It seems that every other person has invested in a Nutri-bullet blender or similar. Machines like this keep the pulp of the fruit and veg as opposed to a juicer which extracts the juice but leaves the pulp to be thrown away.
Whilst the juice will give you nutrients, it is more useful to have the pulp left in the juice too as the fibre plays a part in how you control your blood sugar. Of course, if you blend any fruit and veg you are able to consume a lot more of it and faster which again will influence how you control your energy.
So what’s the best approach?
Best is to chunk up a blended drink with flax seed, or protein powders (check they aren’t just full of sugars – I like Puriton).
Although a pain to do juicing and blending has its fans, and it can be a refreshing change to water at the weekends (when it’s more practical). Juicing is said to have real health benefits too:
- Maximises nutrients by breaking down cell walls and releasing them to the digestive system. This is especially helpful to those with compromised digestion.
- Preserves nutrients levels which are sensitive to processing and are dramatically reduced by other methods of preparation such as cooking.
- Makes meeting your daily requirements of 6-8 portions of fruit and vegetables easy.
Juicing also helps you to get a wider variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet. It’s good way playfully concocting your own healing recipes. Apple for example, is believed to support liver and intestinal health. Lemon performs a similar function while also assisting with allergies and cods and greens are supposed to be great for skin and digestive issues.
Juicing can also be a useful way to get the most out of your grocery budget, providing you with the opportunity to throw in any fruit and vegetables you fancy before they go to waste.
How to prepare the juice
Always try to select good quality fruits and vegetables wherever possible to avoid exposure to herbicides and pesticides. I like to wash my produce in a water and apple cider vinegar solution to help to strip off any unwanted bacteria and chemicals before juicing. You can also peel vegetables. This is particularly important if they are covered in wax. Root vegetables such as carrots or beetroots should have the above ground ends removed.
What type of Juicer should I buy?
There are many different types of juicers on the market and investing in one can be expensive. What I usually recommend is to start whizzing up juices in your kitchen blender and see if you enjoy it then you can explore options on which juicer to invest in. I am a firm Ninja Blender advocate. The Ninja is not strictly a juicer as it doesn’t strip out all the fibre from the fruit and vegetables, blending it instead into the drink.
You might also be interested in my post on 10 Tips For Successful Juicing.
What’s your favourite juice? Comment below!
