Is vegetable juice good for you? At first, the answer to that question seems pretty obvious. How could a glass of blended carrots, celery, cucumber, and tomatoes possibly be unhealthy?
With so many different types of commercial juices and an infinite number of homemade juice recipes, there is no “one size fits all” description for the health benefits of vegetable juice. Instead, it is important to consider the nutritional and supplemental contents of different types of vegetable juice and analyze their benefit within the context of your own personal diet habits and goals.
If you are wondering “is vegetable juice good for you,” you are most likely looking for an easy and more appetizing way to get your recommended daily vegetable servings. Although it is an outstanding supplement to vegetable consumption, it is not always a complete replacement. The USDA recommends that most adults consume about 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day.
The department also claims that 3/4 cup of 100% vegetable juice is equal to one serving of vegetables, meaning you would need to drink a healthy portion of juice each day to achieve your dietary goals (assuming you ate no vegetables at all). Clearly, an avid vegetable juice drinker could meet his or her vegetable recommendations with enough juice in a day. But before you go stocking up on commercial vegetable juice, consider the benefits of making fresh, homemade vegetable juice with your own juicer.
Although bottled vegetable juice can serve as a beneficial supplement to your vegetable diet, there are some facts to keep in mind when it comes to these products. One of the biggest drawbacks of bottled vegetable juice is that many brands contain large amounts of sodium, particularly those with lots of tomatoes. Excess sodium in your diet can have short and long-term effects, such as dehydration and increased blood pressure. Aside from high sodium levels, a large number of popular vegetable juices contain sugar or artificial sweeteners.
This may be of concern to those with diabetes or people on sugar-free diets. Also, it is known that vegetable juice is lower in fiber than serving whole vegetables. Fiber is very important for your digestion and has benefits for heart health and cholesterol levels as well. Finally, it is possible that certain commercial vegetable juices contain additives or preservatives, a fact which may deter some organic food enthusiasts.
Making homemade vegetable juice from your own fresh vegetables is a great alternative to bottled products. If you have your own juicer, you can control exactly what goes into your drinks and avoid worrying about how much sodium or sugar you are consuming. The other great thing about having a juicer is that you can make different drinks all the time, and create your own drink recipes. Adding fresh fruit, yogurt or anything you like to your vegetables makes the possibilities virtually endless.
Not to mention the fact that owning a juicer will save you money in the long run. The cost of drinking lots of bottled products will add up over time, but with your own juicer, you have a juice-making factory in your own kitchen! And of course, buying fresh, whole vegetables is much cheaper than buying cases of vegetable juice at a time. People who own juicers love the fact that the machines pay for themselves in no time at all. Amazon.com has an amazing selection of new and used juicers at excellent prices.
