12 Best Vegetables to Juice: Our Health Guide

Getting all the nutrients you need into your body is often easier said than done. You select foods, cook them and then hope that they will carry you through life. However, vegetables seem to get left out a lot to the point where it has become a running joke in Hollywood. In some scenes in movies and TV shows, you have to force kids to eat them, which is very telling of our society as a whole.

That said, listed below are the 12 best vegetables to juice. Consequently, you no longer have to cook all your veggies. The best part is that you can mix them with fruits to make the resulting beverages more palatable and to boost your nutrient intake.

Carrots

What you look for in juices besides the nutrients is the flavor and color. The carrot delivers on all these since it is a bright orange vegetable with a notable sweet flavor. As such, it’s easier to juice alone when compared to other veggies.

In terms of nutrients, there are a few that you can find in your carrot juice. Examples include potassium and biotin. Moreover, the plant pigments, also known as carotenoids in your carrots, are worth consumption as well. You know that myth that says carrots help you see better? Well, it’s not a myth, especially since these carotenoids give your body the means to fight against night blindness.

Additionally, carrot consumption helps prevent certain cancer types as well as heart diseases. For a variable taste and change in juice color, you can use yellow carrots from time to time. That said, it is entirely possible to overdose on carrots, so you should juice them in moderation. If you don’t, you risk discoloring your skin and giving it an orange hue.

Tomatoes

In addition to the fact that tomatoes fit in a lot of food preparation methods, they fit in a juice cup as well. When trying to manage your weight, the tomato is an excellent option to add to your diet. It’s extremely low in calories, making it one of the best vegetables to juice for weight loss. It also comes with vitamin C, folate, lycopene and potassium, which your body needs in the right amounts.

If you’re in the gym lifting weights or performing cardio regularly, the juice will help reduce the inflammation you deal with daily. Additionally, the lycopene we mentioned minimises the risk of certain life-threatening conditions, e.g. cancer, strokes and heart attacks. As a side benefit, tomato juice improves male fertility as well.

It’s important to make the distinction that tomatoes are technically a fruit and not a vegetable. However, we use it as a vegetable in our foods, and it can work the same way in our juices as well.

Kale

Another veggie that you can throw into your easy-clean juicer to whip up a beverage is kale. One of the benefits of raw kale is the anti-oxidants present. One example of this is beta-carotene which is also present in carrots. As such, similar to carrots, kale can also help prevent heart disease.

Additionally, when you juice and drink kale juice, you ingest vitamins A, C and K, among other nutrients. That said, drinking kale juice in moderation is advised since it can negatively affect thyroid function Trusted Source Kale might be bad for you in some cases - Insider In some cases, eating kale might not be as healthy as you think. For example, it can interact with thyroid function if it’s eaten in very high amounts. It contains something called progoitrin, which can interfere with thyroid hormone synthesis and essentially block the iodine your thyroid needs to function. This can result in fluctuating blood sugar levels and weight. www.insider.com if you over-indulge. Consequently, your internal systems might not be able to regulate blood sugar levels as well as they should. Lastly, the mild taste of kale may not go down well, but you can always add a few fruits or other tastier veggies into the beverage.

Spinach

Like kale, spinach is leafy, green, and has a mild flavor that mixes well with juices from other fruits and veggies. While the evidence is minimal, some science suggests that spinach juice is one way to keep blood pressure in the normal range. This is made possible by the nitrates in the spinach leaves.

Besides nitrates, spinach also possesses anti-oxidants such as quercetin, kaempferol, and lutein, in addition to vitamins A and C. Lastly, it can help neutralize some of the acids in your stomach for those who deal with acid reflux regularly.

Beets

Next, we have beets. Since they are rich in fiber, you might benefit more from combining a blender and a juicer to make your beverages. The blender will preserve the fiber while the juicer preserves the nutrients. Speaking of nutrients, beets come with folate, manganese and potassium.

Additionally, there are some nitrates present in beets as well. As such, if you mix spinach and beets in your juices, you have one potent combination to help control your blood pressure. The icing on the cake when juicing beets is the color. The rich color makes it look and taste better and may even improve the palatability of the other vegetable juices in the beverage.

It’s a common misconception that only the beet bulb can be used for juicing. The beet greens that form the top part of the plant are also nutrient-rich and can supplement your juice. The Tribest GSE-5000 is an excellent juicer for beets, according to previous users. While some might think it comes with a hefty price tag, we understand that the masticating power of the tool is not cheap.

Lastly, there is a danger to drinking too much beet juice where your urine turns pink or purple.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are great for killing two birds with one stone: they provide you with several nutrients and keep you hydrated. They are also beneficial for filling you up while keeping the calorie count low. If you’re on a weight loss journey, you can use cucumbers to help you achieve a caloric deficit.

If you supplement your water drinking habits with cucumber juice, your kidneys will work better, it will be easier to digest food, and your body’s physical performance will peak. Additionally, your body will get extra doses of potassium and manganese in addition to vitamins K and C.

Lastly, cucumbers make some of the best vegetables to juice for the skin. There’s evidence to suggest that cucumber juice can help reduce some of the inflammation that is synonymous with exposure to the sun.

Celery

Like cucumber, celery has high water content, which makes it ideal for upping your hydration levels. However, the taste and smell can sometimes be unacceptable to people. If you find these two characteristics unpleasant, you can opt to add fruits and veggies to the juice, so it’s easier to drink.

Once you have dealt with the unpleasantness, you can then enjoy the nutritional benefits of the beverage you make. Vitamins A, K and C are prominent in the vegetable. As for the anti-oxidants, they are a mix of kaempferol, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid.

Some of the side effects of drinking celery juice include reduced blood pressure as well as low triglycerides, and cholesterol levels, all of which are causes of heart ailments. Also, celery has about 25 anti-inflammatory Trusted Source 5 Healthy Benefits of Adding Celery to Your Diet - Healthline Antioxidants protect cells, blood vessels, and organs from oxidative damage.
Celery contains vitamin C, beta carotene, and flavonoids, but there are at least 12 additional kinds of antioxidant nutrients found in a single stalk. It’s also a wonderful source of phytonutrients, which have been shown to reduce instances of inflammation in the digestive tract, cells, blood vessels, and organs. www.healthline.com agents. Since internal inflammation can cause severe chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes and more, celery juice is one preventive measure you can use to fight against this.

Lastly, there is some fiber present in celery as well.

Cabbage

Most people would assume that cabbage is not the type of vegetable that you juice. However, if you have the right juicer for the job, you can extract some fluids from the leaves and create a nutritious beverage.

According to most reviews, the Mueller Austria Juicer is excellent for extracting juices, not just when it comes to cabbage but with most of the other vegetables on this list. While the extra-large feeding chute in the Mueller might allow for whole fruits and veggies, we do recommend that you cut some of them up. That way, the machine doesn’t have to work as hard to juice the carrots, cucumbers and more and will last longer in your kitchen as a result.

Back to the cabbage, the nutrients you should expect from the extracted juice include vitamins K and C. Additionally, vitamin B6, folate, and manganese are some of the extra micronutrients that will be going into your body when you ingest the juice.

Broccoli is part of the cruciferous group of vegetables that consists of cabbage, kale, cauliflower and more. According to research, these cruciferous veggies help lower your risk of heart disease, inflammation and diabetes. This being the case, you should have broccoli juice as often as possible.

The benefits don’t stop there.

Also, you might be able to stave off that mental decline associated with age and illnesses if you make your juices out of broccoli alongside other anti-oxidant rich green vegetables.

Parsley

For some of us, the only time we see parsley is as a garnish on top of a well-prepared dish. It is often eaten raw, and if you can get it in a juicer, you can also make a beverage from it. However, remember to buy it in large quantities if you’re going to use it for juice rather than as a garnish.

If you’re worried about your liver, parsley juice is one of the go-to options to help preserve its function. This is because they contain flavonoid anti-oxidants that protect your body against the stressors and toxins it comes across daily. Consequently, your whole body can function more efficiently.

Parsley juice is also effective against diabetes, where it helps reduce blood sugar to manageable levels.

Swiss chard

Swiss chard is another option if you’re looking for the best green vegetables to juice. Swiss chard looks a lot like spinach. Some of the upsides of juicing this plant are also similar to those associated with spinach juice. The vitamins in the juice, for instance, are the same and include vitamins A and C. By taking in vitamin A, you get improved bone health, better reproductive health, a lower risk of cancer, and it even reduces the risk of acne.

Additionally, it seems that swiss chard juice is effective against fighting cellular damage inside your body, whether it’s caused by physical, biological, immunological or chemical factors. Also, it indirectly influences the function of insulin in your body, meaning that it can help you control blood sugar levels. This is, of course, great news for those with diabetes.

Swiss chard juice is, however, not recommended for those prone to kidney stones. This is because it negatively affects the body’s ability to absorb calcium.

Wheatgrass

The last vegetable on our list that you can juice is wheatgrass. While technically a vegetable, it is ill-advised to cook it using the methods you use to cook other veggies. You can, however, use wheatgrass powder to spice up your meals at the end of a cooking exercise. Of course, another way to maximize the nutritional value for your body is to take it in as a beverage.

The chlorophyll that is a major component of wheatgrass is both anti-inflammatory and can boost your immune system’s capabilities to fight some cancers. Additionally, it contains 17 different amino acids that help build up the proteins in your body.

Another positive of wheatgrass juice is the range of nutrients present, including phosphorus, iron, copper, and magnesium. Lastly, it improves heart health. Of course, you don’t have to drink it alone if you don’t want to. You can add carrots, apples and other fruits and veggies to improve the taste.

Final thoughts

As you might already know, cooking with heat tends to deplete some of the nutrients in veggies. As such, you barely get what you need from them. However, juicing is another way to make sure you ingest all the nutrients available in a carrot, tomato, cucumber or other vegetables.

That said, juicing also tends to remove fiber from the beverage, which is necessary for your body. Consequently, you can make your juices by using both a blender and a juicer to offset the shortcomings of each. Remember to bookmark and use this ‘best vegetables to juice list’ to vary your beverage options daily.

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