Juice it up with caution

Juicing has never gained more prominence than before, in this era of health consciousness. And while most health conscious folks have long been fans of it, it’s the celebrity fans of juicing which are propagating the wonders of juicing and inspiring more people to take it up. For example, Salma Hayek, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Midlleton, to name a few. But is juicing all that innocent? You might want to give it a second thought.

The other side of juicing

In London, UK, Dr Jonathan Hoarem, a leading gastroenterologist has reported an increase in the number of cases where individuals mistakenly believe that they have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), when in fact their excessively healthy eating habits are to be blamed — that of juicing. Dr Hoarem opines that some people are not  able to digest a collection of short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in foods naturally, in fruit and vegetables known as FODMAPs, which hit the gut faster when consumed in a liquid form. This can cause IBS-type symptoms including, pain, bloating and diarrhoea.

“Not everyone can handle large concentrations of fruit and vegetables at a high rate,” adds Dr Hoarem and believes there isn’t health benefit to juicing besides it might be encouraging some people to eat healthy. He said, “There is no logical reason or any evidence whatsoever to suggest it’s any better to whisk up your food than to eat it whole,” referring to the many juice diets where people restrict their food intake to fruit and vegetables juices in order to shed the pounds.

Kevin Whelan, a Professor of Dietetics in the Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Division at King’s College, London is a sceptic when it comes to the benefits of juicing, “There are many juicing books and it is widely promoted on social media as an approach to promote health, induce weight loss and flush ‘toxins’ from the body. There is very little research to support these claims. Clearly removing food from the diet can potentially help with weight loss, but juicing is not a sustainable and sensible approach to doing so. ‘If continued over the long term it will result in high intakes of fruit sugars and low intakes of essential micronutrients such as calcium and iron.”

Can it aid weight loss? 

So how popular is juicing among people in the city, what are their reasons for doing so and what’s their go-to juice concoctions? Nutritionist Karishma Chawla, Eat Rite 24x7, says that it’s quite common. “Usually, it’s a combination of green veggies with fruits. Not to forget that some of the fruits are also from high glycemic brackets. People think that juicing fruits and vegetables makes one feel lighter and hence, leads to fat loss. Unfortunately, this in the long term can lead to weight loss which is water and muscle loss. Also, too much of fruit juices can lead to high blood sugar levels and lead to fat gain.”

Expert speak

Is it true that excessive intake of juices of fruits and vegetables can cause IBS-like symptoms, and how common is it? “Juicing fruit and vegetables can surely cause IBS like symptoms in majority of patients, especially people with a weak digestive system. This is mainly because such a regime does not include essential proteins and carbs, and lack necessary fibre to add roughage to your faecal matter. Thus, making a person more probe to IBS,” opines Dr Jay Kotecha, Gastroenterologist, SRV Hospital. 

He recounts the case of one of his patients,  a woman in her late 20s, with complaints of increased frequency of stools and abdominal cramps. On enquiry, she revealed that her marriage was due in six months, and she was on a juice diet to reduce weight. On counselling her and making her switch to regular but healthy diet she had complete resolution of her symptoms in a week.

Dr Amit Gupte, Consultant Gastroenterology, Wockhardt Hospitals says that FODMAPs (a collection of short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in foods naturally)  are poorly digested in small intestine. They pass undigested to the large intestine where they are fermented by bacteria producing gas which causes bloating, flatulence and abdominal pain. “Patients of IBS are more sensitive to such changes and develop the symptoms. Juices can facilitate rapid delivery of FODMAPs to the intestines thus, causing symptoms of bloating and pain even in normal people,” he says adding that this phenomenon is common but the severity varies according to the intestinal sensitivity of each individual.

Does it actually help detox?

Now time for the million-dollar question, does juicing actually help detox? Fruits and vegetables contain lot of antioxidants and are good for health. But there is no such scientific phenomenon of flushing of toxins from the body. If at all one wants to consume these antioxidants, it should be in fresh form rather than processed juices, opines Dr Gupte. Dr Kotecha gives his verdict: Juicing regimens lack evidence based conclusions on their health benefits. Personally, I do not opine on the detox benefits of such juicing methods. They actually starve your body, only to add to the burdened out digestive tract.

Dos & don'ts

Karishma Chawla provides some suggestions on juicing:

Firstly, I do not recommend fruit juices at all unless one’s training requires it. 
The usual recommendation is to eat a whole fruit which is generally allowed in the first half of the day keeping fat loss in mind. 
Vegetable juices are healthy once a day. They generally help in detoxifying and help in fat loss. 
Nevertheless, juicing is not recommended as an entire day diet. We need a balanced diet comprising of complex carbohydrates, lean protein and essential fatty acids for optimal nutrition and fitness levels. Fruits and vegetables juices are a part of such a plan and not a plan by itself!