Juicing for health

What’s up everybody! So today is all about juicing! I’m actually pretty new to this style of eating/drinking, so I want to share my personal thoughts on it all. And I’ll be completely honest here, I’m really starting to like this juicing business, but I have found some cons (and pros) involving it all. So here’s my take on it…

Juicing and time management

Ok, so it’s morning time and you have a routine before you head off to work, no big surprise – we all have some type of daily procedure. Although your set morning schedule may be somewhat lengthy already, it’s about to get longer if you’re thinking of juicing!

Now to clarify from the start, it’s not a HUGE chunk of time, but it’s definitely something to be aware of in the beginning. For me, it takes about 20-25 minutes – that’s from start to finish (including clean up). And yes, it can get quite messy! I don’t even want to tell you about how my kitchen looked like after my first juicing experience! Let me just say that beets made it look as if a murder had occurred in the middle of my kitchen! I never really noticed how closely beet juice resembles blood! It’s uncanny!

But besides the massive spillage that had taken place, it’s not too crazy of a time hindrance (unless you spill everywhere like I did). Now, being that I’m aware of how long this routine takes, I make it a priority to wakeup about 20-minutes earlier than before – one little adjustment that has really worked for me.

With all of that aside, I would say it’s not too much of a time issue, but it is something to be aware of before heading out to buy that new juicer. The key here is to adjust your schedule accordingly to make up for lost time. Once you get into the zone, you’ll find that it’s not all that bad. Ok, now on to my second concern…

Many people are juicing

Although making your own juice is an awesome way to get really high quality nutrients into your body, some people just can’t handle some of the foods they’re using. Time and time again, I read about people having digestive discomfort (and other health issues) from juicing – very common, so still worth talking about.

You may remember that article I posted about a day ago regarding food sensitivities; well, this is exactly what I’m talking about. People are juicing foods that their bodies are NOT meant to handle! So in many cases, people are loading up their bellies with foods that can actually work against them and their health goals.

So, with that being said, you MUST figure out what foods you’re set-up to handle before juicing, this is very important. And luckily, there are a few ways to do this. The MRT food sensitivities test (as discussed on an earlier post) is a perfect solution to this problem.

My third issue with juicing

Simply put, people STILL don’t understand the importance of using organic produce! And why is this so essential? Well, let me ask you something? Do you enjoy eating toxic chemicals? I sure hope not! But if you’re juicing conventional fruits and vegetables, you’re most definitely loading-up your body with some unwanted toxins.

It’s widely recognized that organic produce is healthier to eat, and that conventional items are laden with pesticides and/or harmful chemicals. This is fact by now. Read this if you want a little more info on the pesticide issue.

So, if you’re going to get on the juice wagon, buy organic! It’s not that much of a price increase, and it’s totally worth the extra dollar in my opinion.

One thing I often ask clients is “if they would rather pay organic farmers, or hospital bills.” By looking at it from this angle, many people kind of snap back into reality and see what it is I’m really driving at. Hands down, 100%, I’d rather pay farmers instead of insurance premiums. Wouldn’t you? This is my constant mentality when I shop for food, especially when juicing. Paying an extra dollar or two is SO worth it in my opinion.

Ok, so there’s one more issue here, and it’s REALLY important.

The sugar problem

One thing that more people really need to understand about juicing is that too much fruit CAN be a bad thing! There are stories of people actually gaining weight from juicing, and this lies within the fact that they’re eating too much sugar. Trust me, it happens!

One thing to realize here is that when a person drinks juice, there is an absence of fiber. Now, to clarify further, fiber slows absorption; so, when it’s nonexistent, blood sugar can spike really fast! If you have blood sugar issues (like diabetes), this can most definitely be a huge problem. This is why I often stick to vegetables and not loads of fruit when I’m juicing. Yea, I put an apple, pear, or orange in from time to time, but it’s nothing too crazy. I am really big on regulating my blood sugar, so I take all of the necessary precautions in keeping it balanced.

So the take-home advice on that is to juice more vegetables than you would fruit. Although fruit can be good for the body if kept within an acceptable amount, it most definitely can be overdone, and more people need to understand this. As with all sugar related information, I have provided you with some detailed referencing to further my point. Check it out here and here.

Ok, I hope I haven’t scared you off with my ‘juicing cons.’ Let’s take a look at the pros now…

Time for the pros!

Now that I’ve gotten the negative stuff out of the way, it’s time to cover the awesomeness that revolves around making juice. I truly believe that the benefits outweigh the cons here, and I want to tell you why.

I can’t eat all of that!

So, you know and fully understand that you need to get more life-yielding nutrients into that body of yours if your health is to get better, right? But the thing is, you really don’t like eating all of that “healthy” stuff! Trust me, I don’t blame you.

I truly understand how hard it can be to maintain a constant intake of vegetables and such. Although I do eat a lot of organic veggies (and some fruits) quite often, I do hit my limits at times. It is when I hit these boundaries that I break out the juicer to help. And I have a great example for you regarding this topic…

My little kale experience

Ok, so let me just be blunt here, I DON’T like the taste of kale, and that kind of sucks because I know that there are many benefits involved with its consumption. I’ve read a lot about kale in the past, and from the very first article I came across, I knew that I had to incorporate it into my diet somehow.

So after my research involving kale, I went to the store and bought some. It was at this point that I became unpleasantly surprised. YUCK! I didn’t like it one bit, but I had to figure out a way to get it into my body. I thought about it for a while, and then it finally clicked! Juicing to the rescue!

I found that by combining it with other foods that my body CAN handle, I was able to maintain a steady intake of kale, and this made me happy! It’s a great vegetable, but I simply just didn’t (and still don’t) like the taste. The thing is, I’ve created some really good juicing recipes to help in getting more of it into my body on the regular, and I hardly taste it’s bitterness! Pretty awesome!

For all of you anti-veg heads – some is better than none

Some people just don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, this is obvious. The act of eating more whole, organic, and raw produce is something that people have fallen further away from as time has passed, and this is not good.

Well, although juicing is not as good as eating the whole, and real thing, it’s better than nothing! At least juicing is able to get A LOT of what that vegetable offers in regards to health. For example, kale is loaded with vitamin K, and this is great for a HUGE LIST of reasons (preventing cancer being a huge plus). So if you don’t like the taste of kale (like me), and know that you won’t be eating it at all anytime soon, you can at least get most of what it offers by juicing the life out of it!

That’s pretty much the take home message I have for you here. Juicing is better than nothing, and it’s very effective at getting high quality nutrients into the body. And to be 100% honest with you, I feel a HUGE difference from doing this stuff almost everyday. My energy has improved, my blood sugar feels even more balanced, I can regulate those food cravings more efficiently, and overall, I just feel good.

The other great thing about this little health secret is that produce (fruits and veggies) are not all that expensive, especially if you frequent farmers markets like I do. I can spend eight bucks and have enough to juice for 2 maybe 3 days! Now that’s a deal! Yet, be aware!

This whole process is a little wasteful. Every juicing session is followed by dumping loads of ground and shredded vegetation into the trash, so be prepared for that. At first, it feels like a complete waste, but then I think of all of the great nutrition that my body’s getting, and I feel better about it all. Some have a hard time dealing with this, while others (like me) get acquainted to it rather quickly.

So are you on board? Have I convinced you enough? I’ll be honest, it took me a while to really buy in to this whole juicing thing, but I’m so glad I finally got on board. Because I truly feel a difference from doing it.

As we continue to make our way along this path to wellness, we’re all going to come across fads, and techniques to live and feel better. I can honestly say that the act of juicing is not something that is to come and die out quickly like most things. People have been doing it for a while now, and honestly, I don’t see too much wrong with it all.

So I say try it out for 30 days to see how you feel. And if money is an issue for you, there is a wide range of juicers to pick from out there. I say go to Costco and pick up the Jack Lalanne deal for about 89 bucks, can’t really go wrong with it. If you’re trying to spend a little more on some high-end stuff, there are some really great selections to choose from as well. It all depends on what you’re looking for and how much you’re trying to spend.

So that’s my take on it all. I truly hope that you have learned something on juicing today. Feel free to leave a comment below. I respond to any and all questions that are left.

Thanks for tuning in once again!