"Juice Will Not Cure the Ravages Caused by a Rich Diet
Food, through 400 million years of evolution (or, if you choose, by Divine Creation 6000+ years ago), arose to act in perfect harmony with the biologic systems of the human body. The hosts (us) and the fuel are extremely complex living tissues and interact in mysterious, but perfectly correct ways. Any alteration of the food will interfere with the exactness of this complicated interaction.
Undoubtedly, the foundation of our health comes from a whole plant-food (starch-based) diet, moderate exercise and sunshine, clean water and air, and surroundings that support psychological comfort. If any of these ingredients are wrong—as typically found among people living in Western societies—then disease easily develops. Witness, almost every person over age 30 is overweight and/or on medication. Juices, even exotic and expensive ones, will not correct fundamental problems. Juice is no longer a whole plant-food and the consequence on human health of consuming large amounts of this alteration of whole fruits and vegetables is yet to be determined. At the very least, consuming any kinds of juices, rather than the whole food, will promote weight gain. In the case of exotic juices, the verdict, based on present evidence, is the financial costs outweigh any demonstrated benefits."
[From Dr. McDougall's newsletter, here. My own personal opinion is that the fruit juices might be problematic from the sugar standpoint, but that vegetables juices are probably okay. Smoothies with other ingredients might mitigate the sugar issue. In any case, anyone "juicing for health" should think about loss of fiber and too much sugar. I used to use the pulp from vegetable juices in stews, sauces, and soups, to counteract that. In recent years, I've decided that juicing, for me, isn't necessary. I love carrot juice, but think that actually eating the carrots raw or cooked is of greater nutritional benefit. Admittedly, though, I do enjoy wheatgrass juice when I can obtain it!]
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