Juicing

Drinking fresh juice is like a natural rush…providing the body with nutrients on a super-highway - its a fast delivery system for a huge range of anti-aging nutrients which boost your health and rejeuvenate your body and mind. 

One of the most important aspects of anything we eat or drink is the sheer pleasure we get from it.  Savouring a freshly made juice is an intensely pleasurable experience - most people are hooked the first time they try it.

Juices pack a huge anti-aging punch..

The really great thing about juicing is that juices not only taste superb but they pack a huge anti-aging punch.  Fresh raw fruit and vegetables are the best possible source of phytonutrients - or nutrients derived from plants - things like vitamins, minerals, enzymes and carbohydrates.  All of this is contained in the natural fresh water of the plant. 

Juices are powerhouses of antioxidants: nutrients such as the major vitamins A, C, E - called antioxidants because of their ability to fight oxidants, or free radicals, that damage our bodies and accelerate aging.

Delicious way to join the five-a-day club…

Most of us know by now that we should be aiming for at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day and probably more like seven.  Officially a glass of juice counts as one of these servings, but that has to be an underestimate. 

You will take more anti-aging nutrients into the body from one glass of juice than you would from eating one piece of fruit or one vegetable serving.   It takes quite a bit of produce to make just one glass of juice.  You would need to eat say three large carrots or two apples or one whole pineapple to get the quantity of nutrients that goes into one 8 fl oz/230 ml glass of juice. 

The truth is that freshly made juice is different to just eating fruit or vegetables since it delivers anti-aging nutrients straight into your body within minutes, without the need for the digestive processes to take effect.  Inevitably with the slowness of the digestive system, some nutrients in food are not absorbed efficiently by the body.  Juices deliver the hit immediately - a kind of natural rush.

Off-the-shelf processed juices just don’t compare…

You may feel you don’t have the time for all that peeling and squeezing.  Why bother when you can just pick up a carton of the stuff from your local supermarket?  There really is no comparison. 

Most ready-made juices rely on fruit or vegetable concentrates and extra water to bulk them up.  Look at labels - you’ll find that some contain additives like sugar, flavor enhancers and preservatives.  Home-made juices have nothing added, nothing taken away - just 100 percent pure juice.  You know because you made it. 

What about ‘freshly squeezed’ cartons of juice?

Of course, you can buy cartoned ‘fresh’ juices and smoothies which cater to the surge in demand for fresh juiced drinks.  Whilst some of these are good to drink - you need to consider the cost of making these part of your regular diet and think about the so-called freshness.  Many have sell-by expiry times of one or two weeks - by the time you get to drink them, ingredients will have lost some of their zing and many of the key nutrients may be lost.

A home-made juice really is in a class of its own compared with any off-the-shelf juices, whether ‘freshly squeezed’ or processed.  Fresh juice is simply the best liquid refreshment a body can have. 

It really isn’t that difficult you know…

Much of the perceived fuss and bother of juicing is based on the cost of buying and using the equipment needed to juice.  But you don’t have to use anything more than a simple hand citrus squeezer to enjoy the benefits of fresh orange or grapefruit juice for breakfast. 

Once you get hooked - all you really need is a juicer and a shopping list and your imagination.  Juicing is surprising quick and so satisfying to do and you can do it all year round to make use of what’s in season.

And if you’re thinking of time - consider how easy it is to have your breakfast or a light liquid lunch in a glass.  The ultimate in fast food.  

In the end it comes down to enjoyment…

The sheer pleasure of juicing comes from the intensity of tastes - a bit like eating home-made ice cream.  The process of juicing concentrates the wonderful flavor and color of the fruit or vegetable.  In short, freshly prepared juices are sweeter, more creamy, more fruity, more tangy..than anythng you may have tasted before.