I’ll admit, I loved the move Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead featuring Joe Cross. I mean what’s not to like? He was morbidly obese, changed his diet to basically a vegan diet, lost a ton of weight, and even reversed a crippling disease. Then he helped another guy, Phil Staples, do the same thing. It was educational, inspiring, and showed how powerful a plant-based diet can be. Pretty awesome! Right?
There’s only one problem.
But first, you may be wondering what prompted this post. ”Don’t Drink Green Juices” – especially on St. Patrick’s Day. Kinda ironic huh. Anyway, I was reading one of my plant-based forums this morning and ran across a post called “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”. Having watched the movie I naturally clicked on it to see what they had to say. As it turns out, the poster just attended an event where Joe Cross was speaking.
A fairly LARGE Joe Cross. Large as in once he lost his weight and eliminated all his meds, went OFF of his vegan diet, and now eats fish, grass-fed beef, french fries, and chocolate ice cream once every two weeks. Oh, and remember his buddy he helped in the movie? The truck driver Phil? Yeah he regained his weight too, and is once again juicing to lose it.
What really surprised me today was how large he is. He acknowledged that he had gained weight and said that he had gotten up to 260, but was now 240. I did not stand next to him but I am going to guess that he is a bit over 6 feet tall. At 240 that would put his BMI in the obese range if he is 6′ 2″. When he was asked about his cholesterol numbers he claimed to not remember what any of them were, saying they were mentioned in the movie
What the….???
You have a hugely successful movie, website, books, and who know what other marketing gizmos, all promoting a ‘healthy juice fast’ and ‘reboot’ to lose weight – and you show up at a seminar fat? And eating french fries and ice cream? Excuse me?
Which brings me back to the problem with juicing.
Actually there are many, but here are the
Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Juicing
…if you want to get healthy and keep the weight off.
#5. Juicing Can Be Expensive!
The Equipment
Since juicing is a hot ticket item these days, thanks in part to the movie, the demand for good quality juicing equipment has gone up – along with the price. The Breville Juicers that Joe recommends on his site can set you back $300-400. The cheapest one I saw was $99 and this was for the compact version. And if you’re into smoothies instead – a professional model Vitamix goes for almost $500! I guess people really like smoothies. And hey folks, this is just for the equipment.
The Produce
Have you ever juiced something? Like a carrot maybe? It takes a TON of carrots to make a fairly good-sized glass of carrot juice. Anyone price organic produce lately? I don’t think I need to tell you that your grocery bill is going to go up – especially if you opt for organic produce. Take a walk around the produce section of Whole Foods. You’ll see what I mean.
#4. Fruit Juice is No Different Than Soda Pop
The “Juice” is not the natural state of the fruit. It’s actually a highly refined, highly processed, food. Where fruit is very healthy for you in its natural form, juices are really nothing more than liquid calories.
For example, an 8oz glass of grape juice is 160 calories with 38 grams of sugar. A 12oz can of cola on the other hand has 170 calories with 43 grams of sugar. Remember we are comparing an 8oz glass of juice to a 12oz can of coke. If we adjust the juice to a 12oz serving, like the can of pop, we now have 240 calories with 57 grams of sugar. I know what you’re thinking, “yeah but it’s FRUIT juice”.
A calorie is a calorie and a gram of sugar is a gram of sugar. And remember there’s no fiber to slow that sugar (from the pop or the juice) to going straight to your bloodstream. Your pancreas just went into overtime.
#3. Your Body Needs The Fiber
When you juice you are extracting all the juice out of the fruit / vegetable and leaving behind all the pulp. What do you do with the pulp? I guess you could reuse it – or compost it. If you’re like me, the few times I tried juicing I just tossed it in the trash. Guess what? That’s where all the fiber is! We need the fiber to slow down all that sugar!
A recent study said Most children and adults in the U.S. are getting less than the recommended amounts of whole grains and dietary fiber. Sadly we know the standard american diet is very lacking in fiber. Cheeseburgers and french fries have none to very little. Neither does hot wings or a meat lovers pizza. And we wonder why Metamucil is so popular. Apparently people would rather drink this stuff than eat good, wholesome foods that naturally contain fiber – like whole fruits and vegetables.
And don’t think smoothies are any better. You are actually destroying the structure of the fiber when you blend it. So it’s not the same. Nature made these fruits and vegetables to be a perfect food just the way they are.
#2. Eat Your Vegetables
Remember what Mom uses to always say? Eat your vegetables! She never once said DRINK them. There’s a reason mom was so smart. We need to CHEW our food.
There’s actually an enzyme in our saliva that starts digesting our food before we even swallow it. These enzymes break down fats and starches and can only go to work if your food is chewed. If you don’t chew your carbs – but drink them instead, these enzymes don’t have the ability to break down starches (providing you with energy) or start digesting fats (leaving them partially unprocessed).
Remember what happens to undigested foods in out gut? They tend to ferment. And when that happens….better clear the room – and don’t light a match.
#1. Diets Don’t Work
We know this. How many times have you tried the newest diet, to eventually give up and gain all the weight back again. Dieting simply does not work. Ask Joe Cross, or Phil Staples. You cannot sustain a healthy diet by drinking juices alone. For any long-term success, LIFESTYLE changes have to be made. This really is all or nothing – there is no in-between.
We need to get away from the quick fixes and EAT the foods we were intended to eat. Whole, natural, un-processed, REAL foods. Foods our grandparent used to grow in their victory gardens. Foods in their natural state. And mostly starches as recommended by Dr. John McDougall.
Joe, Phil……I wish you luck.
