Over the last decade, juicing has gone from a fringe health and wellness trend to a mainstream practice done by everyone from your neighbor to Kylie Jenner and Gwyneth Paltrow.
People who believe in juicing say that it has a lot of benefits, and some of these benefits include weight loss, increased nutrient intake, and easier digestion. That’s why a lot of diabetics believe that juicing might just be a good thing for them since it has so many health benefits.
However, this isn’t entirely true. Juicing might be great for some people, and may have some health benefits, but it isn’t a magic shot — and people who live with diabetes have to be careful with juicing since their diet requirements aren’t the same as everyone else.
In this post, we’ll be categorically looking at juicing, and will be understanding whether it is good for diabetics or not. Here are some of the things we will be looking at;
- What Is Juicing
- Potential Benefits Of Juicing
- Effects On Diabetes
- How Diabetics Can Juice
- Should Diabetics Juice
What Is Juicing
Juicing is basically what it sounds like. It’s a process whereby liquid from food is extracted and separated from its solid components. The juice produced from this extract contains a lot of the minerals and vitamins from the food. However, it doesn’t contain a lot of fiber.
People who juice generally have a diet that consists only of this liquid, and nothing else. So instead of taking in solid food, all they drink, while juicing, are liquids.
There are a lot of different ways to get juice. You can purchase a bottle from the store, and you can make one at home.
According to the proponents of juicing, it’s a lot healthier to make your juice at home from fresh ingredients. They believe that juice bought from the store usually comes with a lot of unhealthy and unnatural additives that make the juice itself unhealthy.
Potential Benefits Of Juicing
It’s easy for a lot of people to reject juicing as just a new health trend or fad. However, juicing does have a lot of potential benefits.
The fruits and vegetables that go into making a juice have a lot of vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that are well known for reducing inflammation, and reducing the risk of a lot of different kinds of diseases.
And this isn’t just conjecture either, there’s a lot of research that proves that drinking fruit and vegetable juice is a great way of accessing these vitamins and minerals.
Asides from that, these fruits and veggies have certain nutrients that act as prebiotics. These prebiotics is certain kinds of carbohydrates that work with healthy bacteria that live in your gut and help promote digestive health.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of the benefits of juicing are very similar to the benefits of eating these fruits and vegetables whole.
Juicing is great because it’s a way for a lot of people to get needed nutrients and minerals without actually consuming the fruits and vegetables in solid form.
It’s important to remember that there’s no evidence that juicing is more beneficial than actually eating the needed product whole.
Effects On Diabetics
Yes, juicing can be good. But can it also be bad? Current evidence suggests that the answer to that question is yes.
Sure, juices are a concentrated source of nutrients from fruits and vegetables.
However, they are also a concentrated form of carbs in the form of sugar. Since all of the fiber from the juice is removed before it’s taken, it allows the sugars in the liquids to be absorbed more quickly and this leads to a spike in blood sugar levels.
For example, it’s easier to juice about 4 to 5 oranges and take them in a single go, than to take the oranges raw. So one would be able to absorb a lot more sugars than one would ordinarily be able to.
This is why juicing can massively increase your blood sugar. This is of great concern to people who live with diabetes. Now, there’s no strong evidence that juicing Is associated with an increased risk of diabetes.
But it’s certainly not the best for people who already suffer from the condition, especially because it can lead to increased blood glucose levels.
Aside from that, these juices are low in protein and fiber. This may be one of the reasons why juicing could lead to negative blood sugar responses in people with diabetes.
Current research also suggests that meals that are high in fiber and protein may also help in curb blood sugar responses and could help in increasing feelings of fullness.
How Diabetics Can Juice
However, this doesn’t mean that diabetics cannot juice. It only means that they need to be careful about how they do it, and to what extent they do it.
For one, they need to choose lower-carb juices. That is, they need to make sure the vegetables and fruits they choose to juice naturally have lower carbs when compared to other fruits and vegetables.
Secondly, they need to focus on portion control. This is an important aspect of life as a diabetic, and shouldn’t be different from juicing. Pay close attention to how many carbs you get from juicing, and make sure you don’t take more than your recommended number of calories.
And importantly, you need to maintain a nutritional balance. That means you shouldn’t have a 100% juicing diet. Even if you have to juice, you need to do it in moderation and continue to eat foods that have other nutrients
Should Diabetics Juice?
Diabetics should avoid having a 100% juicing diet, even if they have to juice. They should also practice strict portion control, and try, as much as possible, to pick fruits and vegetables with low carb content for their juicing.
If you are a diabetic and would need help with your diet and imbibing healthy habits, you’d need expert help. And there’s no better place to search for this help than Klinio.
Klinio has years of expertise and experience in helping diabetics and has now come up with a toolkit that helps diabetics plan their lives and lead even healthier lives.