How to Juice

Juicing 101

Juicing is generally used for two different purposes:

• For cleansing or detox: Solid food is eliminated and only juice is consumed as a way to cleanse your body of toxins. Juice cleanses range from 3 days to several weeks in length. Depending on what the goal is I usually only suggest 3-5 days.
• To supplement a normal diet: Fresh juice can be used as a handy supplement to your daily diet, increasing vitamins and minerals intake from fruits and vegetables that you wouldn't otherwise consume. To learn more on supplementing your diet  with celery juice read here. These are two common types of juicers: 
• Centrifugal juicers: These juicers grind fruits and vegetables into pulp through a high-speed spinning action.
• Cold-press juicers: Also called masticating juicers, these crush and press fruits and vegetables much more slowly to get as much juice as possible.
• Cold-press juicers don't produce heat, so they do not cause the breakdown of beneficial enzymes and nutrients that is thought to happen with centrifugal juicers.

I love the following Juicers:
1. Champion
2. Breville's
3. Omega

1. 
   
   If you have thyroid issues,consider blanching kale, Swiss chard or spinach before juicing or simply exchange it for romaine lettuce, celery, or mixed greens in any green drink.
2. If you have been eating a diet rich in sugar, processed food and dairy, then I suggest cleansing your body for a few days and incorporating more vegetables, raw foods, fruits, soups, and reduce the processed foods before you begin your juice cleanse.
   
   When buying your fruit and veggies I do suggest going out of your way to buy only organic.  It would be a shame to do all this hard work of juicing while putting toxins in your body from pesticides. 
   In general, the following "Dirty Dozen Plus" from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) had the highest pesticide load, making them the most important to buy organic:

• Apples
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Celery
• Peaches
• Spinach
• Sweet bell peppers
• Nectarines (imported)
• Cucumbers
• Cherry tomatoes
• Snap peas (imported)
• Potatoes
  
  Plus these, which may contain organophosphate insecticides, which EWG characterizes as "highly toxic" and of special concern:
  
  
• Hot peppers
• Blueberries (domestic)
  
  Also, be sure to start drinking at least 100 ounces of water 2-3 days prior to cleansing to begin flushing toxins from the body. Increase your water intake to at least one gallon per day during your detox. For extra hydration, particularly if you feel lightheaded, you can, in between juices make and drink a natural Gatorade by adding 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of honey, and the juice of one lemon to 30 ounces of water.
  Note: If you have candida overgrowth, diabetes, or sugar imbalances, then I encourage you to stick with green juices and not do the fruit juices. Green juice is very powerful for alkalizing the body, and by only juicing greens you are consuming low glycemic juice.
  
  For everyone juicing I suggest juicing 80% vegetables, 20% fruits to keep the fruit sugar low because too much fruit sugar can overwhelm your body and not give you the healthy results you want from a juice cleanse.
  
  It's best to use glass jars to drink and store your juice. This keeps the juice fresh and allows you to avoid leaching (which can occur when using plastic). You can even bring your own glass jars to the store as it's less waste and no leaching! I also recommend stainless steel straws, which you can buy on Amazon. Keep some in your bag or at work—it will also save on waste.
  If you like these tips and want learn more about the health benefits of juicing and detoxing come to this Saturday's workshop on Spring Detox.