What is Juicing?
Juicing is the process by which Vitamins and Minerals are extracted from raw fruit and vegetables resulting in a nutrient dense liquid. This liquid loaded with Vitamins and Minerals also has antioxidants, anti inflammatory compounds, and Phyto-nutrients (also known as the plant's defense system). Often times people use juicing as a way to lose weight, to detox, and to also prevent and cure illnesses. Although no real evidence has proven the effects of juicing on health many people are convinced that it works. There are hundreds of thousands of testimonials from real people who have shown promising results.
What are the Benefits of Juicing?
- Juicing can be used as a way to supplement a normal and healthy diet. Most people are not able to consume the amount of nutrients and vitamins needed from raw food alone, as it is needed in large amounts. They would rather concentrate it in juice form. For Example, a person who simply does not like the taste of vegetables. Some people do not like the taste of kale and therefore will not enjoy eating it but by adding it to a juice with other ingredients you can mask the bitter taste and enjoy the benefits.
2. Juicing breaks down the cell walls of the fruits and vegetables making it easier for your body to digest and improves the rate of absorption. the way food is mass produced these days has cut down on the nutrient levels and poor farming practices has lead rich soil to become depleted of beneficial enzymes, vitamins, and minerals. Because of this we need to supplement our diets in order to get the right amount of vitamins to operate efficiently and effectively.
3. Juicing will help aid the body in detoxification. When your body does not need to work so hard at digesting and breaking down your food it can work harder at detoxing and cleaning up your other organs. It is especially important for you to aid your body in detoxification as the world is filled with more chemicals and more pollutants than ever before. Your body may have a harder time detoxing all the pollutants from the air that you breathe to the water that you drink and the food that you eat.
4. The fiber in raw fruit and vegetables can be hard for the digestive system to break down, so removing the fiber through juicing is a great way to give the stomach and intestines a break. Some people find that the fiber is an important part of their diet and choose to add it back in and others find other ways to add fiber to there diet without compromising their juice.
How to Juice
In order to juice you must select a high quality juicer which we'll talk about in a bit, but first We'll talk about how you juice and my tips to get the best from your juice.
I would highly recommend using all organic fruit and veggies when ju icing especially if you have a high quality juicer and will be juicing the skin or peel as well. The outside skin or peel and fruit itself can contain a lot of chemicals and pesticides if it's conventional. I know the cost of organic fruits and veggies doesn't appeal to some so would definitely recommend looking into the EWG'S Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen lists which are updates yearly according to testing of pesticide residue on produce. The Dirty Dozen are 12 foods listed that are recommended to be purchased organic as they have the highest concentration of pesticides. The Clean Fifteen is a list of 15 foods that contain little to no traces of pesticides and can be purchased organic. So you may swing for the Organic Strawberries but might pass on the Organic Pineapple as long as it is not GMO. If the produce is not labeled which it normally is not you can tell by the first number in the UPC code. If the first number is a 9 then that means it is organic. If it is an 8 it is genetically modified and if it begins with a 4 it's conventional. You want to be sure to avoid any UPC's starting with the number 8 and choose organic when possible. You also want to be sure you are cleaning or washing your fruit and vegetables thoroughly before juicing as they can have dirt or even worse bacteria. Since the pasteurization process will heat the juice killing its healing properties you'll want to consume the juice almost immediately or within 24 hours as harmful bacteria can start to produce and grow. Depending on the type of juicer you may also need to chop your ingredients to fit them in. Some juicers you can insert fruits and vegetables whole, you may also want to include the peel or skin but only do this with a high quality juicer that is meant to be used in that fashion. Juicing the skin or peel may even add to the health benefits of the juice.
*Be sure to juice all of your ingredients one by one until you achieve the desired amount or recipe. Drink your juice immediately or within 24 hours and be sure to clean your machine according to the directions after each use.
The RIGHT and WRONG way to Juice
We all know that juicing is good for our health and can lead to significant weight loss but if not done correctly it can have the opposite or negative effect. The biggest mistake people make when juicing is to include too many fruits and far too little veggies. Although the sugar from fruit is metabolized differently in the body compared to other sugars it is still essentially sugar and without the fiber it affects your body differently. If you were to eat the whole food form of a fruit or vegetable your body would require time to break down the fiber and would absorb fructose slower and by juicing you strip the fiber and leave behind a concentrated sugary cocktail. This is why I suggest adding small amounts of fruit to juices only to mask the bitter taste of the veggies. You are better off saving fruit to there whole raw food form and instead add things like lemon and lime (which are very alkalizing). You may also want to add ginger (Anti-Inflammatory). Other options include mint (which is soothing and helps with digestion), or Cinnamon (great for flavor, cuts down on sugar cravings, and speeds up the metabolism.
*Follow the 80/20 rule which is 80 % vegetables and 20 % fruit. Following this rule will be sure to maximize your weight loss and stop you from a sugar overload.
Juicing Methods
There are many different types of juicers on the market and selecting the right one may be difficult until you know a little more about how they operate or what they do. The 3 most common forms of juicers are all you need to worry about. I excluded hand juicers as those are truly only made for citrus fruits like oranges and were some of the first juicers ever created.
Cold Pressed Juicer- Fruits and veggies are extracted using a hydraulic press method, not only does this preserve the all of the nutrients it also yields the most juice. This process requires no heat and therefore is the best option for juicing, however also the most.
Masticating- Masticating juicers are also a bit pricey and a pretty popular option. As the runner up it is still a good piece of equipment but does not pack as much punch as a cold pressing counter part. A masticating juicer grinds or masticates such as your teeth would when you chew. This process releases the juice from the fruit and vegetable.
Centrifugal- This is a type of juicer I would not even recommend buying. Although this is a more affordable option it is not really a good one. These are the low budget juicers you find at your local superstore. These juicers work by spinning the ingredients at high speeds heating at some degree and heat is not for me, not when it comes to juicing. Not only does it destroy important enzymes it may not be strong enough to break down the cell walls of the fruits or vegetables which would contradict the purpose of juicing entirely.
My Favorite Juice Recipes
The Belly Buster
3 Medium Green Apples (Green apples have less sugar than red apples)
1 Large cucumber
1 lemon
1 lime
3 small Mandarins
1 head Romaine Lettuce
This juice recipe will speed up your metabolism, reduce inflammation, and improve immune system function. Be sure to juice the citrus skin and peels for added bi o-flavonoids.
Cellulite and Fat Killer Juice
5 Grapefruits
1 Lemon
2 Limes
1/4 of a Pineapple
1 Knob of ginger
This Juice is packed with vitamin A and C. The antioxidants of the citrus coupled with the toxin cleansing of the ginger work hand in hand to flush cells and eradicate stored fat. The grapefruit is known to reduce cellulite and improve your metabolism speed and function.
Shake the Weight
8 Celery Stalks
2 Medium Cucumbers
1/2 Bunch Parsley
1 Lemon
This is a simple juice that does the trick. If you can stomach this juice as is great but if you need to add a fruit of your choice to sweeten it up a bit that is ok too, just be sure to follow the 80/20 rule.
Final Note: Although juicing can contribute to weight loss it should not be used as a way to lose weight but as a way to detox or prepare your body for weight loss. By juicing you are severely restricting your caloric intake which will ultimately result in lost pounds. It's a simple equation less calories consumed plus calories burned equals weight loss. What you don't want to do though is starve yourself to lose weight so be sure you are drinking enough juice or adding other forms of calories to your juicing regime.
Thank you for reading this post Please comment below with your favorite juice recipes and I will test it and add it to the blog.
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