Juicing...Why, How, and What You Need to Know!

Juicing, it's an excellent way to get needed nutrients & vitamins directly into your body. No loss from cooking or even steaming, and its easy, yummy, and very very good for you. Here is what you need to know!

There are different ways to juice, from squeezing your fruits, blending your veggies and cold pressing either or both, but what are the differences?

Juicing or Squeezing your Fruits. This is the tried and true, old school way of extracting juice from oranges, lemons, limes, etc. This is the easiest & simplest method, since you don't even need a machine or blender. You can just squeeze the juice out yourself. Yes you will get some of the nutrients from your fruits, however you wont be able to juice any vegetables this way -ever tried to squeeze the juice out of kale? So even though this is very simple and effective way, it is only good for a few items. On top of that you are wasting a lot of the fruit as well. How many oranges do you have to squeeze to get a full glass? So although it works to a point there are a few better options.

Next up is blending. This is great because you can basically blend anything. Apples, beets, celery, lemon, etc. (removing the rind from our citrus family or else it will not be tasty). Blenders such as Nutri Bullet market their product to do just that. Throw it all in and you can have a healthy shake or smoothie in no time! But here is the downside. You are blending the entire fruit or vegetable which includes all the fiber and porous parts of your items. The outcome will always be thick, like a shake, so just getting the juice is nearly impossible in a blender. Even though you are getting ALL the good stuff in each item, your body will have a longer time breaking it all up, due to the drink being so rich in fiber. As it takes longer to digest, it also takes longer to get into your bloodstream. Yes it is filling but it will take more time to get the nutrients into your body, like all day long. The upside is you can add things like protein or MCT to the concoction to make it even healthier. This way is also much easier to create AND easy cleaning up!

Last up is Cold Press Juicing or Masticating Juicer. This one is my absolute favorite! There are a few downsides like time consuming, purchase of the juicer can be a bit costly, and cleaning up takes a bit of time, but to me its all worth it and here's why. A cold press juicer works where it extracts all the nutrients from each item you juice, creating a more nutrient-rich, protein-filled

result. There will be some fiber inter-twined but most of it will be extracted out, and the benefits of this; the nutrients and vitamins do not have to be broken down or digested. As soon you drink it, you are getting the benefits immediately. It's like a pure shot of goodness going straight into your blood stream, with no downtime. You can also juice almost anything and everything, raw beets, kale, spinach, ginger, carrots, apples. You name it you can cold press it. Bananas and avocados, things that tend to be on the mushy side are better off blended, but you can take the juice and throw it in a blender with avocado or banana to make a shake if you want. Which is amazing and yummy! These are great for juice cleanse, healing your body from colds or flus, even help to balance your hormones, lower blood pressure, stabilize blood sugar, and lose weight. Different veggies and fruits have different health benefits! Below, is a list of the good things you can start juicing to feel these effects immediately. Good Luck and Happy Juicing :)

Some helpful info on Common Vegetable Juices:

Asparagus- Help with kidney disfunction, diabetes and anemia

Beets- High in iron, Great for your blood, cleanse liver, help with menopause and menstruation

Carrot- Helps in normalizing your entire system, rich in Vitamins B, C, D, E, G and K. Help clear ulcers even cancer. Rich in sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium

Celery- Great for digestion, cleansing, rich in magnesium & iron, great for your blood

Cucumber- Best natural diuretic, promotes hair growth, manages blood pressure,

Dandelion- normalizes alkalinity, help strengthen bones

Garlic- Exudation of poisons from the body, eliminate intestinal parasites,

Kale/ Cabbage- Cure Ulcers, clean mucus membranes and stomach lining, clear constipation

Lettuce- Rich in Iron & Magnesium

Parsnip- High in Potassium, Phosphorus, Silicon, Chlorine great for lungs, help with flu, pneumonia even emphysema

Tomato- Regulate Metabolism, rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium