So few people in this country are living in a state of perfect health. The simple fact is that our body’s need the vitamins and minerals that fruits and vegetables offer us.

Health experts have long said that we should be getting 6-8 combined servings a day in order to get in and maintain optimal health.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the health benefits of juicing. In truth, the main reason that juicing is so healthy is it’s convenience and time-saving benefits.

How many of you have time to eat 6 servings of fruits and veggies a day?

Key Benefits of Juicing:

• Fast nutrition on the go. You can drink your 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies in less than a minute, rather than spending time cutting, steaming, eating, then washing your dishes and cutlery.

• Easier digestion. When using a single or dual auger masticating juicer, the machine is actually predigesting the produce before you consume it. This is great for people looking for a fast jolt of nutrients, or those who have impaired digestion – such as infants, the elderly, or people with metabolic disorders.

• Less excuses for following a poor diet. It’s easy to juice your daily requirements the night before – ensuring nothing stands between your health and busy lifestyle (keep reading to learn how long you can store your homemade juice).

• Eat extremely healthful foods that you normally wouldn’t choose. Did you know that kale, collard greens, and other green bitters are some of the most revitalizing, detoxifying foods you can put in your body? They aren’t terribly tasty to eat in a salad, but some of the worst-tasting greens are rich in Vitamin C, iron, and blood-boosting chlorophyl. Healthful greens taste great in juice form and are wonderful for your body.

• Increased absorbtion of vital nutrients. This comes down primarily to the fiber dilemma. We need plenty of fiber to aid digestion, maintain low blood sugars, and keep our colon clean. However, it also gets in the way of certain vital nutrients being effectively absorbed into our bodies through the intestines; namely calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc – all of which are abundant in fiber-rich green vegetables. By adding juiced veggies into your diet, you ensure you’re getting the best of everything from your diet.

• Disease prevention & treatment (increased immunity). A diet that’s low in antioxidants is no good at all. Antioxidants reduce inflammation in the body by removing the free radicals which “kill” the cells in the body through a process called oxidation. While this process is unavoidable, a poor diet and lifestyle can make it happen more quickly and overload the body, leading to chronic inflammation which can cause: breathing problems, skin irritation, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, heart disease, cancer, and chronic illnesses of all types.

Types of Juicers:

Centrifugal Juicers

Centrifugal juicers have a metal blade (shudder disk) that spins very quickly (approximately 30,000rpms) against a metal mesh screen, separating the juice from the flesh of the fruit or vegetable using “centrifugal force”. The juice is forced out through the screen.These types of juicers are normally the cheapest, though you will spend more for high end ejection-type models.

Pros:

• Budget friendly.
•Good if you only plan to juice occasionally and don’t want to spend much. (i.e., intermittent cleansing, “juicing parties”, etc.)
•Works well for juicing citrus fruits and many vegetables.
•Takes less time to juice than other types.
•Faster cleanup over masticating juicers.
•Smaller and lighter than masticating types (great for storage and traveling).

Cons:

• Not good for wheatgrass, leafy greens, sprouts, bananas, avocados, mangos or nuts.
• Higher heat operation resulting in less nutrition in finished juice.
• Less fiber in juice.
• Shorter lifespan due to cheaper parts (motor burnout, bearings, seal leaks, etc.)
• Typically produce wet, messy, dripping pulp in eject.
• Can’t homogenize (make creams or butters).

Single Auger Models (Cold Press Juicers)

Also called: masticating juicer, slow juicer, single auger, single gear.Cold press juicers are all the rage. Cheaper to buy than a twin gear, the cold press “masticates” or chews the produce up at low speeds using a single auger spinning at 80-120 RPM, then presses the mash through a filter (metal screen) before sending the juicy goodness to your juice container.

Pros:

• Less heat, resulting in maximum nutrition.
• Very little noise when using.
• Great for wheatgrass.
• Able to homogenize for making cold nut butters, nut milks, creams, sauces.
• Dry pulp eject.
• Quite durable (particularly if you invest in a mid to high priced model).

Cons:

• Higher cost.
• Slower juicing time.
• Won’t handle large chunks of produce like a centrifugal or citrus juicer will (more prep required).
• Longer cleanup time.
• Less fiber in finished juice compared to a twin gear juicer.

Twin Gear Models (Cold Press Juicers)

Also called: triturating juicer, cold press, slow juicer, masticating juicer. If a single auger model is the Cadillac of juicers, the twin gear setup could be considered the Mercedes Benz. This type uses two intermeshing gears moving at 80-120 RPM which masticate the produce even more completely and efficiently than the single auger version.

Pros:

• Zero heat is applied to the produce, resulting in maximum nutrient in finished juice.
• Low noise output.
• Best at juicing wheatgrass, greens, sprouts which centrifugal and citrus juicers can’t handle.
• Maximum juice yield.
• Homogenizes (certain models can also shape pasta).
• Highest nutrient value in finished juice.
• More fiber in juice.
• Dry pulp eject.
• Extremely durable.

Cons:

• More expensive.
• Very slow.
• Painstaking cleanup times.
• More prep required with certain produce in order to fit between the gears.
• Not the best for juicing citrus fruits (though some models have specific attachments for this purpose).
• Bigger, heavier, less travel-friendly (also requires more storage/counter space).

Citrus Juicers

As the name implies, citrus juicers are made specifically for juicing low-fiber citrus fruit such as orange, grapefruit, lemon, and lime. There are many kinds to choose from in both manual and electric versions. First let’s look at the Pros/Cons of electric models, then we’ll examine the two main varieties of manual citrus juicers.

Pros:

• Can purchase a quality unit for little money.
• Great for everyday use.
• Super fast.
• Easy to clean.
• Ideal if you’re only interested in citrus juices.

Cons:

There are very few cons to using an electric citrus juicer, other than the fact they’re limited to citrus fruits. There are specific problems you’ll run into with lower-quality units.

• Cheaper models will have noisier motors than the higher end models.
• Low end brands don’t offer reversable reamers, which help to extract more juice.
• Budget models may flop and slide around on your counter.
• Some models require you to hold the fruit on the reamer; others have automatic operation.
• They take up more space than a manual juicer.

Note about manual citrus juicers:

Reamer: An inexpensive plastic or stainless manual reamer can be purchased for $5 to $20. With a reamer, you simply push and twist your fruit down on it, and a cup, bowl or glass sits underneath to collect the juice.

Press: There are a number of configurations, from devices that you squeeze together with your hands (like a nut-cracker or set of pliers), to more elaborate lever-action devices where you put the fruit in the device and pulldown on lever that actuates a press that then crushes the juice out of the fruit.

*A press is faster than a reamer.

Recommendation:

If you’re serious about juicing, don’t waste your money on either of these types of manual citrus juicers. They’re less efficient, leaving a lot of juice in the pith, pulp and sacs of the fruit which an electric model would otherwise extract. Much of the nutrition is thought to be left behind using manual equipment because of this limitation – not to mention the time and labor involved.

12 Important Features to Consider When Choosing a Juicer

First thing’s first: go to a juice bar or restaurant that offers freshly juiced beverages. Try the wheat and barley grass; try the veggies and fruits you’re interested in juicing at home.

Try them all!

The truth is, if you don’t like drinking the stuff, you’ll be wasting your money buying even a cheap juicer. And a low-end juicer will be nothing but a disappointment when you transform yourself into an avid juicer.

1. Overall Value: Value includes specific features that are important to you (i.e., digital controls, color, warranty, etc.) and also the other items in this list you’re going to learn about. If you plan to take you and your family to juice heaven every day – juicing lots of greens and veggies; spending $300 on a top-line twin gear masticating juicer might represent the best overall value for your situation. On the other hand, if you’re only planning to drink fresh squeezed orange juice every morning; a $100 “middle of the road” citrus juicer might be just what you need.

2. Versatility: You’ve learned about the pros and cons of each type of juicer available. Before you look at any other features, it’s important to consider what you want to juice now and what you might want to juice in the future. Twin gear juicers offer the most flexibility and also the best quality juice of all the different types. It would be a shame if you opt to purchase an expensive high-end centrifugal model, only to decide later that you want to start drinking fresh almond milk or wheatgrass, and your top-of-the-line $200 juicer can’t get the job done!

3. Ease of Use: If you’re new to juicing, it’s important to find a quality machine that’s easy to take apart, put back together, and reasonably easy to clean. If you have a dishwasher, look for a juicer with parts that are dishwasher safe. Most juicers, particularly cold press and twin gear types, are harder to clean, but offer more short and long term worth, due to the nutritional value and overall yield in the juice they produce.

4. Juice Yield (Dry Pulp): A juicer that’s efficient will eject dry pulp. Wet pulp means that you’re actually throwing money away in the garbage, in the form of nutrition. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from re-juicing the pulp again, to extract more, but this again comes down to value: how much is your time worth to you? Higher-end units will get all the juice (including nutrients and enzymes) the first time around.

5. External Pulp Eject: Dry pulp shows that the juicer’s efficient at squeezing every last drop of goodness from your produce. Purchasing a juicer with an external pulp ejector will save you tons of time. Internal pulp eject baskets are always much smaller than the external type, meaning you’ll have to stop juicing often to empty the basket. This creates an annoyance factor (time and hassle) that might make you less-inclined to grab that morning glass of detoxifying greens!

6. Speed Selection: You may start out only wanting to juice a few strawberries or blueberries for an extra “pick me up” in the morning. These and other soft fruits can be juiced just fine on low speed. You’ll need a high speed juicer for harder veggies like celery, carrots, and broccoli. And harder fruit like apples, melons, and pears.

7. Feeder Tube: A large feeder tube can save you a lot of time. If you just want to juice a few small berries in the morning and never plan to juice larger produce, or large amounts of smaller produce, the size of the feeder tube isn’t likely to be a concern for your needs.

8. Juice Container: As with the feeder tube selection, a larger juice container offers time-saving benefits, as you’ll have to stop the juicer less often, giving you more flexibility for multi-tasking in the kitchen (prepping more juice items, cooking dinner, etc.)

9. Pulp Regulator: This is a feature that may or may not matter to everyone. However, while a little pulp in your orange or apple juice may be just fine; a pulpy glass of wheatgrass juice is far from pleasant! It’s too late to decide that you want this feature after you’ve got your new juicer home, opened the box and used it.

10. Juicer Size: Bigger isn’t always better if counter and cupboard space is limited.

11. Power Cord: This is another feature that won’t matter to everyone. However, you want to make sure that: A) The cord is long enough. B) The cord is retractable or the machine has some handy wrapping loops for tidy storage.

12. Safety: Spending a few bucks more ensures safe operation. Look for units that have a bit of weight to them (this is often the first sign of quality too), with a stainless housing and blade/auger so the juicer doesn’t vibrate and move around on the counter while you’re using it. Child protection sensors cut power to the motor if parts like the feeder tube, pulp eject and top cover is missing. Auto-reverse ensures you never feel tempted to try to stick your hand somewhere it shouldn’t be. Built-in heat sensors guarantee that you don’t push the unit beyond it’s limits and start an electrical fire or burn out the motor prematurely.

Recommended Masticating Juicers

	Omega J8006 Juicer – Click Here	Champion G5-PG710 – Click Here	Tribest Green Star Elite – Click Here
Overall Value	5 / 5	4.8  / 5	5 / 5
Versatility	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5
Easy of Use	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5
Juice Yield	100%	95%	100%
Type	Masticating Single Gear	Masticating Single Gear	Masticating Twin Gear
Speed	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5
Noise	5 / 5	4.8 / 5	4.8 / 5
Warranty	15 Years	5 Years	12 Years
Safety	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5

 

Recommended Centrifugal Juicers

	Breville Juice Fountain Plus – Click Here	Cuisinart CJE-1000 Juicer – Click Here	Hamilton Beach 67650A – Click Here
Overall Value	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.0 / 5
Versatility	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.5 / 5
Easy of Use	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5
Juice Yield	100%	90%	87%
Type	Centrifugal Juicer	Centrifugal Juicer	Centrifugal Juicer
Speed	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.5 / 5
Noise	5 / 5	4.0 / 5	4.0 / 5
Warranty	1 Year	3 Years	1 Year
Safety	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5

 

Recommended Citrus Juicers

	Epica Powerful Citrus Juicer – Click Here	Cuisinart CCJ-500 Citrus Juicer – Click Here	Black & Decker Citrus Juicer – Click Here
Overall Value	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.0 / 5
Versatility	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.5 / 5
Easy of Use	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5
Juice Yield	3 / 5	3 / 5	3 / 5
Type	Citrus Juicer	Citrus Juicer	Citrus Juicer
Speed	5 / 5	5 / 5	4.5 / 5
Noise	5 / 5	4.5 / 5	4.5 / 5
Warranty	1 Year	3 Years	2 Years
Safety	5 / 5	5 / 5	5 / 5

Nutrition (Cold Press vs. Centrifugal)

To avoid creating confusion, the citrus juicer will be left out of this comparison, since they’re a one-dimensional product, and as mentioned earlier: if you’re set on only juicing citrus fruits, a decent citrus juicer is all you’ll ever need.

Cold press juicers give you a higher juice yield. They’ve also proven to provide more nutritional benefit when their extracted juice is compared side by side with centrifugal models (under strict laboratory testing standards).

Heat destroys vitamins and important digestive enzymes very quickly:

• Heat is produced by the blades of a centrifugal juicer, which has to spin very fast (30,000rpms) in order to blast the fruits and veggies apart and extract their juices.

• Almost no heat is produced by single or twin gear juicers, since the auger(s) spin at a snail’s pace (80-120rpms).

We all know how important antioxidants like vitamin C are to the human body. It protects us from the common cold and other sicknesses and diseases. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that’s essential to removing cancer-causing free radicals from oxidizing our cells. Lastly, it boosts collagen levels in the skin preventing wrinkles, pimples, and blemishes.

• Vitamin C is completely destroyed when it comes in contact with air, mixed with as little as 70 degrees (room temperature) of heat.

Even if the juice coming out of your centrifugal juicer is still cold, the vitamin C content in the juice has certainly been compromised just by the friction caused by the blade and screen.

Heat also destroys important digestive and protective enzymes:

This study proved conclusively that amylase and peroxidase levels were cut in half in the carrot juice extracted from leading centrifugal juicers – when compared to the extracted juice from leading cold press juicers.

• Amylase is responsible for converting starches into useable sugar energy within our bodies.
• Peroxidase is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against cancer and retinal disease.

It isn’t a far stretch to imagine that if vitamin C and the two essential enzymes mentioned above are destroyed using high-heat centrifugal juicing machines – then so to must other antioxidants, enzymes, and proteins to some extent.

How Long Does Fresh Juice Last?

Homemade juice will only last about 72 hours before most of its antioxidant value is completely gone.

Strangely enough, the same process that antioxidants protect the cells in our bodies against (oxidation) is the very same process that destroys them when they’re exposed to air.

Chlorophyll, digestive enzymes, and phytonutrients also begin to degrade quickly once the protective skin of the fruit or vegetable is removed.

Fresher is always better. Preferably 24-48 hours after juicing.

The pricey juice you buy from the store doesn’t have a longer shelf life either. While store-bought juices are (hopefully) sealed airtight when you buy them, as soon as the bottle’s opened and exposed to air, their nutritional value quickly diminishes.

Tips for Fresher Juice:

• Buy fresher produce. This might sound a little obvious, but don’t try to save a few bucks by hitting the bargain bin for your fruits and veggies! If you’re juicing wheatgrass, grow your own and juice and drink it right after you cut it.

• Use masticating juicers which don’t heat the produce like centrifugal and citrus juicers do. Resulting in less degradation of the finished juice.

• Transfer juice to an airtight glass container right away. No plastic! Plastic may contain BPA. Unlike plastic, a glass container can also be cleaned and reused without permanently inheriting the odor of its previous tenant. Mason jars sealed with a vacuum-sealing machine (hand or electric) will ensure maximum freshness.

• Fill containers to the brim. Air is your enemy. Fill your containers as full as possible so no air is left trapped in the container.

• Don’t freeze your juice. What happens in the fall when the temperature drops? Fruits, vegetables and plant-life of all kinds die right? You can freeze your juice or use it to make delicious freezies or popsicles for your kids, but the freezing process destroys most of the nutrient value if that’s what you’re after.