Get Behind Bars: Why You Should Be Drinking Fresh Juice

You know you should be eating more fruits and vegetables, but you’re tired of salads and you can’t seem to stomach a side of Brussel sprouts. You’re not alone - the average American eats just 1 1/2 servings of vegetables and no fruit on any given day. So how are you going to get in the recommended five servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit? Go behind bars - juice bars that is.

If you haven’t noticed them yet, juice bars are popping up everywhere, from the mall, to your gym, to heathy restaurants, and even to the airport. And while this might seem like another health trend designed to cheat you out of your hard earned money, there are some major benefits to drinking fresh juice.

A major advantage is that juice is a fast, convenient, more palatable and relatively inexpensive way to get your daily nutritional needs. You can consume a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole. Veggies often used in juices include: carrots, beets, spinach, kale, celery, and cucumber.

If you’re turned off by the idea of drinking vegetables out of a cup, then there are plenty of fresh fruit juices to be had. Common fruit drinks include: apples, oranges, and tomatoes. Sometimes you can find fun drinks made with watermelon, strawberry, grapefruit, or pineapple.

If you already enjoy eating fruits and vegetables you may not feel the need to have them in liquid form. However, there are some health benefits of drinking juice, such as:

• your body can take in nutrients that are hard to absorb when eating whole produce
• your digestion system has an easier time because enzymes are present that are normally destroyed when you cook vegetables
• studies have shown that juicing can reduce the risk of many types of cancer, protect against strokes and delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Check out these amazing nutritional advantages in each types of produce:

• Fruit juices are a good source of essential minerals like iron, copper, potassium, sodium, iodine, vitamin C, and magnesium
• Citrus fruits provide healthy portions of vitamin C, which helps heal cuts and bruises, prevents infection, and aids in the absorption of iron
• Carrots contains large quantities of vitamin A, which results in eye and skin health and can prevent cancer
• Green juices are a good source of vitamin E
• Wheatgrass contains many minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, cobalt, and zinc. One shot of it can give you as much energy as a cup of coffee!
• Many types of produce contain antioxidants that neutralize the “free radicals” that cause cancer
• Carbohydrates from natural sugars in produce provides energy

After reading all that data, juicing probably seems like the answer to all your health problems, but there are some drawbacks. It is still recommended to eat fruits and veggies in their original form. Since juice is extracted from produce, you are not receiving the benefits of skin and pulp, which contain essential nutrients like fiber. Juice also tends to have a higher sugar content, which is why it tastes so good. Make a compromise - eat your favorite fruits and vegetables whole, and drink the produce you normally can’t stomach.

One last piece of advice: if you find yourself spending all of your money at the juice bar, consider investing in your own juicer and make it fresh daily at home. This is also beneficial to the environment, since you’ll won’t be drinking out of one-use cups and the lack of transportation will cut down on emissions.

Whitney Lauritsen is a filmmaker, environmentalist, and vegan who promotes healthy living on her site www.ecovegangal.com. She shares tips on how to be kind to your body and the earth via video, photography, and writing. You can find her talking about being healthy and green on Twitter and Facebook.

Image credit - Whitney Lauritsen