Juice is a powerful force. It takes the essence, the vitamins, the minerals and the antioxidants from all these food sources and compacts it into a small, flavorful and potent liquid that you can use to maximize the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. This article will show you how.
Make sure you drink your juice as soon as you make it, or at least as soon as you can. Fresh-squeezed juice will start to lose some of its nutritional value as soon as you make it. The best way to get all the nutrients from your juice is to drink it immediately, rather than saving it for a later meal.
If you are planning on juicing citrus fruits only, or primarily citrus fruits, consider purchasing a juicer that is designed just for citrus. Many juicers have trouble with the amount of pith in a citrus fruit. In addition, juicers with metal surfaces will become corroded over time after repeated exposure to citrus fruits.
If you’re going to start a juicing diet, it may be helpful to start with a few days of eating primarily fruits and vegetables before going over to all-juice. This helps reduce dependence on sugar, flour, and other common diet staples that can make a juice diet difficult to swallow.
Consider your juice an entire meal. Once you are an experienced juicer and you realize how many fruits and vegetables it takes to make your juice, this concept will make sense. Consume the juice separate from your meals, because the nutrients will enter your bloodstream faster that way.
Juicing vegetables is another way for you to get your kids excited about healthy foods. A lot of children neglect to eat their vegetables. Juicing fruit and vegetables in one drink will give you children a tasty, nutritional option.
Try vegetables mixed with your favorite fruits in your juicer. Many vegetables are easy to juice. They can add important vitamins and minerals to your juice as well. In addition, using vegetables can cut down on the calorie count of your juice, which in turn, makes it a better diet option.
When starting to juice it’s better to start slow. Use flavors you already know you like and don’t try new things until you know you’re ready. Start by mixing new flavors, like wheat grass, with fruit you’ve already been drinking. Soon enough you’ll be able to move on to pro recipes!
You can’t eliminate all pulp from getting into the juice, but using a coffee filter will help. Only use a filter, of course, if you find the pulp unpleasant and would prefer it not be in your juice. Strain juice through a cheesecloth or coffee filter, and it can eliminate the pulp.
One of the best ways to increase your nutrient intake is to make your own juice. Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables can not only be healthy, but quite tasty. Start with your favorite vegetables and then make the move to fruits. You will never want bottled juice again.
If you have any questions about juicing you can always ask online. There are many juicing groups and forums available and their members will typically have the answer, or at least know how to find it. Draw on their collective years of experience to make your experience a positive one!
The best time to fire up your juicer is a half hour before any meal. Drink the fresh juice on an empty stomach. Drinking juice on an empty stomach is helpful to absorb the most nutrients quickly and effectively. Fruit juices should be consumed in the mornings because digestive energy is the lowest in the mornings.
When deciding on a juicer, look for one that is easy to take apart and clean. The longer it takes you to use and clean your appliance, the less likely you’ll want to use it. Make sure to clean your juicer soon after you’ve finished with it, as pulp can stick to your juicer and harden, making cleaning more difficult.
When coming up with a combination of fruit and vegetables to juice, consider their textures to make a smooth, drinkable product. For example, soft fruits like bananas and peaches make a very thick juice. Apples and pears, on the other hand, make a very thin, watery juice. Mix the two items together to make the most enjoyable texture to drink!
If you have hypoglycemia or diabetes, stick to juicing vegetables until you consult with your physician. Drinking juice made of fruit can drastically increase your blood sugar. It is important to monitor how much fruit you are juicing in your mixes to allow for your medical needs. Vegetable juicing has less risk for diabetics, as long as you consider the sugar content of items such as carrots.
To get the most nutrition from your juices, be sure to drink them when they are fresh. After juicing, fruits and vegetables are vulnerable to oxidation which will destroy their nutrients. If you have to store your juices for some reason, use air tight containers to reduce the amount of oxidation that will happen.
It’s best to avoid mixing fruits and vegetables in the same juice. Your body uses different enzymes to break them down, and so mixing them together makes your body have to work harder to get the nutrients it needs. Apples are an exception that can be mixed with almost anything, so you can toss an apple in with whatever you are juicing.
As you can see from this article, there are a lot of great things about juicing. The health benefits alone should make you want to start doing it. Take this advice and make a positive change for yourself and your family. Kids love juice and they are much more likely to drink it than to eat any vegetables you put on their plate.