Benefits of a Juicing Fast for Men Over 40
What are the natural benefits of juicing? Natural vegetable and fruit juices, especially those with natural antioxidants, have remained a popular natural health supplement for men over 40, giving synthetic health supplements a run for their money.
With juice bars in almost every mall and in shopping areas, getting in the habit of including a serving or two of juice in one’s lifestyle is no longer a tiresome chore. In addition to juice bars, many people are juicing at home, which is not only convenient, it offers a cost savings over the high cost of juices from your local juice bar.
Here are a few Benefits of Juicing for Men Over 40 that can help everyone acquire that coveted pink of health.
If you have any current or preexisting health issues, you should consult your doctor before beginning any diet regimen.
You don’t Have to do a Whole Juice Fast to get the Benefits of Juicing
A common myth about the benefits of juicing is that one needs to do an entire juice fast for 2-3 days to get the full benefits of its ingredients. That however, is simply not true. You don’t have to give up your 3-cup-a-day coffee habit to get the benefits of juicing. Simply replacing one or more servings of coffee with natural juices with provide you with immense health benefits in just 1-2 weeks.
You should drink natural vegetable and fruit juices that are high in antioxidants, particularly those that are green or purple in color, and avoid juices that are high in sugar, such as orange juice. As men age, their metabolism tends to slow down, so consuming juices that are high in sugar can put weight on, or contribute to Type 2 Diabetes, so try to consume juices that are sugar free or low in natural sugars.
One glass of wheatgrass juice provides a wholes day’s worth of cancer fighting nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants, and is low in sugar.
Be Prepared for the Purge
The one thing that deters most people from adapting juices as a regular part of their daily meals or using a juice fast, is that when you first begin this type of health regimen, you may experience some form of purging for sure. For some people, this may show up as slight nausea or a feeling of queasiness from a stomach full of liquid. Others find themselves visiting the loo several times a day, and you find your urine initially has a different color or odor.
Don’t be alarmed, one has to remember that this is just the body’s way of ridding itself of all toxins that are already present in the body as a result of the years of consuming harmful foods.
Pick a Juice According to your Special Needs
People often decide the juicing benefits themselves based on the results that they have heard from others, or choose juices they find tasty. But, everyone’s body has unique needs and not every juice is suited for everyone, especially if you already have a health issue.
For example, if your 20 year old neighbor claims that a cranberry juice fast helped her shed 5 pounds in two days, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it would give your 35+ self the same result.
Pick a juice that is suited to your age, health status, lifestyle and health goals, which will help you get the maximum benefit from juicing by inclusion of juices in your lifestyle.
Opt for Juices with Pulp to get an Extra Dose of Fiber and Nutrients
Strained or clear juices may taste more delicious than the ones with pulp in them, but the fact remains that the vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants are locked in the pulp of fruits juices, and thus these juices are a lot more beneficial to your body than just the juice alone.
Of course if you have a specific aversion to the texture of juice with pulp, then you should stick to clear juices. If you have no particular preference, try including juices with pulp into your diet to get the maximum nutritional and antioxidant benefits from juices.
Include Juices in your Snacking Schedule
Instead of sugary candy bar as part of a snack, just try sipping on a fresh juice instead when you would normally have a mid day snack or cup of coffee.
If you have a high pulp juice, you could also have a juice along with a meal and it would help you consume less solid calories as well. If you are trying to lessen your alcohol consumption, you can try ordering a juice when you go out with your friends or ask for a juice based cocktail instead of straight alcohol a whole glass of wine itself.
This may lessen the volume of alcohol you consume, and therefore lessen the negative effects of alcohol on your body.
What Type of Juicer Should You Use?
If you plan to juice at home, what type of juicer should you use to get the full benefits of juicing at home? That depends on the type of fruits and vegetables you want to use. A standard juicer that most people think of when considering a home juicer is a centrifugal juicer. This type of juicer has blades inside that crush the fruit or vegetable and then the motor spins at a very high rate of speed to extract the juice. This is best for soft fruits or vegetables, but leaves the meat, seeds and stems in the machine to be tossed out.
Another type of juicer is a masticating juicer, which grinds up the flesh, seeds and stems to extract the juice. With this type of juicer, you drink the hidden nutrition of the fruit or vegetable locked in the seeds and stems.
If you plan to use soft leafy vegetables, such as wheatgrass, kale, cabbage, celery or lettuce as part of your juice fast, or any other type of juicing program, then a masticating juicer is your best bet, as a centrifugal juicer can’t expel the juice from wheatgrass or other leafy greens.
How Much Juice should You Consume in a Day?
Since juice is an all-natural food, as long as it is not high in sugar, you really don’t need to put a cap on how much you consume in a day to get the full benefits of juicing.
However, you have to account for several factors when calculating per day juicing benefits. A top concern in an all-juice diet is that most of them don’t include the kind of complex proteins you need to fuel your body to keep muscle tone and strength up. Also, since juices metabolize fairly quickly, they don’t allow you to carb load, i.e., maintain a reserve of carbs in your system that can be slowly released through the day to keep your body’s energy up.
Some juices are high in natural sugars, yet others are not. While natural sugar is better than processed sugar, once in the body, all sugars metabolize the same. If you are at risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes or high blood pressure, consuming juices high in natural sugar can exacerbate these health issues. You will want to consume juices naturally low in sugar, and you may want consume no more than two 8 oz glasses of juice per day.
If you want to consume more juice in a day, a great way to go would be to do a partial juice fast, where you have a high protein and moderate carb breakfast, have juices through the day, have a high protein-carb supper and then have some more juice through the evening.
In closing, while there are benefits of juicing, there are potential risks you need to be aware of. You should consult a doctor or dietitian before beginning this or any diet regimen, and particularly if you have a current or pre-existing health issue.
About The Author: Margaret Jules is a writer/blogger. She loves writing about technology, gadgets and social media. She contributes to Qualitude. An article on play euromillions attracts her attention.
Ken Weiss is a health blogger who is passionate about natural and holistic cures for men’s health issues. He is the founder of menshealthcures.com
