Juicing

Concentrated Vitamins and Nutrients

So why not simply run to the store and buy bottled or frozen? Vitamins begin to decompose quickly. If you store fresh juice for more than 12 hours, it will begin to oxidize and lose its nutritional value. For manufacturers to bottle or freeze juice, they must process it in some fashion – by heating it or by adding preservatives, both of which negatively affect its nutritional value.

Why can’t I use the perfectly good blender that I have in my cabinet? While a blender will break up the fiber, it will be unable to separate the fiber from the juice. This means that you will not be able to drink as much of the blender juice. Think of it this way, all the blender does is grind up the plant fiber, which simply saves your teeth some work. Your body will still need to expend the same amount of energy to extract the necessary nutrients.

What qualities should a good juicer have?
These days a good juicer does not need to be very expensive. You can purchase a good quality juicer at your local home goods store or online. First and foremost, a good quality juicer should always have a separate, external container to collect the fiber. It should have a fine mesh strainer within the body of the juicer that can be removed easily for cleaning. Definitely look for one with a wide-mouthed chute! If it looks like you can insert your fist into the chute, then you will be able to insert a whole medium apple. Remember, the smaller the opening on the chute, the more cutting you’ll have to do before you can even start juicing. Lastly, we bought a 2 Cup clear measuring cup that we use to collect the juice. It is an easy way to keep track of your serving sizes and allows you to divide up juice made for two people.

How do I pick and prepare the produce?
-Buy organic wherever possible.
-Always wash your produce first, even if it is organic.
-If your produce is not organic, then peel it before juicing.
-You get the best juice from firm, ripe fruits and vegetables. If it is overripe or too soft, you will extract more pulp than juice.

Can I mix fruits and vegetables together?
Do your best to separate vegetable from fruit juices. Your body works differently to absorb nutrients from vegetable versus fruit sources. Carrots and apples are the only items that are interchangeable, and can be mixed with either fruit or vegetable juices. You will notice that many of the recipes provided below start with either carrots or apples.

1. Fruits are revitalizers and body cleansers.
2. Whole fruits are more easily digested than vegetables and are a good source of fiber.
3. If you are monitoring your blood sugar intake, fruit juices do contain a high amount of fructose, so go easy on them.
4. Vegetables are harder to digest when eaten whole. They are bulkier and are broken down more slowly by the body than fruit.
5. Vegetables are responsible for strong healthy muscles, tissues, glands and organs. In juice form, you can consume nearly 100% of the available nutrients.

Any guidelines I should follow?
- Avoid bananas or avocados as they are often too soft and will clog the juicer.
- Green vegetables – Limit green juice to 2 oz per glass and fill the rest of the glass with a milder juice, such as carrot or apple. Otherwise you may experience temporary gastric discomfort.
- Beets – Limit to 4 oz per glass and fill the rest with a milder juice, such as carrot or apple.
- Citrus – with grapefruit, tangerines and oranges, remove and discard all of the rind, but keep as much of the white pith as possible since it is chockfull of nutrients. You can juice lemons and limes whole with their rinds.
- Melons - Juice with both the peel and interior white rind, as much of the nutritional value of the melon resides in these sections of the fruit.
- Follow this link for some healthy, tasty juicing recipes.

When you take your first sip of the freshly made juice, swish it around your mouth until it feels warm and tastes sweet. This activates the digestive enzymes that are naturally present in your saliva.

Now that you are hooked on the delicious, nutritious benefits of fresh juice, consider combining it with a juice fast. Learn how to improve the benefits of fasting and make fasting easier through this approach.

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