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The nutrition labels slapped on the back of green juices make some hefty, vitamin-rich promises. Want to squeeze in 20 percent of your daily Vitamin A intake in just one sip? Kale, yeah! However, if you’re swigging a pineapple-spinach juice in the name of good health, you need to make sure the blend contains one specific macronutrient. Otherwise, according to one healthy-living expert, your body won’t actually reap those aforementioned benefits.
Said superstar macronutrient is healthy fat. According to rockstar nutritionist Kelly LeVeque, it allows your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. In a recent live episode of That’s So Retrograde, a podcast devoted to discussing the intersection of wellness and pop culture, the live-well guru warned against paying for $10 for a juice that packs a farmer’s market haul’s worth of fruit and veggies without also containing a nice healthy fat that actually transmits its vitamins into your bod. “When you’re juicing, you’re removing the fiber. And, by the way, you’re not going to have any protein or fat in that,” she warns.
It’s fat that allows your body to absorb fat-soluable vitamins A, D, E, and K from your $10 green juice, according to nutritionist Kelly LeVeque.
Not quite sure why you should even care about reaping the benefits of these powerhouse vitamins? Vitamin A, found in carrots, helps your body and hair grow properly, supports your immune health, and is crucial for proper fetal development. Vitamin D, which pretty much everyone is lacking, increases the amount of calcium absorbed by your body. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant that protects your body from free radicals, unstable atoms that have been linked to disease. And finally, vitamin K promotes normal blood clotting.
So next time you line up at your local cold-pressed juice shop, scan your menu for the coconuts and avos of this world. Bonnie Taub-Dix, RDN, creator of Better Than Dieting and author of Read It Before You Eat It: Taking You from Label to Table, recommends looking out for a nut-based fat, like cashew butter or a handful of almonds. Or, if your favorite menu item just doesn’t comply, don’t be afraid to enjoy your fats on the side. Green juice and avocado toast, FTW.
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