The Great Juicing Debate

DIETICIANS and HEALTH EXPERTS just can’t seem to agree on the validity of JUICE CLEANSES. WE take a look at the ups and downs of a LIQUID DIET.

- Glynis Horning

By now few of us need convincing of the importance of fruit and veggies for good health. Organisations like the Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa and the Cancer Association constantly tell us we need to be getting at least five portions daily, with a serving being a small apple or a cup of chopped veggies. The debate comes in on whether we should simply eat our veggies and fruit – or join the move to juicing.

Juicing advocates, like natural health therapist Eudisha Balikarani, manager of Namasté Wellness Retreats in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, say juicing allows you to take in a far higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, enzymes and other nutrients in one go. “When you eat fruit and vegetables, the bulky fibre fills you up,” she says. “It’s difficult to eat more than two fruits at a time, but easy to drink the juice of six in a single glass, and it’s readily digested.”

She, and many who juice, suggest periodic juice fasts – having nothing but juice for several days to ‘detox’. They say this rids your body of toxins, gives your digestive system a rest, neutralises acidity, and not only helps you lose weight, but has many health benefits too.