BY MARY CAROL POXON

With bottles of green juice appearing in the hands of celebrities and high school students alike, “juicing” has become the new, cool way to diet. But is it the most effective?

According to Mayfield Fitness and Wellness teacher Helen Wade, juicing is not meant to replace three balanced meals a day containing 2,000 calories. Young women might believe that juicing offers a quick fix in losing weight, but in reality, those who juice are likely to gain more weight over time.

“The only way to lose weight is by eating healthy and exercising” said Wade. “It is really important to live a balanced life, and good balance of nutrition is a part of that.”

Juicing is intended to cleanse the body, but often causes nutrition deficiency among young people. Young people lead active lives, and in order to be productive in everyday activities, a well-rounded diet is essential.

“Juicing has the placebo effect,” noted Biology teacher Theresa Peters. People who juice might feel that it is actually doing something good for their bodies, but so far, there is no scientific evidence that juicing actually works.

In fact, as Wade pointed out, juicing often causes people to gain weight. This is because drinking rather than eating solid food causes the body to not feel full, which leads people to eat more.

It is easy to quickly, and perhaps blindly, follow a trend like juicing when it seems that everyone is doing it. And with celebrities endorsing this new weight loss program, many girls do not know the real effects, including dangerous ones, juicing has.

There are many juice bars opening up in the Pasadena area, but Wade encourages girls to find another means of leading a healthy lifestyle.

Instead of juicing, she suggests making nutritious smoothies that contain protein, either through milk or protein powder. Since protein powder can be found at most grocery stores now, making smoothies at home can be an easier and cheaper alternative to juicing.