Stop Drinking Green Juices

They do a lot more harm than good

Maria Cross

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A glas of green vegetable juice
Photo by LUIZ CARLOS SANTI on Unsplash

Most health trends come and go, but some linger. One such lingerer is green juice, especially green vegetable juice. You can buy these off the shelf or make your own, if you have a juicer. But should you?

Green juices are usually made from various types of leafy greens, mainly spinach, with the addition of apple or some other fruit to make them more palatable. Because without heavy camouflage, their earthy bitterness would make them hard to swallow.

But flavour is no obstacle to vogue; green juices have been riding high for years. The hook is their purported cleansing and detoxifying qualities, crowned with a plant-based halo.

If you can put a spin on green sludge, you can put a spin on anything.

And well spun they are, commonly described as “packed” with superfoods that “optimise health” and “purify the system”. They give you an energy boost and reduce the risk of heart disease. On top of all that, they make you radiant as you lose weight, “even though there is no strong scientific evidence to support these claims.”

The real science suggests something much less beneficial.

When you drink a green juice in the morning, you are loading your body with toxins called oxalates. If you do that for…

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Maria Cross

MSc. Registered nutritionist, specialising in gut and mental health. OUT NOW! My new book, How to Feed Your Brain. mariacrossnutrition @mariacross