The most effective method of ingesting fruits and vegetables is drinking it as juice.
Drinking fruits and vegetables as juice allows for a higher intake than eating it raw. Furthermore, drinking it as juice removes the insoluble fibers, increasing the absorption of vitamins, minerals and bioactive substance. But when juices are made with high-speed juicers and mixers, friction heat from the high-speed rotation changes the taste and nutrition and destroys heat-sensitive enzymes and nutrients. In order to prevent changes to taste and nutrition caused during the juicing process, the ingredients should be squeezed with a squeezer or a grater.
Drink it as juice to lower the nutritional damage and increase the absorption rate.
Even when ingesting in juice form, it is best to select the optimal method to minimize the nutritional damage and maximize internal absorption rate. There are many ways to add fruits and vegetables into the diet in juice form, such as getting store-bought juice, directly squeezing or grating the ingredients, using high-speed mixers to grind the ingredients, and using slow-squeeze method with Hurom juicer. The same ingredient could have different nutritional value, taste or smell depending on different juicing methods.
People often ask, why juicing would be better than eating large amounts of vegetables? Basically the human body is really just like a juice machine.
We mash the vegetables up in our mouths, allow the juice to pass into our blood stream via our intestines and then pass the fibre out into “the collecting pot”!
When we drink fresh vegetable juice we are able to ingest a much larger volume of RAW vegetables than we would be able to otherwise. How often do you sit down to chew down 2 carrots, 1 apple, ½ a broccoli head and 8 kale leaves in one sitting? This concoction will make approximately 1 ½ cup of vegetable juice which is easily consumed as opposed to trying to chew this down for breakfast!
When we drink vegetable juice we are drinking a high concentration of vitamins, minerals and phyto-nutrients in a highly bio-absorbable form. Multi-vitamin and mineral tablets are trying to achieve this same effect but they mainly use synthetic analogues which do not have the same health benefits for the body
It’s Alive!
Another advantage of freshly made juice is that it’s like eating raw food. Look at the Kirlian photographs of raw versus cooked cabbage to remind yourself of the energetic qualities that raw foods possess. The act of juicing vegetables will start to break the energetic qualities apart so ideally you need to drink the juice within minutes of making it. You can put it in the fridge or in a thermos with ice, but two hours after “pressing” would be my top storage time limit if you are wanting to get the full benefits from your juice.
Commercially produced vegetable juices are pasteurised (heated) to give them shelf life. This alters heat sensitive molecules, such as water soluble vitamins and disrupts their energetic qualities.
Guidelines for Juicing
It is best not to drink your juice with a meal, really they are a meal in themselves. Drinking your juice with another liquid or meal will dilute the digestive juices and make digestion difficult.
It is a good idea to dilute your juice 50/50 with water especially when juicing fruit or carrots and beets as these fruits/vegetables are higher in sugar and juicing removes the fibre which can lead to higher blood sugar spikes, adding water will help combat this.
What can I juice? Basically you can juice almost anything you can eat raw. Vegetables are best, especially carrots, green leafy vegetables, beetroot, cucumbers, tomatoes and celery. I also think ginger is a great regular inclusion in your juice due to its abundant health benefits and it adds a great zingy flavor. It is generally not a good idea to juice potatoes, eggplants or Lima beans.
Use organic produce wherever possible, it generally has higher nutrient levels and very importantly does not have the harmful chemicals non organic produce contains. If organic produce is not an option for you it is best to peel vegetables and fruits that have been waxed or sprayed. Root vegetables such as carrots do not need peeling but give them a good scrub under water with a nylon-bristle brush. Beets should be peeled due to their bitter skins. Wash leafy greens well, most green vegetables you can juice the stalks but I would advise removing kale stalks as these are also very bitter.
10 Foods to Only Eat Organic
Apples Peaches Sweet Bell Peppers Celery Spinach
Potatoes Strawberries Nectarines Blueberries Peaches Grapes
(As outlined by the Environmental Working Group)
It is advisable to drink your juice right away. When using the Hurom Slow Juicer the juice can be stored for up to 24 hours in the fridge however your juice contains a vast amount of raw food enzymes and vitamins many of which are lost as the juice sits … so drink it right down and get the most from your juice.
We promote responsible juicing which means we recommend juicing as an inclusion to a well balanced diet. It is also important to still eat vegetables. Vegetables are a great source of fibre and this is essential for digestion and cleaning out the bowel.
When you drink fresh vegetable/fruit juice you are drinking a concentrated form of nutrition If you juice irresponsibly (too much at one time) then you can potentially overwhelm your body with nutrition causing you to over stimulate something in your body and not feel so good, creating negative effects.
Nutrition is fuel for the body and it is said that the difference between medicine and poison is all in the dose: Certain vegetables can have highly potent effects on the body (especially green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, cabbage, collard greens, dandelion and kale) and drinking too much in one go can have negative effects.
If you have stomach upset after juicing this is a good sign your body isn’t ready to handle what you are feeding it, decrease the amount you are juicing and start off with vegetables like carrots, celery and apples and work your way up to things like spinach and kale. Ultimately you want your juice to contain about ¼ green vegetable juice, mixed with apple, cucumber, celery and carrots but you need to build up slowly.
Variety is the key to optimum health with juicing, by constantly changing the vegetables you juice, you get a broad spectrum of nutrition. This means that while one vegetable may be low in a certain vitamin or mineral, another vegetable may not. By having variety, you ensure your body is getting all the vitamins/minerals etc it requires for optimum health.
Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and some people who are sick, such as with cancer, may find themselves juicing carrots every day. In times of illness, the body is able to identify what is “medicine” for the body. This is because the body needs the “medicine” found within the carrot or any other vegetable. But generally speaking, for general health and well being, do juice a variety of vegetables.
Generally don’t mix fruit with vegetable juice and fruit juices should be more for ‘treats’ than an everyday thing due to the high sugar content. The one exception to this is apples. Apples are the one fruit you can combine with your vegetable juice.
For the most part, vegetables require different enzymes for digestion than fruits. Therefore, we don’t combine fruits and vegetables. But apples are the one fruit you can combine with your vegetables. Apples add a very nice sweetness and flavor to your vegetable juices.
