Getting Started With Juicing
Why Juice?
If you’ve never juiced regularly before you could find yourself surprised at how quickly it becomes part of your daily routine. Convenient and easy, once you’ve started you won’t want to go a day without your juice!
Juicing has so many health benefits, but unlike many things which are good for you, it’s actually very enjoyable too!
When you buy a shop-bought juice you may not know exactly what’s included, or the processing the juice has undergone. By contrast, when you juice at home, you have the satisfaction of knowing that only the purest ingredients are included, and that the delicious drink has gone directly from the juicing machine to your glass within minutes.
Buying a Juicer
Some juicers are superior to others because the process they use optimises the juice extraction while still being gentle enough to preserve the maximum amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients.
Masticating juicers create something which is known as a “living” juice which is probably one of the healthiest things you could consume. The reason why masticating juicers are held in such high esteem is because they use a cold-pressed mechanism.
Heat can start to destroy some of the most valuable nutrients within your juice so any juicer which generates heat as it presses means that you won’t get as much as you could. The cold pressing mechanism within the masticating juicer means that the maximum amount of nutrients will be retained.
As well as vitamins and minerals, using a masticating juicer means you will receive live enzymes, anti-oxidants, chlorophyll and a whole host of other nutrients in a form which is easy to digest.
When you look to purchase a juicer, opting for a masticating model will ensure that you receive the most powerful shot of nutrients that you could possibly get.
The Health Benefits
The health benefits of juicing are well recognised amongst professionals and nutritionists who all recommend juicing as one of the easiest ways to get the maximum number of nutrients.
Juicing offers a convenient way to fuel yourself with energy which is healthy and beneficial to the body in a variety of ways.
As well as helping to boost the body’s natural cleansing system, juicing provides protection against daily bugs and viruses such as the common cold, as well as more serious diseases such as cancer. Your heart and cardiovascular system will also benefit from an increased intake of fresh vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.
A Living Food
Fruit and vegetables which are fresh and unheated, and wherever possible organic too, are some of the most powerful sources of energy for the body.
When you cook or heat fruit and vegetables, many of the most valuable nutrients are destroyed, meaning that you won’t get the same benefits that you can get through juicing. And what’s more, juicing doesn’t just provide a regular shot of vitamins and minerals; it also offers a whole host of “live” nutrients too.
By simply starting to juice at home, you’ll be introducing enough raw foods into your diet to provide significant health benefits, without having to make any other changes to what you eat. These living juices contain enzymes, anti-oxidants, chlorophyll and other benefits that you can’t obtain in the same quantities from eating processed or heated fruit. This combination is invaluable in helping to boost the immune system and provide excellent protection against disease.
Buying juice from a supermarket will never have the same value as drinking juice that you’ve produced at home. No matter how bright and colourful the packaging, and how healthy it seems, it will have been processed in a way which will have inevitably reduced the nutritional content. Processed juice can never compared to living juice that is easily, and economically, that can be produced at home.
Seperating the Fibre and Juice
Juice which has been freshly pressed gives the body an instant hit of nutrients, delivering a powerful combination which can be absorbed instantly.
A juicer separates the pulp which contains all the fibrous matter from the nutrient-containing juice. This means that only the juice is pressed. This is important because the fibres are much more difficult to break down, and require energy for the body to process. By extracting juice only the body receives the maximum number of nutrients which can be digested easily.
Dieting and Detoxing
Being slim, healthy and fit is something that most people aspire to but incorrectly assume that it has to be difficult. By altering your diet to incorporate juicing, it’s possible to detox very easily, contributing to weight loss and leaving individuals feeling renewed, rejuvenated and full of energy too.
Suitable for all
The really great thing about fresh juice is that it’s suitable for the whole family, including children. In fact, juicing can be one of the easiest ways of getting children to eat raw vegetables!
Children often enjoy helping to make the juice, especially those which are brightly coloured, and it can be surprising for them to discover just how sweet vegetable juices can taste.
Choosing Between a Juicer and a Blender
Not everyone understands the fundamental differences between blenders and juicers and which one to buy. Both offer an easy and convenient way to consume more fruit and vegetables, but their functions are surprisingly different.
In a nutshell, blenders produce smoothies and juicers produce juice. Here’s a look at how the two compare.
Juicer
Both fruit and vegetables can be processed in a juicer, where they are squeezed and pressed to extract all the liquid while leaving behind the fibre and the pulp. There are different types of juicers such as centrifugal, masticating and twin models.
All the goodness contained in the fruit can be found in the nutritious juice which can be absorbed instantly by the body for a powerful boost. Unlike smoothies, the body does not need to expend a huge amount of energy converting the fibre into a digestible form. This means that juice is one of the most efficient ways to receive an injection of nutrients, fast.
When you drink a juice, the nutrients can be absorbed quickly and easily because of the absence of insoluble fibre. This means that freshly pressed juice is a highly concentrated form of nutrients and because it’s so easy to digest, you will be able to absorb more of them too.
Nutrients from juice can get into the body very quickly which allows them to be released rapidly when you need them. And because it’s just the juice which is extracted, and none of the pulp, it’s possible to consume much larger quantities of fruit and vegetables more easily, without getting bloated or full up. For anyone looking to up their intake, this is a big advantage.
The only exceptions to juicing are avocados and bananas which generally can’t be juiced.
Blender
A blender is often confused with a juicer but provides a very different end product, although it may be processing the same types of food.
Fruit and vegetables can be blended, but unlike a juice, everything is mashed down together. This means that the end product will contain not just juice but also fibre and pulp too, creating a drink which is much thicker, and is known usually as a smoothie. With a blender, there’s no waste product; whatever you put in is pulverised to create a smoothie drink.
Because a smoothie also contains insoluble fibre, the body takes much longer to break down the components to release the nutrients, meaning that the energy is slow release. It’s also not the most efficient way to receive nutrients because the body has to work much harder to digest what’s needed.
A smoothie is much thicker than a juice, and because it contains the pulp as well as the juice is much bulkier too. This means that you won’t be consuming as much fruit and veg with every glass.
However, there are other benefits to a smoothie other than just the nutrients. Fibre is a very important part of the diet as it helps to keep the digestive system moving. It’s also possible to add seeds, oils or other superfoods to a smoothie to create an even more nutritious drink.
What to Pick?
Both juices and smoothies have lots of benefits, and both offer lots of nutrients. What you ultimately choose depends on your personal preferences and whether you want a juice packed full of powerful nutrients or whether a more filling, fibre-rich smoothie is your priority.
For a more advanced look at juicing, take a look here
And for help choosing the right juicer, take a look at our blog post
