If there's One Single thing I’ve Ever done that positively affected my Health & Appearance, it’s Juicing Fresh Fruits & Vegetables.
In my opinion, It’s one of the most Beneficial things you can possibly do For your Body, Beauty & Wellness ! Click "Read More" below to continue)....
From what I’ve experienced, it’s pretty clear to understand why so many people swear by this potentially life changing ritual .
Examples of my experience with Juicing range from my skin transforming (to what appeared to be a glowing new sheet of it), to fat seeming to melt off my body, to digestion improving (Take a look Here), to aches & pains vanishing, to sleeping like a rock & even being able to quit my coffee habit (which I Never thought would actually be possible) as well as much more. Six months into juicing every day, I felt like it would be possible to improve & remedy an endless array of issues with this delicious extracted elixir of earth grown natures bounty... & That was just My personal experience… So if we’re looking to Power Up & Defend Ourselves with Nutritional Armor I would declare that This is the Ultimate Warrior Elixir! Here in Part 1 of this guide we will discuss JUICING BASICS ! Here's All you Need to Know….
First of all , In giving the Lo Down on Juicing, I would like to explain the Difference between Juicing (Juice).. & Blending (Smoothies) since there is often A Lot of Confusion between the two.
So here you go …. Juicing in a Juicer Extracts & Separates the Pulp / Fiber from your Beverage, Where as Blending (With ANY Kind of Blender, High speed or Not ), Just Mixes / Pulverizes the Whole Ingredient, Fiber & All, into your Drink. Some people like the thought/fact that they are getting fiber in their drink when they are making smoothies, but your body has much more digesting work & energy to output when breaking down all this material, & although fiber is really good for you in an entirely different way, It can potentially take potency away from your body’s metabolizing of Juice. The beauty & benefit of juicing (where the pulp / fiber gets separated), is that you’re getting so much more live raw liquid nutrient & that it’s much easier for your body to digest, absorb & metabolize. It’s Loaded with potent enzymes, and abundant therapeutic compounds including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants & phytonutrients & is highly alkaline, and easy to absorb in pure fluid form. It is indeed like Liquid Gold !
Now, no matter how much you’re going to intend to be juicing, doing any at all is obviously better than doing none …
Some people are mainly looking to detox (purge their system of toxins) quickly & go on an all out juice detox. drinking only juice for every meal for a short period of time . Others drink a number of juices a day while still eating solid food over a longer period of time…& then some just drink one juice a day, or a few a week, but if this is the case you’ll probably have a much slower beneficial result and detox especially if you’re not using highly detoxifying ingredients & if you’re not eating super clean in addition to your juice … In my opinion, It makes a lot more sense to ease in & then juice as much as you feel comfortable with for a longer period of time even if its a bit less juice per day, since your body may take more time to detox years of toxic buildup than just a few days or weeks. Making it a part of your ongoing lifestyle would most likely make good sense. That is certainly what i've found. Personally, I was still eating solid food All along when I did my period of heavy juicing, I was drinking between two & four juices a day between meals on an empty stomach & ate super clean, plant based & organic. Juice fasting Is very popular, but I couldn’t see going on a total fast when I was intending to be Juicing over a lengthy period of time. I also found to an enormous degree that juicing curbed my appetite (& especially curbed my sweet cravings ). I could go hours after drinking it without getting hungry, so the solid food I ate was a much smaller quantity than before I began juicing. In addition, even with eating solid foods, I still did go through quite a period of detox ! Again, you’d just want to make sure you keep your diet quite clean or you’ll be toxing as much as detoxing ! On a little side note, as I mentioned previously, I was able to quit my coffee habit (when I started juicing), Which I thought would be impossible. It’s now my firm belief that you can change pretty much Any habit if you really want to, & that once your body & tastebuds get used to a healthier more nutritional habit, especially one as powerful as juicing, it’s what your body will want & crave! & Just a A Few More Points before we get into the deeper Samurai Juice Dive….
> Drinking Juice Quickly after making it as to Not Lose Nutrients :
Drinking your juice Immediately after its made is Important & will ensure you’re getting the most heavy nutrient/enzyme/raw live food dense dose.. If you let it sit for any time these amazing nutritional properties will start to die off… The only way to avoid this is if you Vacuum Pack your Juice in Mason Jars. If you can’t drink it all at once or are juicing for several servings / day’s at a time, be sure to use this method. Fill your jars with juice right to the very Top Brim before putting on the lid to vacuum pack them & then immediately refrigerate. Your juice can be kept fresh this way for a number of days ! > Drinking Juice on an Empty Stomach The best time to drink your Juice is on an Empty Stomach either a half hour before you eat any solid food or an hour & a half after & most preferably (at least one), first thing in the morning . This is because the juice is easiest to digest, assimilate & metabolize on an empty stomach & you will absorb more of the amazing live nutrients from It ! > A Word on Organic Ingredients : As It would make sense to purchase Organic Ingredients for your regular food purposes whenever possible, even more so, Juicing is obviously a very concentrated dose of ingredients, & the last thing you’d want is to be drinking is lots of toxic chemicals & pesticides, especially when you’re taking steps to be healthier! Also by doing this you’re supporting Organic / Non GMO Agriculture & making yourself & our Beautiful Planet a Cleaner Place - What better things to invest In !! So Buy organic whenever possible… Your health & wellness is worth it !
& On To...
REASONS TO JUICE People Juice for many reasons from attempting to detox &/ or lose weight to raise their overall health & improve their appearance… & In my opinion, on the wellness & beauty scale It’s as Powerful as it gets. Juicing gets down to the Cellular Level of your system, Detoxifies Alkalizes, Fortifies & Repairs!
Here are a Few Potential Benefits of Juicing !
> Delivers Live Concentrated Nutrients Quickly > Loaded with Enzymes / PhytoNutrients / Antioxidants / Vitamins & Minerals > Detoxifying > Weight Loss > Curbs Appetite/ Controls Cravings / Especially Sugar > Increased Energy Levels > Anti Aging > Alkalizing to the Body > Immunity Building > Anti Inflammatory > Increases Digestive / Gut Health > Smooth & Glowing Skin > Disease Fighting > Cell Repairing > Improves Sleep > Strong & Healthy Hair and Nails A Note on Detox & Detox Symptoms Taking the step to start any Juicing ritual that could potentially turn your life around, Your body will likely start to detox. This means that Toxins built up in your system over time, will start to Purge & Attempt to Push their way Out of your Body. Considering How Many Years your body has probably been absorbing & storing toxins (whether it be from unhealthy & processed foods & drinks of many kinds , sugars, chemicals, alcohol, drugs of any kind, environmental toxins etc), It may take a short bit of time before your body can manage to release & purge all of this toxic matter out. Therefore, before you look & feel like a new person from your new habit of juicing, you may have to deal with a few minor symptoms that can occur during this process. Depending on your toxin level & how your particular system reacts, There are different potential signs/symptoms of detox you may encounter when you initially start juicing . Personally, I experienced skin symptoms such as breakouts & a few aches & pains that were usually in areas I had been previously injured or suffered a health issue with {odd i know, but they say this can occur from detox action reaching down to the cellular level } & I didn’t exactly experience fatigue, but when going to bed at nite, I slept like a rock. Just for mentions, this deep & uninterrupted sleep pattern also continues to be the case long after I started Juicing. There are several possible additional symptoms your body can experience when you are purging toxins. A few of them have been known to be fatigue, headaches, as well as other body aches, bloating & or digestive symptoms, skin breakouts, brain fog & low energy and irritability. Some people I know that started Juicing didn’t have any detox symptoms at all ! But even if you experience any usually if you just push thru it & continue on your juicing path, you will soon likely feel & look better than ever ! Now moving forward, Unless you want to unsheathe use your Katana or Wakizashi {Samurai Swords} & use Them to extract your juice, you’ll most likely need a Juicer to do it ! What kind of Juicer should you purchase ? So, if you’re just starting out on your Juicing Journey you’ll obviously need a Juicer … There are a few types of Juicers you have the option of purchasing ~ This will basically depend on exactly What & How Often you expect to be juicing , as well as what your budget may be.
There are Several things to consider when looking at Juicers, Here are a Few :
> Are you Planning on Juicing Greens at all? Or more of just Solid ingredients like Carrots, Celery Beets , Apples etc... >How Often are you planning on Juicing? Especially If you’re Juicing A lot, you may want to think about going with the most efficient Juicer you can afford that extracts the Most Juice from your Ingredients and where your Juice would be the Highest Quality & Pulp would be the Driest. >Speed & Heat of Juicer while in Use It is quite thought across the board that Heat Kills Enzymes & Nutrients in your Juice, and the Speed / Quality of your Juicer can create either More or Less heat. So you’d most likely want the Slowest Speed juicer you can afford that heats up the Least … >Cleaning the Juicer I’ve personally never found it all that challenging or time consuming to clean any of my Juicers, although I’ve always used a paper filter on the inside of the strainer basket of my Centrifugal Juicer to catch the pulp , but if this is an important point to you, you may want to research & compare the process of cleaning the Juicers you’re considering. ( Just an extra Note on this point - Whatever type of Juicer you Choose, if possible, make sure to either wash your juicer parts right away, or at least let them soak in some water after Juicing . This will make the cleanup much easier & then you always have your Clean Juicer waiting for you whenever you decide to make a fresh batch again)… >What is your Budget ? Juicers Range Greatly in Price from Under a Hundred to Over a Thousand Dollars and beyond, So its A Really Good Idea to consider the Features you want / need vs what you can afford~
Types of Juicers …
Centrifugal vs. Masticating Juicers Centrifugal Juicers These are the most common type of lower to mid priced home juicers and are easily found at Stores as well as many places Online. Centrifugal juicers Spin & chop your produce up with a Flat Serrated Blade while spinning at Very high speed ~ Think of a Carnival Ride that whips so fast you stick to the walls with Centrifugal Speed ~Your Juicer basically does the same thing , with the addition of a blade to cut up your Juice Ingredients. These high-speed spinning machines Do generate heat as well as allowing in oxygen, which potentially affects the enzymes and nutrients in the juice. The Juice they extract doesn’t stay fresh & nutrient for long for this reason, and should be consumed within 24 hours from being extracted (even if they're refrigerated in mason jars). The Yield of these Juicers Varies Quite greatly depending of the Quality/Manufacturer of the Juicer & they Do Not generally do a good job of Juicing Greens. They also tend to be on the noisy side & can get clogged up rather easily at times (this is because the separated Pulp gets Stored Inside the juicer) especially when making more than one juice serving at a time, thus making continuous juicing difficult. If you don’t use a {paper} filter over the strainer of some of these juicers, they Can sometimes be a bit on the challenging side to clean due to the Tiny Holes in their Strainer Basket … Again, Centrifugal Juicers Typically Separate & Collect the Pulp in the Strainer Basket inside the juicer that Spins & Contains the Blade. For this Reason & because there’s generally Not a Separate Container that Spits out the pulp, Your Juicer Basket / the Inside of your Juicer can get Full Quite Quickly & its a Bit of an Extra Step to Empty it during any Juicing Session. On the plus side, centrifugal juicers are often less expensive compared to masticating juicers & They make your serving of Juice Quickly due to their High Speed ~ They Often also Have a Larger Spout to put your Fruits & Veggies in So you don’t have to bother Cutting your ingredients up too small, & they often take up a bit less counter space due to their more Upright Design. The Cost of Centrifugal Juicers varies widely , Generally Anywhere between $40 - $250 ~~ but Anything Below $100 would most likely not be of great quality/ & or too efficient. To Summarize : A Few Benefits of Centrifugal Juicers are : > They Extract Juice Quickly > They can often take Ingredients Whole (& save chopping time) > They are on the Inexpensive Side compared to other juicers > They Often take up a bit Less square footage on your countertop Masticating Juicers The definition of the word “Masticate “ means to Grind or Chew . It can also mean to crush into pulp. In Contrast to Fast & Bladed Centrifugal Juicers, Masticating Juicers run slower & they have an Auger, which is like a Grinder , & this is the method by which they extract your Juice. The Grinder Spins & Crushes / Grinds your Ingredients & Releases their Liquid while separating the pulp, which gets routed Out of the juicer into a container ( Which makes it Easier to make Larger Batches of Juice without the Juicer getting Clogged up). Their Slower spinning rate creates less heat & oxygenation than centrifugal juicers. To Clarify, Usually when speaking of Masticating Juicers, People are usually referring to Single Gear Juicers. Also available however are masticating Twin Gear Juicers. The Difference between these two is the simple fact that Twin gear juicers have Two Augers grinding up your ingredients instead of just one. These are generally considered to be top of the line Juicers. The Juice Extracted from Masticating Juicers will stay fresh refrigerated in mason jars for about 72 hours. To Summarize : A few benefits of Masticating Juicers are: > They Juice Leafy Greens & Herbs Amazingly Well > They are Quieter & Produce Lower Heat than Centrifugal Juicers > They are more Efficient & Extract More Juice from your Ingredients > The Juice they extract contains more Live Nutrients & Enzymes > They make Superior Juice with Less Waste > They make Longer Lasting Juice > They Taste Better > Their Pulp is Pushed & Collected Outside of the Juicer > They can make Additional treats such as Ice Creams/ Sorbets/ Nut Butters & Nut Milks > They generally don’t have a Strainer Basket & are quite Easy to Clean If you were to Rate types of Juicers your Centrifugal {Bladed} Juicers would be On the the Bottom , followed by your Single Gear Masticating Juicer & then your Double Gear at the Top. After that would be Industrial Two Stage Cold Press Juicers ( Which Extract Juice in a Two Stage Process) and run Multiple Thousands of Dollars. Which Juicer Should you Buy ? Having been juicing for such an extended period of time now, I would have to say, that the only reason to think about buying a Centrifugal Juicer would be if you are really new to juicing & just wanted to try it out without making a bigger commitment or investment, & / or you want to make fresh juice daily & time is a heavy factor, & also aren’t really interested in juicing leafy greens or herbs. If you think you want to adopt juicing into your life in any way long term, it makes complete sense to invest in a better juicer ! You will save money over time on the efficiency of a Masticating Juicer. As an example, when I personally started out on a Centrifugal & then upgraded to a Masticating Juicer, I couldn’t believe the difference in taste, ease & efficiency of juicing ingredients, & especially greens. My Centrifugal Juicer just couldn’t handle this At All ! In the End it’s Obviously Up to You & your Needs, but If you’re feeling serious about starting your Juicing Journey, I would suggest purchasing the best juicer you can afford as you'll save more money in the long run with it's efficiency & quality of your juice as well as be investing in your precious self & health! ....& in my opinion, there's No Price in the Universe you can put on That ! ** Make sure to keep a Lookout for PART 2 of this Post Where I will share info on : Juicing Ingredients !
"The First Wealth is Health"
Ralph Waldo Emerson
**Before embarking on any new dietary, wellness or nutritional program, it is advised and important to consult with your qualified Healthcare Provider to evaluate your particular and personal medical circumstance.
Disclaimer
This blog, it's content & any linked materials does not provide medical advice and is presented & intended for informational purposes only. It is based on my personal experience & research and is Not a Substitute for Medical Advice or Treatment. Do not disregard Medical Advice, or delay in Seeking it because of something you have read in this blog, website or in Any linked material. Consult with a Medical Professional if you have a Medical Condition !
6 Comments
Annie Panico
12/22/2021 12:04:49 pm
I’ve been juicing for 29 years, almost daily. The improvements in my health are endless. The information in this article is spot on, encouraging readers to give juicing a priority. Read the links, you will not be disappointed, especially the link for the various juicers available today.
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Mike Post
12/24/2021 10:11:40 am
Thanks for the great info - This is one of the most complete and comprehensive pieces on juicing I’ve ever come upon. Can’t wait for part 2 !
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