Sport Juicing vs. eating vegetables

Sport Fitness
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jjldm321

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I've been pretty good the past year with getting all the junk food and other garbage (refined carbs, etc) out of my diet. Mostly lean proteins and whole grains. However, I just got ripped a new one by my trainer two days ago. I eat almost no vegetables or fruits and he really wants me to get up to at least the recommended daily servings as our 2013 nutrition goal.

The problem is I hate vegetables (fruit's not too bad, but I normally won't eat it unless there's nothing else around). So I bought a juicer and am going to start juicing some fruits and vegetables when it gets here. The question is: is juicing just as good as eating fruits and vegetables?

I know that juicers leave all the vitamins and minerals but take out all the fiber from vegetables. But, I eat more than the daily recommendation for whole grains (pretty much all my carbs are whole grains) and get a huge amount of fiber that way. Will the fiber in whole wheat carbs make up for what is lost by juicing vegetables?

I know that some vegetables, regardless of what form they're in, are better than no vegetables. I'm more curious if this is a healthy option for the long term.
 
My favorite juice to make is carrot, celery, and apple (for a bit of sweetness). I can tell you that after I drink a glass of fresh carrot juice I feel full of energy.
 
If you cant stomach straight vegetables, don't feel bad because there are millions just like you. Juicers will be much better than no veg. Have you considered smoothies? Take whole vegetables and mix them with fruits and water or milk, sweeteners, protein powders. Combinations are limitless and you will get great fiber and the vitamins and minerals.
 
Even if some fiber is lost in the process (not the way I'd be turning my vegetables into a drink, btw, but whatever), vegetable juice is many times better than no vegetables.

I'd note that absolutely everything you've ever eaten is an acquired taste. There are some foods that you'll never be able to enjoy, but most things stop being bad as soon as you stop thinking: "Ergh, I HATE this food!", and even start becoming enjoyable after a while. There was most certainly a time when ice cream, chocolate and coke were all no big deal to your taste buds, too, and if you were introduced to them late enough in life, you might even remember not liking them much as a young child. But I'm guessing you like all of those things now. Most of the stuff that most people like and have liked for as long as they can remember is just the stuff that they acquired a taste for when they were too young to remember otherwise.
 
Experienced juicer here. The short answer is that juicing is worlds better than eating no veggies. And although you won't get everythign that whole veggies offer, people usually get a lot more than if you ate the whole veggie. What I mean is - when was the last time you (or most people) sat down and ate 3 carrots, 2 apples, a couple sticks of celerey, a piece of ginger, etc.? Point is, people who eat veggies still get a lot more of that veggie nutrient when they juice because you need mroe to get juice.

All that aside, what you (and most newb juicers) are in danger of is keeping up with it. Many are all gung ho and then just stop before the juice has a chance to make you feel its affects. And there are many different juicers out there that yield more or less, are easier/more difficult to clean, have a different taste, etc. It can get mind boggling - and there are many juicers that are bad at greens - can yours handle greens? You should check.

It may take some time to acclimate to the taste but the important thing is to keep it up. And don't forget the super veggies - spinach, watercress, kale, beets (juice the beet greens too), and the like. Throw in a chunk of ginger for a kick to any juice (and healthy blood). You can also include parsley (very nice taste in juice), chard, cucumber, carrot, apple, pear, pineapple, celery, and some other veggies - not all in the same juice of course but experiment with the 2-3 until your palate developes.

Good luck and learn to love the process and the taste of juice. Otherwise, you'll end up like most and stop.
 
I'm with the majority. Juicing is vegetables is WAY better than not eating veggies at all. But, here's the thing. You're definitely consuming more in quantity. Which is good. We're supposed to eat a crap ton of veggies. Juicing, however is a form of processing the food. When you eat a carrot it's just a carrot. When you juice that carrot it converts it to a sugar so it increases your sugar intake. Granted, it's a better sugar than a pixie stick, but a sugar nonetheless.
 
DerbyGirl said:
When you juice that carrot it converts it to a sugar
Click to expand...

I am not sure where this occurs. I know we convert some starch to sugars as we chew but this is not the grinding process it is the introduction of amylase via saliva. How exactly does a juicer replicate this enzyme driven effect?
If you add sugar that is the equivilant of eating a sugar coated carrot, but I am guessing you mean literally blending a carrot on its own.
 
Hello,
If you have fruit as it is then it good for your teeth because of chewing gums gets some exercise and you can take whole taste of that fruit...
 
Heat from cooking vegetables kills the enzymes present in vegetables. Juicing is made from raw vegetables and therefore still contains the enzymes that are valuable to the body's health.
 
Of course eating vegetables is better, you can gain weight if you drink fruit juices. (and fruit too). Ive been on a fruit and vegetable diet for a week and I didn't lose but gained weight! even though both fruits and vegetables have laxative effect. Juices are not calorie free and sugar is sugar whether it's a tablespoon of sugar or in a juice.
 
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