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Fruit/vegetable juices.

A

Achten

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
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I would like to get some opinions on whether or not home-made juices are healthy or not.

I have noticed I have some difficulty eating enough vegetables. Fruit is not that much of an issue, I eat a few pieces a day.
Vegetables, not so, except in soup.

So I'm not really talking smoothies here, just extracted juice from apple, pear, carrot, cucumber, courgette, celery, pineapple, beetroot, ... without anything else added, except fresh lime juice for acidity.

By healthy, I mean: is it possible to take up vitamins and minerals this way ? The sugar inside the fruit doesn't bother me that much (yet).
Lately there's some controversy about whether or not these vitamins etc are broken down by the centrifuge, that's why I'm asking.
 
i think the controversy could be because most companies that sell smoothies would use juice from concentrates which have been in factories for months/years

i would recommend adding some leafy greens to your mix as well (spinach / kale etc)
 
I'm very bad about eating veggies, so I juice.
I make about a gallon a week that contains:

Red Kale
Green Kale
Spinach
Cucumber
Ginger
Red Beets
Golden Beets
Carrot
Apple
Pomegranate
Açai
Blueberry

I use a Breville Juice Fountain Elite. This gallon lasts me all week, maybe a day or two more and I drink a little bit every day. Most of the produce is locally-sourced organic. I work at a natural foods co-op. It's not overly sugary. The sugar content is modified by how many apples I put in and I don't feel it spike my blood sugar a lot at all. It's like a earty-sweet deeeep burgundy gritty liquid. I don't let it settle so I don't lose the pulp. It's an energy shot too...pretty amazing. I get my fiber through other sources like supplements and whole grains. It works well for me.

:)
 
Whether or not it's effective depends on the person. I personally believe that, in general, the raw type diets are better suited to warmer climates. I am more naturally averse to juicing and cold foods in general when it's snowing outside, and prefer to consume hearty meals that are more starchy and meat based. Whereas in the summer all I really want to eat are salads and various juices. So climate plays a role here for sure.

The other thing to consider is that raw and cold food is generally more difficult to absorb and represents an opportunity cost to the metabolism. When cold food hits the stomach, the vessels all contract, and your body must warm the core again before digestion can proceed. If it can't successfully warm the gut to digest the food, then the result will be poor digestion and absorption. So... if during a period of juicing / raw you have diarrhea or stool containing undigested food in it, it means you are not absorbing it. Many people falsely claim that this diarrhea is a "cleansing" but it's not. If after consuming raw you get a lot of hiccups or even belching with some acid regurgitation, it's another sign that your body is not happy. The GI really does not like cold food in general. You can increase the warmth of juices by either including foods that are warm in property, or by literally warming the beverage by adding warm water. Warm in property means something that feels warm when it hits your gut, like ginger, garlic, galangal, cinnamon, etc. Their chemistries can sometimes offset the cold stomach effect.

If your body doesn't show signs of rejecting the juicing, then the way you can optimize it is to first start out by eating the whole fruits and vegetables for a couple of weeks. The fiber will clean your bowels to remove any excess debris. Later when you switch to juicing, there will be more direct absorption.

I think raw fruits and veggies, and their juices, are an important part of one's diet. I remain dubious about 100% raw / juice diets, especially in cold climate zones.
 
Anyways…… with regards to the fruit juice, from what I have read and dealt with in my own experience ……..i don't know much about the juicer you're using, but by the fact you say "i don't mean smoothies or anything" I take it you are taking the juice and chucking the fibrous material. The fibre is the thing that allows your body to healthily utilise the fructose and sugars in the fruit and veg. without it you are getting vits and minerals but really the sugars are in high concentration and if you are doing this for health reason, best believe, excess sugar is something thing you want to be avoiding. Not only is our body not meant to cope with the amounts we have in our "normal" western diets but it also feeds the opportunistic flora (the ones you don't want to get out of control in your body). Fruit and veg is obviously good good good but from what I've read juice is a trap - best to keep the fibre in it and have a thick smoothy or eat them as is. Obviously fruit juice is a healthier alternative to coke and straight bundy rum ;)

^ LOL sorry the first part of my response didn't post due to cut and paste issues :)

First time to post on BL. I have been reading a great book called GAPS - Gut and Psychology Syndrome - looking at research based evidence of correlation b/n digestive health from infancy and psych syndromes mostly autism spectrum, depression, adhd etc etc. but also a 'digestive health 101' type book and a very very good read for anyone interested in digestive health and its increasingly apparent importance on our health as a whole from immunity to psych. def recommended.
 
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^ have you ever lived on just juice for over 3 days?

if not try it and get back to me because it is seriously one of the best things ever you can do for your body/mind

im on day 2 of a 10+ day juice fast and already feel amazing
 
Yeah, I wouldn't trust that advice at all, I wouldn't be surprised if esky wrote that "GAPS" book...

Personally I love juicing and I love my juicer (an Omega masticator). Fiber doesn't sit well with my sensitive intestines so juice helps me take in a lot more produce than I would be able to otherwise. And while cold stuff might be difficult to digest, juice is easier--I think it becomes a personal thing of whether you find benefit. I wouldn't do a 100% juice diet (I'm trying to gain, not lose weight) but my green juice is an important part of my diet. (usually juice Granny Smith apples, celery and kale)
 
I was talking about this earlier because I had a juicer a few years back and gave it away before I moved. The point my stepdad made was I had spent so much money on the veggies and fruits and the amount of waste pulp you're left with after juicing is not economical.

Which fruits and vegetables do you guys suggest to get more juice without spending a boatload of money? (I'm trying to lose weight)
 
Ill be back from vacation tomorrow and I have gained some weight. How long are you going to do juicing? I'm planning to do a 3 day juicing detox after the 25th. I was thinking of buying:

Carrots, oranges, lemon, kale, strawberries, banana, apples melon pineapples and cucumber.
 
That sounds good Maya. I've read for weight loss to add cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower or cabbage leaves. I don't know how that would taste though. You could add some shredded coconut for flavor. Also blueberries are good antioxidants. I really want to get started but I need to buy a new juicer. Let me know what works for you!
 
Will do! I don't remember if we have a juicer but if we don't have it then ill just eat them.
 
I've read in multiple places that a good juicer takes out over 90% of the nutrients in the produce, so you're really wasting very little.

I've tried brussel sprouts and wasn't a huge fan, I'm not big on the flavor and they did shine through the other juices. You can easily cover up any more flavorful ingredients with spices like ginger or greens like parsley or cilantro.
My normal base is 4-6 apples, a stalk of celery, and a bunch of kale--and I could probably add more greens to that and it would still be plenty sweet. From that amount of produce I usually get ~32oz of juice (or more). (and that's only ~$4 of produce)
 
i had in my head that it would cost close to a grand to buy a good new juicer, but i got a breville juice fountain plus (it has rly great reviews) online with free shipping for 170$ AUS, (about 150$ US), which kinda blew my mind, almost all the parts are dishwashable as well so its not vry hard to clean, so no excuses for not owning a juicer guyz!
 
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best tasting fruit/vegie smoothie juices EVER holy shit i just got a head rush,
5524961_f520.jpg
 
So this is day 1 of fruit juicing and I feel horrible atm, head pressure and a bit dizzy. I think I have to stop it seems as if my body doesnt like it. I tried but hey it's probably just not for me. :)
 
I bought a Black and Decker juicer earlier today using a Christmas gift card. The side hinge broke off after one use.
Well I guess you get what you pay for (no pricing I know) I will attempt to return it to the store tomorrow.
I am sad. :(
 
That sucks.. Well I hope it works out for you because my body did not like it at all. I felt like it was shocked with just fruits and some veggies and I felt horrible at the end of the day so I ended up eating solid food. Let us know how it works out for you.
 
Maya said:
So this is day 1 of fruit juicing and I feel horrible atm, head pressure and a bit dizzy. I think I have to stop it seems as if my body doesnt like it. I tried but hey it's probably just not for me. :)
Click to expand...

hey maya, the first day is really quite difficult, but there are things you can do to make it less trying

the dizziness and head pressure is often a result as your body getting quite a shock from this radical change of how its absorbing food, this is why its important to consider 2-3 days of easing into this new intermittent lifestyle, by gradually increasing your intake of a high level of nutrition by starting at perhaps 40% raw and increasing to almost 80 % raw fruit and veg by day 3 of the lead-up, before you start the fast

for the head pressure, you can try taking a good amount of magnesium that will absorb well, and drink lots of water and lots of herbal tea

from my fast, i feel i got further on my path of being able to express empathy and i think it helped me understand communication so that skill is also improved at this point, i think if you pursue this with a bit more research behind your fast, you could enjoy some wonderful results, it becomes a joy at around day 3+ as well in my experience, people around you might try and get you to think what your doing is damaging your body, but they are unlikely to understand the mechanics of this experience or have much experience doing a healthy fast
 
Thanks mysterie I'm going to try it again in a month or so and prepare myself more for it. The dizziness was quite unpleasant so I felt that I had to stop and nourish my body with solid food. This was my firsr time and I felt shocked on it so now I will use this experience to be more mentally prepared for the next fasting.
 
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