Juicing Frenzy

Juice from 'Juice is Served Here'

Juicing is clearly the new hot trend in nutrition. Juice stores are everywhere (at least here in LA) selling $8 juices that fly off the shelves. Other than exorbitant prices, the juicing trend is a great step towards nutritional wellness. Juicing, especially juices that contain high vegetable content, increase our intake of fruits and veg in an easy and portable way. While nutrient dense foods are always a plus in my book, are we looking at the whole picture when we embrace juices into our diets?
There are different kinds of juicing. Using some juicers, natural cellulose fibers of the plant are a byproduct of juicing. If you've ever juiced at home, this is all of the left over dry stuff that you throw out or use as compost when you're done juicing. All of that leftover stuff is the fiber of the plant, something you'd definitely want to consume. Some juicers (think Nutri Bullet) use the entire plant when fine blending it into juice. It's important to be aware of which kind of juice you're drinking... fiber or no fiber.
Likewise, a study published by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that the antioxidant content of certain fruits are significantly higher in the whole fruit than they are in the juice of the same fruit. Following this idea, while eating whole fruit can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, consuming high amounts of fruit juice can raise your risk.
Knowing this data, I'm going to stick to predominantly vegetable based fruit juices and drink them when I need a nutrient boost, not as a staple in my diet. While juicing is a great mainstream trend, nothing can replace whole, raw fruits and veg.