The Green Juice | Detox Day 3

Today I had a green juice at Whole Foods. I had the 24oz Verdant Force which has Cucumber, Celery, Spinach, Kale, Parsley, Lemon, and Ginger. It was freaking good!

Green Juice. That is a popular, hot foodie word. We as a society are interesting when it comes to food and health. We aren't very healthy in America, but when we get our hands on one healthy concept, we latch onto that one thing and go overboard. When people have green juice, they just think they are healthy.

That is not always the case. Here are a few questions to ask before getting juice.

 

1. Is the majority of the recipe from vegetables or fruit?

When you juice veggies and fruits, you take away the pulp which is where the fiber is stored. Fruit juice has a high amount of sugar versus vegetable juice. If your juice is mostly fruits, then your juice contains lots of sugar. In turn, if your body does not have a lot of fiber to process the sugar, your body will go on a massive sugar rush and crash, but also, too much sugar is bad for you. If your juice is mostly vegetables, you will get a nice amount of sugar/energy without burning out. Notice all of the greens of my juice were vegetables. 

2. Is this my only source of fruit and vegetables for the day?

Juices are the bomb because they have lots of nutrients and vitamins that we get from eating whole veggies and fruits. The problem is, we can have a juice and justify that that juice is enough health for the day. NO BUENO! Especially if your juice is mostly fruit juice because then it is not super healthy. You cannot ignore the other colors of your fruits and veggies. Green is not the only way! 

At the end of the day- it is better to have that juice versus no fruits and veggies all day, but juices are not a substitute. Do not get caught up in the foodie hype.