Fruit & Vegetable Juicing: What you should know
Anciently, juicing was often referred to as extracting 'the bloods' of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Fresh juices are electrically charged, liquid nutrients that are rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream because they require very little digestion.
It's the primary reason why 'juice fasting' is one of the fastest pathways to health and repair - it allows your body to channel its available energy to the healing process without the burden of constantly processing food.
Whether you’re planning to juice fast or simply wanting to clean up your diet, consuming one or more fresh juices each day is one of the best things you can do for your sustained health and vitality!
And it might surprise you to know that certain fruits and vegetables are meant to be consumed at particular times of day (morning, noon and night), which is very relevant to your juicing program!
What are the benefits of juicing?
The more raw fruits and vegetables you include in your diet, the healthier you're going to be over time and distance.
Juicing simply allows you to absorb a lot more nutrients into your body at a time, satiating your cells with rapid, immune-boosting goodness.
Juicing fruits and vegetables means you can:
- Provide rapid nourishment to your cells by juicing a lot more fruits and vegetables than you could possibly eat at one time;
- Get your daily fix of vitamins and minerals by juicing a variety of fruits and veges that you might not normally eat on their own;
- Detox or cleanse and keep it colourful and interesting;
- Support your digestive health;
- Feed the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut;
- Help lower your blood sugar levels;
- Start to heal just about any ailment that has become a daily burden;
- Reduce your appetite, because constantly nourished cells have a way of telling the brain and stomach that "life's good, we don't need much food!"
As human beings, we are intricately connected to mother nature, including her climatic and temperate zones.
This is to say that our bodies naturally become accustomed to the environments, climates and seasons we live in.
Not all fruits and vegetables thrive all year round, so always seek out fruits and vegetables that are in their seasonal prime-time in your area and temperate zone.
By doing this, you'll be maximising the uptake of nutrients into your body that are in harmony with the plants at the time of year when they naturally come forth.
You'll look and feel better and you'll soon find that you'll rarely (if ever) get sick.
The best way to establish what's in-season in your area is to visit your local Farmer's Markets regularly and seek out 'spray-free' produce whenever possible.
If you are doing a juice fast with the intention of detoxifying and healing, you can either do a mono-fast by sticking to one particular fruit, vegetable or juice mix, or experiment with different combinations of a variety of fruits and vegetables to keep it interesting.
A personal favourite juice mix that I've recommended to many people over the years who want to do a multi-day fast is C.A.B.A.L.A. (Carrot, Apple, Beets & Lemon), using this combination: 2.2 kg's Carrots, 2 Red Apples, 2 Yellow Apples, 2 Green Apples, 1 Beetroot & 1 Lemon (including the rind).
Learn more in The Healing Powers of CABALA Juice
Green Juices are also great with combos like: Apple, Spinach, Cucumber, Lime & Ginger.
You can also try ‘Juice Feasting’ where you substitute one litre of juice for each main meal of the day by following this brilliant ancient observational wisdom:
First thing in the morning is when you get ‘up’ after a long period of rest, so it's all about energising yourself and setting the tone for the rest of the day.
This is the best time to juice mainly fruits that grow above the ground (in trees) such as lemons, oranges, apples, kiwifruit and pineapple. These will serve to elevate your body and mind, boost your energy levels and invigorate your senses.
In the middle of the day, you’ll want to literally be a bit more ‘grounded’ so this is the perfect time to mainly have juices from green vegetables that grow on the ground such as spinach, kale, wheat grasses, asparagus, cucumber, celery, lettuce and parsley.
In the evening and heading into night, is when your body naturally starts to prepare to rest and sleep so this is the best time to juice mainly vegetables that grow ‘in the dark’ below the ground such as beets, carrots, ginger, turmeric, garlic and sweet potato.
Cold Press Juicers vs. Centrifugal
Even though 'pressing' fruits and vegetables to extract 'living' juice has been a technique used for centuries, this same principle has been used to develop some wonderful, easy to use cold-press juicing machines that are available on the market today.
This type of technology gently and slowly grinds and extracts the juice under minimal stress or heat, ensuring that the living enzymes remain intact for maximum benefit to your health.
On the other hand, most households, cafes and juice bars still tend to use 'centrifugal' machines that run at high speed, pulverising the ingredients, damaging the living enzymes.
You'll also notice a BIG difference in appearance and taste if you prepare a cold-pressed juice next to a glass of 'oxidised' juice prepared from a centrifugal machine.
Of course, any fresh juice is better than none at all...
Just realise that centrifugal machines will prepare an inferior quality juice that will also still contain a lot of fibre which is not ideal if you're fasting or looking for high-quality uptake to your cells.
Some recent studies have shown that almost 70% of all nutrients and enzymes are absorbed into your blood within 15 minutes when you drink cold press juice from a slow juicer, compared to 17% when you eat raw fruit and vegetables or juice them conventionally.
If you're looking for a high-quality cold-press juice machine for your home, a good option is the latest model 3 in 1 Multi Kuvings C7000 Slow Whole Fruit Cold Pressed Juicer which is:
- A compact size
- Super quiet with low-noise design
- Easy to clean
- Eco-friendly with BPA-free components
Plus, if you purchase through our store, you'll also get over $200 worth of free accessories which will set you up with everything you need for your juicing journey. The accessories include:
- Anti-Bacterial Chopping Board
- Large Ceramic Knife
- Smoothie/Sorbet Maker
- 4 Glass Bottles
- Juice Fasting Guide Book.
Bioactive Juice Powders
When you want the benefits of raw, fresh squeezed juice, but don't have the time to make your own, nutrient-rich ‘bioactive’ juice powders are the next best option.
My RA-W Juice Powders are prepared from organic ingredients using gentle evaporation technology, which extracts the moisture from the fruits and veges before they're ground into a fine, nutrient-rich powder.
Simply throw a heaped tablespoon into a glass of chilled water for a quick, easy and tasty elixir.
What about Protein?
Protein should not be a consideration if you're cleaning up your diet, fasting, or simply getting your daily injection of nutrients with a fresh juice.
Most people eat way too much 'dead animal' protein and the best thing they can do for their health is to stop doing it for a while!
Plant foods contain every identifiable protein that exists that your body can recognise and absorb.
If you look into the root etymology of the word 'protein', you'll see that it comes of the Greek 'proteos' which means 'first source'.
'First source' protein is that which can only be gained from eating plants, which contain the "building blocks" of what we typically refer to as protein (i.e. meat/muscle).
It's a myth that the human body needs meat to grow and maintain healthy muscle.
Everything you need is in plant foods - it's just a choice as to what extent you choose to embrace nature's medicines.
What to expect when juicing
If you’re new to juicing, and especially if you’re doing a juice fast for more than a few days, you may experience what is commonly referred to as a ‘healing reaction’ or ‘healing crisis’.
This happens because during this is the period your body is dumping metabolic waste. It may take a little while for you to release these toxins before you'll start to feel great.
It’s simply a sign that you’re ‘cleaning house’, but it can be a slight shock to your system if you're used to a heavy and processed diet and then suddenly you start juicing.
Juicing works because the ‘superior’ nutrient-rich contents start to get rid of the ‘inferior’ tissues and toxins in your body and replace them with newer healthier versions.
Your body stores harmful toxins in the fat cells to protect your vital organs, so once you begin the process of shedding the fat and detoxifying, this waste will be released into your bloodstream so that it can be expelled through the 4 eliminatory channels of your body:
- Digestive System
- Integumentary system (skin)
- Respiratory System
- Urinary System
Typical symptoms of a healing crisis include:
- Aches & pain
- Bad breath
- Body odour
- Mood swings
- Skin breakouts
- Stuffy or runny nose
It's not unusual for emotions to come up too, when we take away the things (unhealthy food) or change habits that keep emotions 'down'! By 'keeping them down' with food and other distractions, we avoid feeling and processing our feelings and emotions, however, although sometimes painful, this is in fact, an essential part of the healing process.
"You need to feel to heal" and realise too that sometimes, "healing hurts".
Just remember that one of the best things you can do to start the healing process and maintain great health is to juice fresh fruits and vegetables regularly and make these living 'bloods of plants' part of your daily routine.
Learn more in 7 Day Detox Plan With Raw Juices