To juice or not to juice.

Everybody is juicing. "Juice!" they say, "it's so healthy for you" they say, "look at the benefits" they say.

I'm not sure that I quite get the idea. I know it's trendy, Jennifer Anniston does it, Oprah swears by it and so does her pet Dr Oz (I cannot abide that man.....he is just creepy). I think juice bars have become the new Starbucks. There's one on every corner.

But...drinking my salad through a straw? How come? Wouldn't you rather sit down and enjoy a healthy salad? And then have a tasty bowl of fruit for dessert? Are we so busy now that we have to blend our meals and desserts into one slimy, sloppy, green sludge? And then pretend it's tasty?

Is your life truly so chock full of things to do that you can't sit with your family and enjoy a meal? If so, I really feel sorry for you.

BUT! I don't want to appear too negative or uppity. I understand some of the reasons you might feel the need to juice. Maybe your kids just can't or won't eat veggies....a glass of your magic juice indeed has lots of healthy vitamins, I get that. And that's great, really, I think it is.

And I guess there might be the odd occasion that you just have no time for a meal, although I never understood that concept. That's like when people say they have no time to read. How can that possibly be? You can always find time to do the things you enjoy, and the things that are important to you. That's kinda the point of being alive. To enjoy. But anyhow, I, as they say, digress.

What I find interesting is the people who claim that a juice cleanse removes toxins from your body. What toxins are these? What exactly are we cleansing? Doctors, nutritionists, dietitians all agree that our bodies, particularly liver and kidneys are "equipped to naturally remove toxins from our systems." And again, most doctors, nutritionists and dietitians agree that while juicing in moderation in wonderful....nothing wrong with it in the least, it's best to eat your vegetable and fruits whole. If you juice because you like it, fine, I could not care any less, but that doesn't mean you are healthier than I am.

My own self, I'd rather eat a banana, a bowl of fresh strawberries and blueberries, a crunchy apple, tart and tangy. And a huge bowl of spinach and romaine with a bit of balsamic vinegar and maybe some pink salt and freshly ground pepper...how can a glass of liquids even compare?

So, juice away folks, juice away. Enjoy your big, frothy mug of thick green stuff, I'm going to have an actual meal, use my teeth and jaws to chew and my tongue to taste, the way nature intended.

Which would you prefer?