Nutrition Nugget: Juicy Fruit

I'm encountering more and more people these days who've shelled-out big bucks for juicers. They're oh-so-excited to tell you all about their juicing prowess and how great they feel. Invariably, they tell me about all the fruit they add to their morning smoothie. They expectantly wait for an "atta girl" from me. They never get one. Why? As reported by Gregory Ferenstein at TechCrunch:

" both juicing and blending are probably terrible for your body. Fructose can be toxic to humans; Mother Nature naturally wraps its sugary sweetness in a fiber shield that protects the human body from blood sugar spikes and liver damage. University of California, San Francisco health guru Rob Lustic told a crowd at the Aspen Ideas Festival that if you're going to juice, the only non-toxic foods are pure vegetables (icky).

Unfortunately, pulverizing foods into an indistinguishable mush could destroy much of the nutrients. It's unclear how much survives the shredding process, and it allows people to consume foods far faster than the body prefers to process them (leading to overeating and blood sugar spikes)."

In addition to those unpleasant facts, I add that the high heat used to pulverize your veggies in most juicers further destroys their nutrients.

As Greg recommends, use your teeth to pulverize your fruits and vegetables, just as Mother Nature intended.

Troy Dyer: I'm bursting with fruit flavor.

Reality Bites(1994)