benefits?
Processing fruit and vegetables into healthy juice is believed to make it easier for the body to absorb nutrients and facilitate the performance of the digestive system. However, consuming fruit and vegetables in natural form is considered healthier, because the fiber contained in them is still intact. However, that doesn’t mean healthy juices aren’t good for the body. You can still consume healthy juices for detoxification purposes or use them as daily supplements. Apart from that, make sure you know the right way to consume healthy juice, so that the benefits can be felt optimally.
Benefits of Healthy Juices for the Body
Healthy juice processing usually removes most of the solid matter, including seeds and pulp, from either fruit or vegetables. Even so, the liquid produced from processing fruit or vegetables still contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Thanks to its nutritional content, there are several benefits of healthy juice that you can get, including:
- Smooths the digestive system
Consuming healthy juice is believed to improve the digestive system, because the nutrients contained in juice are easily absorbed by the body. This is supported by research which shows that consuming juice regularly can nourish the good bacteria in the intestines. Even so, you should still consume whole fruit and vegetables to get more fiber. - Helps lose weight
Healthy juices made from fruit and vegetables are often used as a way to lose weight. However, remember, healthy juice is not the main food intake because it does not contain enough calories to meet daily needs. Healthy juices do promise fast weight loss, but this only applies in the short term. A severe calorie deficit and lack of animal protein will actually disrupt your metabolism and make you lose muscle mass. So, make sure you consume healthy juices with other balanced nutritious foods, if you want to lose weight optimally. Apart from that, consuming fruit juices rich in anthocyanins can also reduce body fat significantly. - Improves the immune system
Fruit and vegetable juices are food sources rich in vitamins and minerals, so they are good for improving the immune system and helping fight viruses that cause disease. The combination of carrots, apples and oranges is one of the superior healthy juices for improving the immune system. - Relieves inflammation
Not only does it improve the immune system, healthy juice can also reduce inflammation in sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory bowel disease. This is because fruit and vegetable juices contain high levels of antioxidants, so they can help the body reduce inflammation. One fruit that contains high antioxidants and is often used as healthy juice is pomegranate.
How to Consume Healthy Juices for Optimal Benefits
Consuming fruit and vegetables in the form of juice is considered to have many benefits for the body, especially if someone doesn’t like or cannot consume them directly. However, make sure to pay attention to the following things when you want to consume juice:
- Total calorie content
Rarely do people think that juice could have excess calories in it. If it consists of a variety of fruit, the calories in the juice can increase. This is because fruit contains more sugar than vegetables. To control the number of calories in your healthy juice, use vegetables as the main ingredient. Apart from that, you can also mix nuts, seeds, protein powder, avocado, yoghurt, or almond milk in healthy juices, to add flavor and increase the protein and fat content. - Drink healthy juice immediately after making it
The best way to get the benefits of healthy juice is to consume it immediately after the juice is made. Therefore, try to make just enough healthy juice. Don’t store juice to drink at a later date, because it can become a place for bacteria to grow. - Don’t waste any dregs
Consider not throwing away the pulp from processing fruit and vegetables into healthy juice. This pulp contains phytonutrients and fiber, which if consumed can help keep you full longer. Consuming healthy juices is very good for maintaining a healthy body if balanced with a healthy lifestyle, such as consuming balanced nutritious food, exercising regularly and getting enough rest. If you want to consume healthy juices for the purpose of treating certain diseases, you should first consult a nutritionist to get the right advice.
