Today, we’re going to talk about Juicing. I chose this topic today, because I’ve been getting several questions about it lately. Now, I’ll start with what the difference is between smoothies and juices, for anyone who doesn’t know.
Smoothies are when you throw a bunch of fruits and vegetables into a blender with some liquid, perhaps milk or water, (I use dairy kefir) and you blend it all together. This way, you’re getting the fiber content, which will also help slow down the breakdown of the sugar in the fruit so it doesn’t spike your insulin. However, smoothies can be very filling because of their fiber content. You can’t drink as many smoothies as you can of juices.
Juices, are made when you put the fruit and vegetables into a juicer, and it squeezes all of the juice and most of the nutritional benefits out of the produce, and makes a nice juice for you to drink. The catch though, is that there is almost no fiber content in the juice. Which, while that means you can get a lot more nutritional benefit from say, a whole bunch of celery, than you would if you were just eating it, (because you can drink more juice than you can eat celery in one sitting) the lack of fiber does limit the slowing down of the sugar being broken down. This can result in an insulin spike if you have too many fruits in that juice.
Next, we will go into the benefits of juicing, then we’ll tackle the best way to do it to meet your goals.
Juicing is great for detoxing your body,
Makes your skin clearer and softer,
Improves your immune system (great for the cold and flu seasons),
Promotes weight loss,
Increases energy,
Elimimates waste,
And increases your blood flow.
Juicing is just a great idea all the way around. These are some of the reasons that you might enjoy trying to juice periodically.
The Correct Way to Juice:
As I already said, juicing takes out all the fiber from the produce, so any fruit that you put into the juicer concentrates the fructose so that you are basically getting a “sugar shot” straight into your system. This will spike your insulin levels and promote obesity. Like your plate, your juice should be eighty percent vegetables.
You want to make sure that you put in plenty of vegetables and lemons or limes for a proper juice. Keep in mind also, that the juice does not have protein or fat in it. These are both important for your health as well. Add fats like coconut oil, butter, MCT oil, or chia seeds to your juice to boost performance and long-lastimg energy. You can also add collagen or amino acids to the juice for a protein boost.
Juice Fasting:
When doing a juice fast, you want to be aware of the fact that you may experience headaches and fatigue. Juices don’t have much fiber content, and higher sugar content. So there’s not as much for your body to go on. And they can be expensive too. Produce isn’t cheap, and juicing takes a lot of produce.
Drink at least six sixteen ounce servings of juice. Add in one or two more per day if you need to, and drink as much tea or water as you need. Keep in mind that when doing a juice fast, you will probably spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
The very best veggies for juicing would be: Spinach, Cucumber, Celery, Carrots, Kale, Zucchini, and Beets.
The best fruits would be: Lemons and Limes (most definitely), Dark Berries like Rasberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, and Dark Cherries. These will be loaded with antioxidants, and Kiwis.
You can also add Ginger, Turmeric, Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, and Mint.
There you have it! Now you have a bunch of tips and tricks up your sleeve to make a good juice. Experiment with the different choices, but just remember that if you only use a little bit of produce, you’re only going to get a tiny amount of juice. Juicing is powerful and really helps your body in a lot of ways. You can also add cayenne or black pepper to your juices as well, but I warn you here, a little goes a long way! I hope you enjoyed this, and I will see you again next week! God bless you!