Cold-Pressed Juice: Healthy Or Overpriced Hype?
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If you’re a gym fan, a clean eater, a serial health kicker, or have just been tragically hungover and in desperate need of a ‘cure’, chances are you’ll have tried a ‘cold-pressed juice’ by now.
Specialist shops have popped up to serve everything from ‘hard green’ laced with ginger, to beetroot-infused coconut water.
But is it actually any better than, er, normal-pressed? And is it worth the whopping price tag?
‘Cold-pressed’: What And Why?
‘Cold-pressed’ means that high pressure machines have been used to grind out all the juice from the fruits and vegetables without the use of heating, acids or enzymes - other common juicing methods.
We asked Shona Wilkinson, Nutritionist at SuperfoodUK.com, the online health and wellbeing store, to explain: “These juicers are often called ‘masticating juicers’. They produce a juice which has not destroyed the nutrient content and also has the benefit of retaining more of the fibre content.”
Image: Breville
The idea is that all the lovely nutrients, minerals and antioxidants from the fruit and veg are not exposed to microbes in the air, or to any heat, so the end product is more nutritious and pure than juice obtained by other methods.
Well, that’s the theory.
Are Cold-Pressed Juices Better?
Image: Rex
Fruit juices and smoothies have been under intense scrutiny for several years now as the obesity and sugar debates rage on. And cold-pressed green juices have emerged as the saviour of flavour - more interesting than water, but low calorie.
The bottom line, though, is that there is little to no solid scientific research that 100% supports the idea that cold-pressed is better for you. Especially as there are many other variables to take into consideration beyond how the juice was obtained.
The quality of the ingredients is paramount of course, but there’s also an element of the unknown. There are many micronutrients touted by these drinks makers, that have never been scientifically tested in the body - so we don’t really know how they behave or how well they are absorbed.
Some nutrients, for example, actually become easier to absorb when heated, so cold-pressed won’t help there. Others are oil-soluble, so if there are no oils present, they can pass right through our body entirely.
And then of course there’s the fact that everyone’s digestive system works differently, so there’s no guarantee that you’re actually getting all the health benefits on the bottle.
However, don’t write them off just yet. Just because scientists haven’t tested their theories, doesn’t mean they’re not correct.
Image: Press
Anyone who’s scoffed a cold-pressed juice when they’ve had a cold coming on and found it magically disappeared, will be quick to offer their anecdotal evidence of the benefits. And if you’ve found they make you feel great, there’s no reason to doubt your body’s reaction to them.
Plus, many of these juices also include superfood ingredients such as chlorella, spirulina, ginger and maca, which you wouldn’t otherwise get in your diet. These have huge concentrations of nutrients and micronutrients that can pack a serious punch. And while you wouldn’t eat a teaspoon of seaweed algae spirulina, when it’s mixed into your green juice you won’t even taste it.
Are They Worth It?
Unfortunately, there’s no conclusive answer. And with some juices costing the best part of a fiver for one bottle, they can become an expensive little habit.
The theory makes sense, and the anecdotal evidence stacks up, but until more scientific testing is done it’s impossible to say for sure.
However, nutritionists like Shona are sold.
“There is a huge difference between cold pressed juices and other juices,” she tells us. “I always recommend that my clients buy cold pressed juices or even better make their own! The food contents can be the same but the nutrient content will be higher in a cold pressed juice.”
But, she reminds us, it’s important to choose ones with low sugar, otherwise you’re defeating the object.
“Make sure that your juice has a majority of vegetables over fruits.”
More liquid celery anyone?
