Getting juiced has a nutritional bent

As traditional food practices go, mixing fruits and vegetables hasn't been a common tack. Eaten separately? OK. But together? Not so much.

The increasingly popular trend of juicing, however, might put an end to the divide.

Juicing simply means turning a solid foodstuff into something you can drink. It's a do-it-yourself process that requires little more than a machine -- either a juicer or, perhaps, a blender. Parents see it as a way to infuse their kids' diets with the nutritional value of vegetables the youngsters might otherwise shun. The same goes for adults.

New juicing machines are peppering the market as the trend grows in popularity, but juicing isn't really new. It's simply becoming more widespread. So if you're just getting started, consider the following before heading to the produce aisle or farmers' market:

Get the right juicer

"If someone is just starting to juice, they should pick out a juicer that is easy to clean," said Jillian Finker, a naturopathic physician with South Shore Naturopathic in Bellmore. "That's one of the biggest complaints I have from patients who start to juice. Finding a juicer that is dishwasher-safe can be a big help."

Go for lots of color

When it comes to vegetables, bright hues are often a sign of extra nutrients. "You should use multiple and various colors, just like you'd use in a regular diet," said Leah Holbrook, a registered dietitian and clinical instructor of family medicine at Stony Brook University. "Use greens, carrots, beets -- as many different colors as you can."

Finker agreed. "Usually the more colorful and bitter the juice is, the healthier it is," she said.

Don't use juices to replace whole foods

"I'd caution people to realize that this is one way of getting fruit and vegetables into their diet, but they shouldn't ignore getting them on the table," Holbrook said. "It's not that juicing isn't healthful. But turning something into a juice is not quite as good as eating the food whole." For one thing, she said, fruits and vegetables lose fiber when they're juiced.

Try new ingredients

Kale doesn't show up in many people's diets, for instance, but it's a common juicing ingredient. Garlic and ginger are a couple of other popular options.

You may wish to start slowly with new vegetables, however. "People should start out with juicing vegetables that they would normally like eating and then work their way up to the more bitter greens," Finker said. "Initially they may want to add a little bit of apple to sweeten up the juice, until their body gets used to it."

Watch the sugar and calories

You wouldn't eat, say, 10 oranges at once, or a half-dozen carrots. Keep that in mind when you add fruits and vegetables to your juicer and consider all the calories that a particular juice might have. Be especially careful about fruits, Holbrook said. They add sweetness to juice but can also bump up sugar levels and calories. She recommends focusing more on veggies.

Remember to eat some protein, too

There's no easy way to add protein to juice. Protein powders that you might throw into a fruit smoothie usually don't taste good in juice, Finker said. "Usually I tell people to eat some protein with their breakfast, like nuts, Greek yogurt or eggs."