Does Juicing Destroy Nutrients?

Is juicing going to destroy the nutrients in your juice or will you get the benefits of fruits and vegetables? It’s a reasonable question to ask before you go ahead and buy a juicer.

You want to be sure that you’re not wasting your money on a device that will do the exact opposite of what you intend. Make healthy, nutrient rich juices!

So, what this article will do is ease your mind by explaining what exactly happens when you juice fruits or vegetables.

What happens to the fiber, what happens to the juice? Are juices filled with nutrients or are they simply a nice tasting drink?

What Happens When You Juice?

When you juice fruits or vegetables, the first thing that happens is that the juicer separates the solids from the liquids. This is done using either a cutting device or a pressing device called an auger.

Let’s look at the example of juicing an apple.

You begin by slicing an apple into a few small segments. If you have a larger juicer that has a wide mouth, then you can simply place the whole apple into the juicing tube. But most juicers will require you to cut the apple into pieces.

The apples are then either cut up using a small cutting style disc (as is common with the Breville juicers) or the apples are crushed with a auger in the auger press style cold press juicers that Omega and Hurom make.

This fiber is then ejected with a small amount remaining in the juice (the amount depends upon which juicer you use).

Then you have a nice healthy glass of juice. The more intricate details such as how much fiber is left in the juice, how many nutrients are in that juice, and the amount of juice you get depends on what type of juicer you are using which we will cover below.

Fiber vs Nutrients: What Does Juicing Do?

When you are juicing, you are removing fiber from the fruit or vegetables. The fiber is beneficial, but it’s not where the vitamins and nutrients are located. So, while you do want a small amount of fiber in your juice and in your diet, you do not want too much fiber.

I wrote a whole article that covers the question of whether or not juicing destroys fiber.

The takeaway of that article is that juicing doesn’t destroy fiber, it does remove fiber.  The fiber isn’t destroyed completely, it is simply removed from  the liquid and put into a hopper. That fiber is removed so that you can have juice and drink it.

Fiber is healthy, but it does not have the antioxidants and nutrients that the juice in the fruit and vegetables has.  You don’t want too much in your juice. A little bit is ok, but too much will make it basically a smoothie.

The important part of juicing is that you get the maximum amount of nutrients. So, a glass of celery juice for instance will have all of the powerful antioxidants apigenin and luteolin.

The liquid, the juice, is the most important and nutrient dense thing about fruits and vegetables. So, in essence juicing doesn’t destroy anything.

 

Does Juicing or Blending Destroy Nutrients?

Juicing itself doesn’t destroy nutrients but it can damage it. The amount of damage to the juice or more specifically, the nutrients, depends on what type of juicer you use.

If you use a cold press juicer, there will be less damage to the juice. That’s because cold press juicers do not create heat. Or rather, they create way less heat then regular juicers. And this is an important note to take into account when purchasing a juicer. You don’t want one that is going to create unnecessary heat.

Blenders are a bit different than juicers in that they don’t eliminate fiber. They also don’t destroy fiber or nutrients, but you get less juice and more heat when you use a blender. There are no such things as cold press juicers.

Why Fiber Is Good For Juice

You don’t want to eliminate all fiber from your juice. The reason that a small amount of fiber is good is that it eliminates the sugar rush. Excess sugar from fruit juice isn’t a good thing. That’s why you don’t want to buy and use store brought juices that are loaded up with sugar.

Fiber slows down absorption. When you have a little bit of fiber in your juice, it’s a good thing.

When you have a lot of fiber, that’s a bad thing. So, it’s important to make sense to get a juicer that removes enough pulp and fiber.

Removing Fiber Is Good Too: Why Juicing Works

However, you don’t want too much fiber in your juice. If you get a poorly made juicer then you’re going to end up with basically a sludgy juice that is basically a smoothie. So, you do want the juicer to remove fiber.

If you’re juicer isn’t removing fiber, it’s not doing the job.

Ideally you should be buying a juicer that is removing fiber and not destroying nutrients.

That juicer would be a cold press juicer. I have reviews of cold press juicers here.

Are There Nutrients Left In Juice

Yes, of course there are. When you are juicing, the only thing you are removing is the fiber. The nutrients are all left still in the juice. In fact, there are more nutrients in a glass of juice than in a piece of fruit of a vegetable. The reason is that you’re removing the fiber and only getting the antioxidants.

Just has all of the antioxidants that fruits and vegetables does without the excess fiber. A fresh juice is loaded up with nutrients. It’s one of the most healthy drinks you can have.

A fresh juice has more nutrients than a regular juice because it’s not pasteurized. The juices that you buy in a regular store is going to be cooked, essentially. That’s what flash pasteurization is. It kills off bacteria, but it can also destroy the enzymes in your juice.

Sugar vs Antioxidants: What Does Juicing Do?

When it comes to juicing, you want to maximize the antioxidants, but limit the sugar rush. This is accomplished by drinking freshly made juice and not drinking strained store brought juice.

The store brought juice isn’t going to have any pulp, which you might think is great. But it’s actually not. That lack of pulp is going to allow you to get a sugar spike. This will cause you to get tired.

On the other hand, when you are juicing fresh juice with an auger juicer, or even a cutting disc style juicer, the small amount of fiber left in the juicer helps slow down the sugar absorption.

It’s why eating whole fruit doesn’t spike your blood pressure. There are quite a lot of misconceptions regarding fruit and vegetable sugars. The sugars, natural, are not bad in and of themselves. But it’s not actually bad for you.

The reason that refined sugar is not good for you is that it spikes your blood sugar and it’s refined. Natural sugars (fructose and sucrose) are not bad for you and as long as they are consumed with fiber, they won’t spike your blood pressure.

If you are interested in learning more about juicing, then read my article on how to use a juicer.