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The benefits of making your own fruit and vegetable juices

So you may have heard that a lot of people have turned to juicing to increase their quality of health. Jumping on the juicing bandwagon is not just a fad.
Kylie Matechuk
Kylie Matechuk

So you may have heard that a lot of people have turned to juicing to increase their quality of health. Jumping on the juicing bandwagon is not just a fad. People have been making their own juices for years to fight off a host of diseases and disorders. I remember my family buying one when I was really young, I read all the recipes and was just fascinated that you could make a drink that might help battle a cold or a bladder infection for instance. It was my first introduction to food as medicine.

Because of the insoluble fibre in fruits and vegetables, we can’t eat as much fruits and veggies as we need sometimes to help fight certain disorders. Juicing extracts the nutritious liquid of plants and discards the insoluble fibrous pulp, allowing us to consume more and therefore capitalize on its healing and cleansing abilities. We still get soluble fibre from juicing. Soluble fibre (like gums and pectins) will partially dissolve in water and form a type of gel. Soluble fibre absorbs digestive bile made by cholesterol, which creates even more digestive bile, which then helps to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also can help moderate your blood glucose levels because it helps sugar to be more slowly absorbed, which is why some diabetics report juicing to be helpful to them. (Always check with your doctor though first!)

Having juiced almost my whole life, I have created juice cleanses that are more rigorous on liver and colon cleansing and help me a lot in achieving optimal health, better digestion and clearer skin. Any time you hear the word “cleanse” or “detox,” do your research, though. Understand what you’re consuming and the affects it might have on your body. I would never recommend doing a juice cleanse for drug or alcohol rehab without supervision from professionals, and it is not something to rely on to lose weight. I advocate for holistic health, which promotes full body wellness. When I first started, I would do a three-day juice cleanse once per month. Now I only do them when my body tells me I need to. I regularly drink fresh squeezed juice of all kinds, though.

For a beginner juicer, it’s important to not overwhelm yourself. There are many kinds of juicers to purchase, and I recommend starting small and inexpensive before you really start actively including juicing in your life.

The two styles of juicers are centrifugal (our store-bought juicers you see today) where they extract the juice and discard the pulp through a mesh screen. You can find these at any Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart, Co-Ops or stores that carry kitchen appliances. They run anywhere from $100 to $600. If you’re lucky, you might find an old style one at a garage sale or flea market. Cold press juicers act to literally squeeze the liquid right out of the fruit or veggie. These are the juicers you will find at juice bars that offer cleanses or bottled juices. The juice is clear and the pulp is very dry. They run very expensive from $5,000 to $50,000. Yes, you read that right! So start small!

And while making your own fruit juices (like apple and orange) is healthier than store-bought, keep in mind that fruit juices pack a lot more fructose or sugar than if you were to eat these fruits on their own. For one serving of orange juice you would have to juice four naval oranges.

When preparing juices for clients or for myself, I personally use vegetables primarily, as my cleanses are purpose-based, meaning my reasons to juice cleanse are to rid the body of toxins and impurities. When doing this, sugar needs to be limited. Depending on the circumstances, I might add a lemon or maybe a green apple to help sweeten it up just a little bit.

Remember to peel oranges or anything with a thick rind when juicing. Apples are OK to not peel, and it’s normal to get a thick foam in your juice from using store-bought juicers. Only juice fruits and veggies that have a high water content. Bananas for instance, cannot be juiced.

Carrots and cucumbers yield a lot of juice! So feel free to use these as your base, and add some greens like kale, spinach and romaine lettuce to increase your nutrient value, and add an apple or orange to sweeten it up. You’ll be surprised at how good your concoctions taste! Keep in mind that coniferous veggies like broccoli and cauliflower and even celery take over the taste of your juice. So use these in small quantities, or enjoy if you like the way these taste juiced!

Here are two of my favourites that will be out in my upcoming juice cleanse book, or feel free to search the web or the library for some great finds!

 

Cleanse Me Clean

2 gala apples (halved)

1 medium sized beet (quartered)

1/2” ginger 

1/2 peeled lemon

3 carrots

(Place all in the juicer in that order and enjoy!)

Tip: Keep in mind when juicing beets that your urine will turn pink until you get used to digesting beets. Some people experience this their whole lives! Don’t be alarmed :)

 

Rise and Shine

1 medium sized or 1/2 large peeled grapefruit

1/2” lemon

2 peeled oranges 

Tip: Use the low setting on your juicer for citrus fruits to extract the most juice.

Another tip that I use: I juice my own apples, oranges and pineapples to add to my smoothies instead of store-bought juice. (So much cheaper and fresher!)

Juicing is great for improving your health and ensuring that you are consuming a variety of fruits and vegetables that are much needed in the standard western diet.

Certain medications counteract with certain foods, so when adding juice or especially if you were to incorporate a juice cleanse regimen in your diet, talk to your doctor or pharmacist first.

I am always happy to answer your questions on implementing juicing into your life, or any holistic health-related question sent to kylie@yogifoodipreneur.com.

Happy juicing!

As always, check with your doctor or health practitioner for any medical related questions. This information is to be used as a guide and not to replace medical advice.

Kylie Matechuk is a certified, experienced yoga teacher, registered in gold status with the Canadian Yoga Alliance, and director of teacher training at Mo Tus Nua Wellness, the yoga studio she owns and manages in Northern Manitoba. She is also studying at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition towards her designation as a Holistic Nutritionist with a passion for pediatric and digestive health.

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