Fresh fruits and vegetables are the healthiest foods around, and one great way to unlock their nutritional bounty is through juicing. Converting vegetables and fruits into liquid form preserves all of their great benefits and makes them more palatable and easier to consume. Here are just a few of the ways that juicing can contribute to a healthier diet:
If you want your juice to be a certain texture or thickness, know that the softer the fruit is, the thicker the juice will be. The meat of softer fruits breaks up easily to make a thick nectar. Make sure to add some harder fruits, such as apples and pears, for a thinner juice.
If you’re serious about juicing, you should dedicate a cool, dark area of your house to storing produce which can be kept long-term. For example, apples can be kept in the garage over the winter as long as they’re not allowed to freeze. Just wash them, get rid of any bad ones, and store them in a covered but breathable container.
Juicing doesn’t have to involve eleven different items preselected based on every single vitamin and nutrient contained within each! You can just make fresh juice in the morning to go along with your breakfast and perk you up. Juice is a healthy way to get energy through fresh produce, and it’s super tasty, too!
Ask your friends and family if they’d like to go in on purchases in bulk at local farms with you so you can buy more and get larger discounts. Apple farms, for example, will sell you bushel after bushel for decreasing costs per pound. Take a few cars up, load the back with apples, and share with everyone! They don’t have to be juicers to enjoy fresh produce.
While you may want to keep some extra juice on hand in the fridge, remember that you should drink it soon. Valuable nutrients will begin to be lost as the juice sits. Make enough extra for your next snack time and keep it to that. Making juice for the next day will rob you of the nutrients you were juicing for in the first place.
Juicing is a great way to drink all the nutrients you need for the day, but you also have to be conscious of the amount of sugars you’re taking in. If you’re having a drink with a lot of fruit or high-glycemic vegetables, drink less than you would if it were mostly low-glycemic items.
If you find that your juicer becomes oily after juicing citrus fruits such as oranges, limes, lemons and grapefruits you will have to clean the juicer with a mild detergent to get the oily feeling off. This is residue left behind from the citrus must be cleansed well to avoid complications with mold.
Keep a toothbrush handy to clean the strainer after juicing. Scrubbing the strainer with a toothbrush will displace any lodged particles which can grow rapidly into mold. Regular cleaning in this fashion will increase the life of your juicer as well as make your life healthier.
Wonder why your skin is turning a bit yellow now that you’ve started juicing? Don’t worry, you aren’t developing jaundice! Carrot juice can lend the skin a slight orange tint which will give you a sunny glow, attesting to your new healthy lifestyle. It’s not a horrible skin condition after all!
Pay close attention to your body’s signals concerning the juices you consume. It is possible that even healthy concoctions may not work with your particular digestive system. When you experience bloating or discomfort, isolate certain ingredients to determine which ones need to be eliminated or lessened. If you pinpoint the problem ingredient, you can drink just a little of it to get your body used to it.
Once you have your juicing materials, they should be of good quality if you want good quality juice, it is of utmost importance that you know how to function your juicer to it’s fullest extent. If you delve into making juice before you really know what you are doing, you will just be wasting your juicing materials.
Drinking vegetable juice can help you maintain the pH levels in your body which is immensely helpful in staying healthy. Keeping your pH in the correct balance can help you avoid maladies such as cancer, leading to a longer, healthier, happier life. The little extra effort it takes to juice can change your life forever!
It’s best to avoid juicing fruits and vegetables that have a low water content. Avocados and bananas, for example, are quite dense and don’t have much water in them. They will clog up your juicer and you won’t get much juice out of them. If you really want to include them, blend them first and then mix them with juices from other produce.
It’s a great idea to plan out your meals for the week, including your juices. You can figure out which vegetables you’ll eat when, whether it be solid or juiced, so you know exactly how much of everything you’ll need to buy. This will also save you money as you can buy in bulk for multiple meals.
It is very important to monitor your blood sugar levels when juicing if you have diabetes. When you have high blood glucose levels it is best to drink vegetable juice rather than to drink fruit juice. If you still prefer the sweetness of fruit juice, limit your intake.
If your blood pressure is high, it’s time to buy a juicer! Vegetables and fruit carry so many health benefits, and increasing your intake will not only help you battle blood pressure, but it’s likely to cause weight loss and replace sodium-rich foods you might not eat otherwise. Choose cucumber, garlic, lemon, parsley or pear for the biggest blood pressure regulation benefits.
Juicing is a great nutritional process that can be just as simple or as complex as a juicer wants to make it. Quick, cheap techniques can offer dramatic health benefits, and a greater investment of time and money can provide even bigger results. Hopefully, the tips presented above can be of use in starting or improving a great juicing routine.
