If we talk about healthy living and a balanced diet, juicing is a pivotal factor. Although there are several brands selling juices in packed containers with labels saying, “No added sugar content”, those are not the juices that we are referring to as pivotal and crucial. Fresh juice has the best level of nutrients present.
Fresh Juice VS. Packaged Juice
- Packaged Juice: Packaged juice has added preservatives and colors, sugar content and taste enhancers, all these are examples of adulterated food and we all know that adulterated food is not good for our health. Even if the front tag says, “no added sugar”, check the ingredients, you will find the correct values there, so it is nothing but cheating customers.
- Fresh Juice: Fresh juices are filled with enzymes, antioxidants and is nutritional value at its best. Fresh juice should not be extracted and refrigerated; it should be consumed right away. Squeeze only that much juice that you can consume on the spot. This way it does not become stale and is always good for our health.
Importance of Juicing
- We should have juice at least twice a day and it is feasible to visit juice corners in your locality, but buying a juicer will be a whole new experience; it will allow us to make juices whenever we want and can process whatever we want, such as bottle gourd which is a very healthy vegetable.
- A few people believe that it is better to have fruits and vegetables than it’s juice, however, scientific studies haven’t proved it yet, according to science, both have equal nutritional value.
- Many times, if your gut is extra sensitive, you cannot digest fruit but can easily consume juices, the reason is, from juice, fibers are thrown out and with fruit you take it all. Excessive fibers can become a pain for your digestive system.
- With juices, you can have more intake of quality food, whereas cooked vegetables will have oil, and spices that are not good for a healthy lifestyle.
- Extremely unwell patients can benefit more by juicing as they will have trouble chewing and swallowing food.
- It helps you detoxify your body. It’s a better idea to keep juice fasting once a week to detoxify the body.
Importance of a Juicer
- When we talk about so many health benefits of fresh juices, it is obvious that we will need a juicer too. Without a juicer, we will be dependent on shops and juice hawkers and it is very difficult to check their authenticity. Hence, it’s best to get a juicer and prepare your juice on the go.
- There are multiple juicers and blenders available, but we will have to test which is the best bet based on: time, quality of juice, cost of juicer, etc.
Factors to Select a Juicer
- Centrifugal or Masticating Juicer: Whether you want to have a fast pace juicer or an easy to clean and assemble the juicer, there are several factors to consider and mostly your priorities will set what you want for your health. Centrifugal juicers are the faster and cheaper choice whereas masticating juicers are the slow yet expensive choice. The former’s quality of juices is not so good, while the latter has the best and most fresh juices. We all have different priorities, so based on that, we should pick one of the juicers; which we are going to use.
- Engine Quality and Power: We all must have seen how the sugarcane juice provider tries to squeeze the last possible drops of juice. Similarly, when we make juice at home, we want to get the value of our hard-earned money. This factor is determined by revolutions per minute (RPM) of the juicer’s engine. Only when the juicer has unbeatable power, can we do justice to our expensive, healthy and organic fruits. Always check the RPM and power of the engine before buying a juicer which will ensure a longer lifespan of the machine and hence our healthy lifestyle.
- Speed: We all are busy in these buzzing lives; all we look for, from technology is a one-stop solution for everything. There are many juicers with only one button to get the juice ready within a span of a few minutes; while others need you to chop the fruits to a smaller size then feed them in to get the juice. Take a look at all available choices and choose the best among them. Also, look for a juicer where pulp directly comes out, otherwise dumping the dry pulp after every glass of juice can be a headache, hence must be avoided.
- Materials: Along with the juice quality, hygiene is equally important. The different parts of the juicer should be easy to clean. Also, all smaller parts should be of stainless steel to avoid any chances of rusting in the future. The acidic fruits will have some leftovers on the blades and can cause chemical reactions.
- Cleaning Brush: It is always recommended to clean the juicers right after use, using hot water to avoid any reactions and degrading of juicers in the future. Use a cleaning brush to clean even the smallest parts, use hot water and preferably running water.
Conclusion
Hence, it is clear from all these references, that a juicer plays a very important role in keeping ourselves healthy. Factors such as RPM, power, speed of the engine, good quality material, are all important but there is one more factor that is equally important and that is your budget. Remember one thing, it’s not an expenditure, it’s your investment in your health.