BAKERSFIELD, CA - Many people set health goals at the beginning of the new year. One trend that people seem to be sticking with is raw food and juicing.
The owners of Nature's Food Market say their raw food and juicing business has more than tripled since the beginning of the year. While for many it's a lifestyle choice, a local dietician says it's important to know what you're getting into.
Cucumber, kale, spinach, lemon, line, ginger, and green apple; these are the ingredients for a fresh juice reboot, a popular drink at a local natural food store.
Nature's Food Market co-owner Wendy Naus says juicing can be done in addition to eating solid foods, or on its own. "We had one gentleman for 35 days just juiced and dropped 35 pounds and felt amazing and had all this energy," said Naus.
Since only drinking juice can be difficult to stick to, she says it's best to ease into it.
Morrison Healthcare clinical dietician Lori Tolleson says it's important to do research before making a drastic change in your diet.
Tolleson said, "The cleansings only lose toxins and water that you're maybe retaining. It's not true weight loss and most of the time people are doing cleanses for that reason. Sometimes if they're doing cleanses for liver detox or anything like that it could be beneficial, but we don't do it often enough."
If juicing isn't for you, another popular trend is eating raw food.
Nature's Food Market co-owner Chuck Naus said, "Raw food is anything food that is from a plant source that is not cooked or that is at least dehydrated under 120 degrees."
He says there are benefits to eating a raw diet and it's easier than many people think. He says the possibilities for creating full meals out of raw foods are endless.
"We do several sauces that can be made from pureeing tomatoes or if you want to go with a creamy sauce, we use cashews," said Naus.
From a nutritional perspective, Tolleson says it's a personal choice, but it's beneficial to have a physician monitor vitamin intake.
"Sometimes nutrient absorption can be kind of hard to get. So we find that people are more at risk for B12 deficiency and iron deficiency when they have a raw food diet. It doesn't mean it can't be balanced, it just means it's a little more challenging," said Tolleson.
Nature's Food Market holds a raw foods class every third Sunday, for people who want to learn a little more about the lifestyle.
The owners of Nature's Food Market say their raw food and juicing business has more than tripled since the beginning of the year. While for many it's a lifestyle choice, a local dietician says it's important to know what you're getting into.
Cucumber, kale, spinach, lemon, line, ginger, and green apple; these are the ingredients for a fresh juice reboot, a popular drink at a local natural food store.
Nature's Food Market co-owner Wendy Naus says juicing can be done in addition to eating solid foods, or on its own. "We had one gentleman for 35 days just juiced and dropped 35 pounds and felt amazing and had all this energy," said Naus.
Since only drinking juice can be difficult to stick to, she says it's best to ease into it.
Morrison Healthcare clinical dietician Lori Tolleson says it's important to do research before making a drastic change in your diet.
Tolleson said, "The cleansings only lose toxins and water that you're maybe retaining. It's not true weight loss and most of the time people are doing cleanses for that reason. Sometimes if they're doing cleanses for liver detox or anything like that it could be beneficial, but we don't do it often enough."
If juicing isn't for you, another popular trend is eating raw food.
Nature's Food Market co-owner Chuck Naus said, "Raw food is anything food that is from a plant source that is not cooked or that is at least dehydrated under 120 degrees."
He says there are benefits to eating a raw diet and it's easier than many people think. He says the possibilities for creating full meals out of raw foods are endless.
"We do several sauces that can be made from pureeing tomatoes or if you want to go with a creamy sauce, we use cashews," said Naus.
From a nutritional perspective, Tolleson says it's a personal choice, but it's beneficial to have a physician monitor vitamin intake.
"Sometimes nutrient absorption can be kind of hard to get. So we find that people are more at risk for B12 deficiency and iron deficiency when they have a raw food diet. It doesn't mean it can't be balanced, it just means it's a little more challenging," said Tolleson.
Nature's Food Market holds a raw foods class every third Sunday, for people who want to learn a little more about the lifestyle.