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You’ve likely heard of the health benefits of adding green leafy vegetables to your diet.
There’s a reason this advice is so common; green leafy vegetables are naturally occurring superfoods packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. As a result, green juices have become popular, with numerous celebrities and health bloggers touting their benefits.
But is it that good for you, or is it just another pop-culture diet fad? We will look at the benefits and downsides of green juice and the best time to drink it.
What Is Green Juice?
Green juice is extracted from green vegetables such as spinach, celery, and kale. Some people include fruit with green juice. These greens are packed with antioxidants, fiber, phytonutrients, minerals, vitamins, folate, and much more.
The plant enzymes in green vegetables are needed by our bodies every day. We can get these enzymes in other ways, but leafy greens have the most bioavailable, natural form.
Green juices are easily absorbed by the body when consumed in juice.
Health Benefits of Green Juice
In addition to being a refreshing drink, green juice cleanses and detoxifies your body, boosts your immunity, and helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your stomach. Let’s look at some of the health benefits of green juice.
Reduced Inflammation
When your body has an inflammatory response, it’s because something’s wrong. It could be an allergy that causes a skin reaction or an upset stomach. No matter the cause, inflammation in or outside the body is sometimes the first step towards chronic disease.
A daily glass of nutritious green juice helps your vital organs function properly and can tone down inflammation.
Alkalizing Effect
Our bodies don’t like being in an acidic state. So, when it is, our bones and organs leech elements like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium to help neutralize excess acids.
Green juice can help diminish this acidic environment due to its alkaline nature.
Improved Digestion
Green juice is often advertised as having probiotic properties. Probiotics are the ‘good’ bacteria that live in our gut and aid digestion.
Certain compounds in fresh juice function like probiotics support healthy bacterial growth in your digestive tract.
High Bioavailability
Bioavailability is a term used to describe how well your body can absorb something. For example, fresh, green vegetable juice is one of the most bioavailable nutrition sources there is, so your body easily absorbs it.
Multivitamins or synthetic capsules provide specific vitamins and minerals your body needs, but it takes a long time to digest them because they're not naturally sourced.
On top of that, a good percentage of nutritional value is lost through the digestion process. Green juice, on the other hand, is fully absorbed by your body in 15-20 minutes.
Cleanses and Detoxifies
Liquids immediately pass through your stomach and into the intestinal tract when you consume them to keep you hydrated. Drinking green juice can give your stomach a break when it feels bloated or upset.
It’s a great way to soothe a gut that’s been overwhelmed by high quantities of carbs or protein. The great advantage of green juice is that you can rest your digestive system while reaping the benefits of antioxidants, minerals, and phytonutrients.
Builds Immunity
Vitamin C plays a critical role in building immune function, and green, leafy vegetables like broccoli, kale, and spinach are packed full of it. Because they provide you with water-soluble vitamin C, it’s easily absorbed by your body.
The powerful antioxidants in green juice help reduce oxidative cell damage, speeds up healing time, improves iron absorption, and aids in metabolic function.
Hydration
Green juice contains a considerable amount of water which is essential for hydration. Therefore, when consumed first thing in the morning, it’s a great way to boost your energy levels, as this is the time when your body is the most dehydrated. Daily consumption of green juice will give you more energy throughout the day and improve your overall mood.
It also helps flush your system of toxins and provides you with electrolytes.
Improves your skin
Every cell in your body will get healthier as you increase your intake of leafy greens. Many of these cells make up your body’s largest organ, your skin.
Helps With Weight Loss
Green juice is low in calories and high in nutrients. This makes them a fantastic, healthy substitute for a mid-evening snack or breakfast. Since green juice also provides a metabolism boost, it can aid weight loss. It’s best to use it as an added serving of vegetables.
It’s recommended that healthy adults consume 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day, which is difficult for most people. Green juice is a great way to consume two or three servings in a single glass. You can also add fruits like pineapple, mango, or kiwi to improve the taste.
Possible Downsides of Green Juice
There are a couple of possible drawbacks to drinking your leafy greens.
The primary one is removing a large portion of its fiber anytime you juice a fruit or vegetable. Fiber is essential for a healthy diet, so don’t fully substitute your fruit and vegetable intake with juice. Make sure you consume some whole produce as well.
Store-Bought, Pre-Made Green Juices Tend to be Packed with Sugar
Green juice loaded with sugar is concerning if you use green juice to help with weight loss. Excess sugar can also be associated with obesity and diabetes.
If you buy pre-made green juice, always check the label for added sugar. The added sugar content should be zero. It’s different from the total sugar count, which will account for the natural fruit sugar in the juice.
Green Juice Has a Lot of Oxalates in It
Oxalates bind to other minerals and stop your digestive tract from absorbing them.
They are in all green vegetables and aren’t typically a concern when consumed within a balanced diet. However, regularly drinking green juice as a total meal replacement can have adverse effects. For this reason, it should always be consumed as part of an overall healthy diet.
When Should Drink Green Juice?
To get the most out of your green juice, you should drink it every day. There’s no set rule that it must be in the morning. However, it’s most effective when consumed on an empty stomach.
If you don’t eat or drink anything else for 30 minutes after drinking your green juice, you will absorb more nutrients than if you drink it on a full stomach. The best time of day to ensure you have an empty stomach is first thing in the morning, so for this reason, we recommend drinking green juice first thing in the morning.
Final Thoughts
There are many benefits of green juice. It is a rich source of nutrients and bioavailable plant compounds that supports health, digestion, and immunity. When consumed daily as part of a balanced diet, it can provide many health benefits.
If you plan on drinking green juice daily, a masticating juicer is a good investment.
