How to Guide to Juicing

For many health minded people, juicing fresh fruits and vegetables is part of their daily routine. It is an easy way to absorb loads of nutrients quickly and easily.

Drinking one to four cups daily will supercharge your cleansing detox and deeply nourish your cells. It will cleanse your liver, cleanse your intestines and will give you more energy.

If you are brand new to detoxing and improving your nutrition, extracting your own fresh elixir from fruits and vegetables may feel overwhelming to you. If so, green smoothies may be a better place for you to start. They’re quicker and easier to make and are made in a blender.

A Wealth of Healthy Benefits

1. Helps you to absorb all of the nutrients from your vegetables. Most of us have impaired digestion from years of eating a western diet full of processed foods. This limits the body’s ability to absorb nutrients. Juicing is a way of “pre-digesting” or breaking down the nutrients so they are ready for quick absorption and don’t just pass through your body.
2. Allows you to consume an optimal amount of vegetables efficiently. For superior health, we need to consume up to one pound of raw vegetables per 50 pounds of body weight per day. This is a lot to eat! But when you condense them this way, you receive all of the benefits without the bulk.
3. You can add a wider variety of vegetables to your diet. You can throw any combination of vegetables in and make a tasty concoction. A vegetable that you may not normally enjoy eating whole blends easily with others so you can create a rotation of many vegetable types.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Combinations

Non-citrus fruits, and root vegetables like carrots and beets, are high in sugar. These foods may be helpful additions at first to help you adapt to the taste. But be careful not to overdo them (especially if you struggle with Candida overgrowth or blood sugar issues.)

Gradually adapt to mixing them with dark leafy greens and herbs that are high in nutrients (kale, dandelion, collards, cabbage, parsley and cilantro). Spinach and Romaine are good starter greens because they are mild and sweet tasting. Cucumber, celery, ginger and fennel each have powerful cleansing properties and can add lovely flavor overtones.

Have fun experimenting to find your favorite combinations, but here are some of our favorites to get you started:

• Kale, green apple, parsley, cucumber

• Carrot, apple, celery, ginger
• Beet, carrot, fennel
• Carrot, celery, cucumber
• Apple, lemon, ginger
• Orange, green apple, celery
• Pineapple, cucumber
• Pear, cucumber, daikon radish
• Cucumber, lime, cilantro, ginger
• Watermelon, lemon, ginger
• Romaine, orange, apple
• Spinach, cucumber, pear

Selecting a Juicer

Centrifugal Juicers are one of the oldest design types and have traditionally been the least expensive. They use a shredder disc and high speed spinning to separate out the juice, just like the spin cycle in your washing machine removes excess water from clothes.

These models tend to be less efficient, preserve and press out less nutrients, break more easily, and are very loud. However, they are easy to operate and, if you get a Centrifugal Ejection one, it will expel the pulp, making it essentially self-cleaning.

Original models are made by Acme and the Juiceman. And today, there are new models like the Breville Juice Fountain that are state of the art with high speed motors, micro pore mesh and the ability to process whole fruits without pre-chopping.

Masticating Juicers are generally mid-priced and a great investment for getting started. They grate the produce, then masticate or “chew” the pulp to further break it down and mechanically squeeze the pulp to extract out all the nutrients.

Examples of these machines are the Champion or the Omega (also makes centrifugal models). These machines also come with a solid plate to block the spout so that you can make applesauce, nut butters, or even frozen fruit sorbet. While this style provides superior nutrition, not all masticators do well with leafy greens. They also often require a little strength to push the produce into the chute.

These machines also have the solid plate like masticators, to make raw condiments like applesauce and nut butters. And they have the added bonus of being able to extract from wheatgrass, as well. They also tend to be the most expensive. But for a great deal on one of the best on the market, check out this Tribest Green Star 3000.

Because of the added benefit of the solid plate, which allows you to “homogenize” raw ingredients into butters, sauces, sorbets or other delights, we recommend a masticator or twin gear. But most importantly, find one that you will USE and it will greatly benefit your health!

Important Tips

• Remember to include plenty of non-sweet vegetables. Combine your fruit and sweet root vegetables with lots of leafy greens, cucumbers, celery, etc.
• Use fresh, crisp, cooled fruits and vegetables. Wash all produce well.
• Pulp that is still extra moist can be re-fed through the shoot to obtain the maximum juice.
• Drink immediately for the very best taste and nutrition. If necessary, you may refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Store in a glass jar with no extra air space (oxygen in the air will break down the nutrients quicker – add filtered water to fill up extra space). If possible block out all light (wrap in foil or a towel). If desired, a little lemon will prevent discoloring. Bring back to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before drinking.
• Clean your machine immediately after use to avoid leftover food particles growing mold and contaminating your machine parts.