To Juice or Not to Juice

We all know that eating fruit and vegetables is good for us –  but why bother drinking them down as opposed to just eating them either raw or cooked as part of our dinner?

The simple answer to this question is micronutrients. Although eating fruits and vegetables in their natural state does provide us with a substantial amount of vitamins and minerals, some of these are only available to us when juiced because they are locked in fibre that we expel from our bodies undigested. When we juice the fruits and vegetables, their goodness is released from the fibre and we are able to drink their highly concentrated nutrients which are then able to enter our bloodstream very quickly. Now fibre is also essential to health, so be juicing is not a replacement for eating raw fruit and vegetables and indeed for some things the process of cooking actually enhances their nutritional profile (such as tomatoes and sweet potatoes). Very few people eat enough raw fruits and vegetables. Juicing provides a quick and easy way to increase your consumption of healthy nutrient-rich foods and is recommended in addition to a high fibre diet. I could confuse things now by introducing the concept of fibre-rich smoothies made in devices such as a nutribullet but I am predominantly sticking to juicing here. I have included you a juice made in a food processor or blender that does retain its fibre, but it is actually vegetable free and best kept for pre or post-exercise when you need a real energy boost. For a daily nutrient boost, you really want to keep your juice predominantly vegetable-based.

There is a lot of negative publicity about juicing meaning people are having too much readily available sugar but if the juice contains only a small proportion of fruit and a high proportion of vegetables, whether they are roots or greens, this really isn’t the case. However, I should just point out that vegetable juicing contains virtually no protein or fats and these are two essential components of a balanced diet. A juice is not a meal, you can add certain things that make it closer to a meal or simply consume it for what it is. Algae-based powders, such as spirulina are a great addition to a juice to boost protein levels and make it a better meal-replacement, these are one of the richest protein sources in the World – better than meats. For really healthy fats, essential for all sorts of bodily functions, you can add raw fat like flaxseed or coconut oils or avocados is great too. Now if you haven’t already bought a juicer there is a minefield of information out there. If you speak to any expert their main piece of advice is to buy the most expensive one you can afford. In juicing, quality counts. I could get technical about the different ways of getting the juice from the product but in a nutshell the cooler the juicing unit is kept and the more slowly the juice is extracted the more intact the nutrients and the less waste from produce you are going to get. These units are expensive but you will find that you make it back in needing less produce to get more juice. The extracted fibre should be pretty dry to the touch. I would recommend buying online as you will get much better advice and choice than anywhere on the high street. UK Juicers is a great company who with competitive prices. If you are looking for things to do with the ‘waste’ fibre then it makes a good thickener in soups and stews. Experiment and enjoy - try one of our specially designed juicing boxes to get started!

Carrot Boost Juice

Ingredients

A small piece of fresh root ginger – unpeeled if organic 

3 large carrots 

1 small lemon or lime 

2 celery sticks 

½ tsp ground turmeric 

A pinch of cayenne pepper

Method

Wash your ingredients and get them to a size that will fit into your juicer.

Juice the fruit and vegetables and then stir through your spices. This is a good juice for winter as the spices make it slightly warm.

Classic Green Cleansing Juice

Ingredients

3 celery sticks 

1 small fennel bulb

About 100 g a handful of kale (stalks removed), spinach, dandelion or lettuce leaves 

2 small green apples 

1 small lemon or lime 

2 handfuls of fresh parsley leaves and stalk

Method

Wash your ingredients and get them to a size that will fit into your juicer.

Juice all the ingredients and stir well. Drink immediately or pour into a glass jar or stainless steel flask and keep in the fridge for up to 48 hours