Juicing is something that has become wildly more popular in recent years. Historically, it was a minority practice, and juice machine sales were fairly minimal.
However, with the rise of the internet and social media influencers, that’s all changing, and juicing is becoming more commonplace.
So, why are so many people juicing?
Health And Wellness
The biggest reason people are juicing is because of the health and wellness aspect. Juicing is simply a great way to get more from fruits and vegetables by breaking down their external structures and accessing more of the nutrition inside.
Usually, when you chew on food, you can break down some of the tough cell walls in plants, but not all. However, that’s not the case with juicing. Here, you can break down far more and get a much better effect, allowing you to extract all the nutrition from the plant, whether it’s carrots or kale.
Furthermore, juicing can improve wellness by boosting digestion. Eating large volumes of fruits and vegetables can tax the stomach a lot, since humans aren’t evolved to eat vast quantities of roughage.
However, juicing removes this constraint by getting rid of most of the fiber. Many people find this approach to eating a lot of vegetables far more conducive to a normal life.
Convenience
Another reason people are juicing more than ever is the sheer level of convenience now on offer. Juicing is quick and simple thanks to entrepreneurs and new machinery. Most people these days can find a coffee shop with a juice bar too, so they don’t even have to make their own.
What’s nice about juicing is that you can see exactly what’s going into your drinks. All you need to do is pop the oranges, apples, greens, and other veggies into the hopper and then wait for the juice to appear from the bottom.
Once you do this, you can often get several servings of fruits and vegetables from a single glass. Then, all you need to do is drink it (and usually it tastes pretty good).
Lifestyle Trends
Another reason so many people are juicing these days is that it has become a real lifestyle trend. A lot of people are simply excited about juicing and the prospects that it offers for their health and wellbeing. Influencers are going online and touting the benefits, and a lot of people are simply following them.
For example, juicing and fasting are closely related. Many people will simply drink green juices during a fast to keep their nutrient status high while also avoiding starches or proteins that can break their fast.
Other social media influencers are exploring juicing options for their ability to radically improve health. Boosting the amount of nutrients in the system will usually make the majority of people feel better, which is a major draw and why so many people are interested in it.
Often, drinking green smoothies causes sustained weight loss. People find that when they use these smoothies, they are better able to keep the weight off because the nutrients in the vegetables they are consuming have special properties that enable more fat-burning and mobilization.
The Taste
Then, there’s the fact that some green smoothies taste pretty good these days. Chefs and other experts are getting better at making them more palatable, encouraging even mainstream eaters to get in on the trend.
For example, many are combining things like apple, spinach, and ginger. By themselves, these ingredients in a juice don’t taste that great. But when you combine them, you wind up with something that’s quite special.
Furthermore, these blends enable more palatable combinations of ingredients that people wouldn’t usually put in smoothies, like kale and beets. These foods are good for you, but their juices can be overpowering. Combining them with the right companion ingredients is something that can make all the difference.
Accessibility
Of course, simple accessibility is another driving force behind the surge of interest in juicing. More people than ever can simply go out and buy the equipment.
Furthermore, you see a lot of pre-made juices in cafés and grocery stores. These are simply grab-and-go, which is perfect for busy professionals who don’t have time to hang around or go to the effort of making a juice drink at home.
Numerous brands are competing in the fresh juice market, so the price is coming down all the time. With so many competitors, it is actually the consumer who is winning.
Perceived Detox Benefits
Lastly, a lot of people are choosing to juice because of the perceived detox benefits. Researchers like to rail against these claims, but now more science is coming through to suggest that juicing with vegetables is healthy.
One of the reasons this is happening is because of the well-known benefits of cruciferous vegetables. These contain compounds that actually enhance the liver’s detox pathways, allowing it to transport more toxins out of the body, or use enzymes to convert them into harmless substances.
This perception is now going mainstream, and a lot of people find that juicing acts as a powerful placebo. Many individuals believe that by juicing they will get better, and that’s what actually happens in reality.
For others, the idea is to go on a long-term cleanse. Here, the person might drink nothing but juices made from fresh fruits and vegetables for an entire week before returning to their baseline diet.
Of course, you don’t just have to stick with juices. You could also opt for smoothies. The latter retains the fiber from the plants, which might be helpful if you’re looking to increase your intake.
Most Americans get around 10 to 15 grams of fiber per day. However, smoothies allow you to push this up to the 40g range with the right sort of planning.
Ultimately, juicing is a trend that’s here to stay. People appreciate the health benefits and they want to go further with it over time, using it to get their five-a-day servings of fruits and vegetables, and more.
So, are you going to start juicing?
