We all know that we should eat more fruits and especially vegetables. Everyone knows this, and should be making an ongoing effort to increase their intake of them as they are our only source of enzymes—the key to health. Another amazing source of enzymes, never mind vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals is fresh juice.
There are no real home runs when comes to paying back nutritional debts, but juicing comes close. Drinking fresh juice makes all of those vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants easy for your body to absorb and use.
If you’re going to juice, here are five juicing tips to help ensure your body gets the most value for your effort.
1. Juice is Best When Just-Made
The maxim “fresh is best” holds true for so many things, and it’s especially true when it comes to juicing. For the best flavor, the best nutritional value, and the best appearance (which, let’s face it, is also important), drink your juice as soon as you make it. The longer juice sits before consuming, the more enzymes are destroyed.
2. Use Organic Produce Whenever Possible
If you can afford it and can find it, use as many organic fruits and vegetables as you can for making juice. If your produce isn’t organic, it will contain pesticides and chemical fertilizers that will negate some of the value of the nutrients in the juiced produce.
3. Freeze Juice to Save Time
If you struggle to find the time to juice every day, in one session, juice enough for a week. Once you’ve made the juice, pour a serving in freezer quality baggies, and put in the freezer. Then each day, take one baggie out of the freezer, let it thaw (don’t microwave), and drink. Freezing destroys only about 5% of the enzyme value.
4. Drink Fresh Juice on its Own
A glass of fresh juice is a lot of nutrition. Drinking with a meal or soon after eating is potentially too much for the body to process, therefore some of the value is wasted. Drinking fresh juice on an empty stomach helps your body absorb its many nutrients. Similarly, if you’ve just had some juice, give your body an hour or so to process it before eating.
5. Juicing is a Work in Progress
When you juice at home, you can always refine your ratios and test out new flavors for a recipe that you like. Adding apple juice or carrot juice to vegetable juice will help to sweeten the flavor. If the amount of juice seems low for all the produce you’re using, try adding cucumbers or melons, which often yield lots of juice. Tinker with your recipes, write down what works, and don’t be afraid to experiment. It’s all in the name of good health.
For more juicing tips and great recipes, order my book, Juicing for Health.