Myth: Fruit juices and smoothies are good for you.
Truth: Certain juices and smoothies are highly nutritious. For example, a nutrient-dense smoothie or freshly made juice composed primarily of non-starchy vegetables such as spinach and fennel etc can be a great way to increase your vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant intake.
However, Most juices and smoothies bought in the supermarket are loaded with sugar and calories and sometimes additives/preservatives.
Having a fresh fruit juice is great but bear in mind that instead of the one whole fruit you might eat, you’ll be having several of the fruit and whilst fruit is good for you, it is still a source of sugar which can cause increases in blood glucose which could increase risk of diabetes. It will increase your calorie intake. Not only that to make the fresh juice most of the skin and pulp are removed and these are generally the parts of the fruit that have the most nutrients and fibre.
If it is the only way you will eat fruit then limit yourself to one glass of fresh juice per day. Use a juicer that allows you to use the skin and pulp too.
Here’s a few recipes from Joe Wicks:
Carrot or the Stick: 2 carrots, 5 celery sticks, 1 beetroot and 1 pear
Cool as a Cucumber:5 mint leaves, two apples and one cucumber
Little Green Monster: 2 apples, 3 handfuls of spinach, 5 celery sticks and a ¼ of a lemon
The Lean in 15 Post Workout Shake:2 carrots, 1 apple, 3 handfuls of spinach, 3 handfuls of kale, 1 scoop of optional whey protein
Zesty Zinger: 1 pear, ½ a fennel bulb, ½ a lemon and 1 orange
You might find that as you get used to consuming more juices, you will be able to replace fruit with ginger, lime or mint and even more vegetables.
Enjoy !!! :D
Karen is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach living in Cyprus near Paphos with her husband Mal and their cat Dave. She has been a personal trainer for 14 years and a qualified nutrition coach for over 2 years. She is passionate about working with people of any age and fitness level to improve their health and wellbeing.
Click here to see more of her posts.
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