Pulp Nutrients

by Jerome Polls
(West Sacramento, CA)

Q: I've heard that a lot of the nutrition is in the skin and pulp. When you juice do you lose a lot of the nutrients because the pulp and skin separate from the juice?

A: Hi Jerome! There is nutrition in both the pulp and the juice, yes. However, we have to think about the reason why we juice. Juicing extracts all the nutrients out of the fruit and vegetable. When we drink it in fresh liquid form, it acts like an infusion right into our bloodstream. Our body accepts the nutrients quicker and more effectively then when eaten.

Our body doesn't need to expel the energy to digest the fiber and pulp. It also allows us to get more nutrients because how often would be eat an entire bag of carrots and a whole head of broccoli in one sitting?

So, to answer your question, of course we might be losing some of the nutrition and fiber that is left behind in the pulp. But it's really not that much, and you get more nutrients out of juicing (just because of the sheer volume of produce you use).

If you have a good juicer, you'll see there is hardly any pulp leftover from juicing a glass of juice.

If you are worried about leaving behind the pulp, maybe smoothies would be more appealing to you. It's a matter of preference :)