Although he passed away at the start of 2011, Jack LaLanne lived a full life of 96 years and was strong and vibrant until the very end. What was his secret? Well, according to him, he was a juicer — a person who drinks concoctions made up of fresh fruits and veggies. Anyway, learn about some of the tips in the article below.
Don’t forget to wash your produce prior to juicing, and use organic products where possible. So many people seem to think that since it’s going to turn into juice, they don’t need to wash their fruits and veggies. Just because it’s liquid, doesn’t mean the chemicals present on the peels are going to go away. Clean your fruits and vegetables thoroughly before juicing.
When making home-made juice, it’s by far the best to drink it fresh. If you must store it, use an opaque, airtight container with no air inside. To remove air, you can either add filtered water or use a food saver to suck out the excess air. Don’t store fresh juice for more than 24 hours, even under these conditions.
If you are getting into juicing for health benefits, you need to remember to drink all your juice in one sitting. The second the juice is made, it will start to lose some nutrients. The faster you can drink it, the more of the health benefits you will be receiving.
If you are going to store juice that you have made yourself, you need to do this correctly. Choose a container that is airtight, and add a couple of drops of lemon juice to it before putting it into the refrigerator. Label your juice so that you remember what you are drinking, and enjoy!
If you want to be successful at juicing in order to maintain a healthier lifestyle, then be sure to keep your juicing machine on your counter or in sight all the time. If you keep a certain area designated as the “juicing area,” then you will be more likely to use it as it is intended.
Keep sugar content down by limiting fruits and certain vegetables. One of the things to watch out for when you are juicing are high sugar levels found in many fruits. High sugar levels can lead to a spike in blood sugar, so keep that in mind as you choose your ingredients. Vegetables grown underground such as carrots usually have a higher sugar content as well.
When juicing and learning how to do it, do not start with dark green vegetables from the get go. Gradually introduce vegetables such as kale, mustard greens, swiss chard, wheat grass and dandelion greens. Only use 1/4 cup of any of these dark green vegetables at one time, as they are extremely powerful and have a cleansing effect on the body.
It’s best to remove the stems and leaves from fruit and vegetables before you juice them. Some items, like beat tops, can be left in if you so desire. Do some research to find out which leaves are edible, or worth eating nutrition-wise, and which to throw away. Stems could cause damage to your machine, so throw them away regardless of nutritional value.
If you don’t feel you’re getting an adequate amount of a vitamin in your diet, don’t bother buying a supplement! Instead, buy a juicer and do your research to find out which fruit and vegetable are rich in that vitamin. For example, if you’re low in calcium you should juice dark green vegetables like kale.
Keep a toothbrush handy to clean the strainer after juicing. Scrubbing the strainer with a toothbrush will displace any lodged particles which can grow rapidly into mold. Regular cleaning in this fashion will increase the life of your juicer as well as make your life healthier.
Choose a juicer which is simple to take apart and clean. If it takes you 10 minutes to assemble the juicer, 10 minutes to juice and 15 minutes to clean it will deter you from juicing! Make sure that you clean the juicer right away, because the components are easier to clean if the pulp has not dried.
Juicing is an excellent way to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner. Before meals, drink juices that include vegetables that require more calories to digest than they contain, like carrots, cabbage and broccoli. This will help curb your appetite and speed up the weight loss process. Adding spices like cayenne or cinnamon, will stimulate your metabolism.
To make an 8 ounce glass of juice you would need about three to four pieces of whole fruit the size of apples or oranges. Layer your flavors by alternating the order in which you insert the produce into the machine. Try two pieces of pineapple, then add some mint and finish with more pineapple.
Once you have your juicing materials, they should be of good quality if you want good quality juice, it is of utmost importance that you know how to function your juicer to it’s fullest extent. If you delve into making juice before you really know what you are doing, you will just be wasting your juicing materials.
In regards to juicing, it is important to consider the fact that vegetable juice provides a lot more health benefits than fruit juice. This is due to the fact that fruit juice contains a lot more sugar and calories which can prove to be counterproductive to a healthy diet.
You may have seen Mr. LaLanne on a late-night infomercial and wondered if he was really serious about juicing or if he was just trying to sell a product. Well, juicing is most certainly a legitimate thing, and these tips have just shed some light on how you can borrow some of Jack’s passion to lead a healthier lifestyle.
