A Beginner's Guide to Vegetable Juicing
When it comes to juicing, most people think about combinations like apple and orange; apple, lemon and ginger; pear and apple; pomegranate and pear juice. Vegetable juicing, however, happens to be even more beneficial. Veggies don’t contain as much sugar as fruits do. In addition, they’re packed with many important nutrients and microelements.
The best juices bring the power of fruits and veggies together. If you’re just getting started with vegetable juicing, however, you may be oblivious about the best combinations and the best extraction techniques.
Vegetable juicing has some specifics that you’ll need to understand before getting started. That’s the best way to enjoy all of the raw vegetable juice benefits.
The Benefits of Vegetable Juicing
Is this type of juicing even worth the try? Clinical studies suggest that the incorporation of veggies in juice recipes is quite beneficial because of several reasons.
For a start, juicing makes it a lot easier to boost the vegetable intake. According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, most people consume solely 1.6 cups of veggies per day. The daily recommended vegetable intake is 2.5 to three cups. If you don’t feel like eating your broccoli and spinach, you may as well turn these green vegetables in a delicious juice.
The extraction of the fiber from the vegetables enhances digestion and prevents gastrointestinal tract burdening. The pulp that is separated from the juice can be used to make sauces, soups and dressings. It all depends on individual preferences and digestive health.
By juicing, you’re giving your body access to a vast range of diversified microelements that you probably wouldn’t be consuming otherwise. The phytonutrients, enzymes and vitamins are maintained in optimal amounts. Very often in the process of vegetable cooking (even in the case of healthy thermal processing like steaming), some of the beneficial nutrients will be lost.
Getting Started
Understand the fact that juicing vegetables, particularly green leafies, is a bit different from juicing fruits like apples and pears.
Many vegetables don’t have a high water content. Kale, spinach and broccoli are just a few examples. This is why you need a base. This base can come in the form of another vegetable that contains more water. The cucumber is an excellent choice. The water content could also come from a fruit like a watermelon. When juicing and if you want to put emphasis on the veggies, try to keep a ratio of 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent fruits.
Some of the vegetables have an added problem – they aren’t particularly delicious for many people. If you’re transitioning from junk food to a healthier diet, you’ll find it difficult to get used to the taste. This is why herbs and other ingredients can be used to make the taste more delicious.
The ingredients that are often used to enhance the taste of vegetable juices include mint, ginger, cilantro, lime, lemon and even lemon zest. Flaxseed can also be added because of its beneficial qualities and the large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids that it contains.
Most of the vegetables also work particularly well with certain fruit varieties. An apple or a pear will make the vegetable combo a bit sweeter and much more palatable.
The best juices bring the power of fruits and veggies together. If you’re just getting started with vegetable juicing, however, you may be oblivious about the best combinations and the best extraction techniques.
Vegetable juicing has some specifics that you’ll need to understand before getting started. That’s the best way to enjoy all of the raw vegetable juice benefits.
The Benefits of Vegetable Juicing
Is this type of juicing even worth the try? Clinical studies suggest that the incorporation of veggies in juice recipes is quite beneficial because of several reasons.
For a start, juicing makes it a lot easier to boost the vegetable intake. According to Dietary Guidelines for Americans, most people consume solely 1.6 cups of veggies per day. The daily recommended vegetable intake is 2.5 to three cups. If you don’t feel like eating your broccoli and spinach, you may as well turn these green vegetables in a delicious juice.
The extraction of the fiber from the vegetables enhances digestion and prevents gastrointestinal tract burdening. The pulp that is separated from the juice can be used to make sauces, soups and dressings. It all depends on individual preferences and digestive health.
By juicing, you’re giving your body access to a vast range of diversified microelements that you probably wouldn’t be consuming otherwise. The phytonutrients, enzymes and vitamins are maintained in optimal amounts. Very often in the process of vegetable cooking (even in the case of healthy thermal processing like steaming), some of the beneficial nutrients will be lost.
Getting Started
Understand the fact that juicing vegetables, particularly green leafies, is a bit different from juicing fruits like apples and pears.
Many vegetables don’t have a high water content. Kale, spinach and broccoli are just a few examples. This is why you need a base. This base can come in the form of another vegetable that contains more water. The cucumber is an excellent choice. The water content could also come from a fruit like a watermelon. When juicing and if you want to put emphasis on the veggies, try to keep a ratio of 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent fruits.
Some of the vegetables have an added problem – they aren’t particularly delicious for many people. If you’re transitioning from junk food to a healthier diet, you’ll find it difficult to get used to the taste. This is why herbs and other ingredients can be used to make the taste more delicious.
The ingredients that are often used to enhance the taste of vegetable juices include mint, ginger, cilantro, lime, lemon and even lemon zest. Flaxseed can also be added because of its beneficial qualities and the large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids that it contains.
Most of the vegetables also work particularly well with certain fruit varieties. An apple or a pear will make the vegetable combo a bit sweeter and much more palatable.
Drink Your Chlorophyll
There are seven reasons why you should be putting emphasis on greens when doing vegetable juicing. Chlorophyll is probably the most important one.
Chlorophyll is the green pigment found in plants that enables them to transform sunlight into chemical energy. The molecule has some striking similarities with the hemoglobin found in human blood. A couple of clinical studies suggest that the human body is capable of transforming chlorophyll into hemoglobin, reducing the risk of problems like anemia.
The main benefits of consuming foods rich in chlorophyll include an increased blood count, a detoxifying effect, increased ability to maintain steady blood sugar levels, reduced risk of respiratory problems like asthma, reduced inflammation and fat loss.
Some of the veggies that contain the biggest quantities of chlorophyll include broccoli, asparagus, green cabbage, collard greens, kale, lettuce, parsley, spinach, Swiss chard and wheatgrass. Wheatgrass is one of the most powerful sources of chlorophyll and something that you should definitely try when getting started with vegetable juicing.
In addition to chlorophyll, the green vegetables contain a range of additional ingredients that heal the body and promote health improvements. The green juices contain tons of enzymes (much more than the quantities found in fruits), iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Making a cup of spinach and parsley juice will give you more than the calcium found in a glass of milk and larger quantities than the iron found in a portion of beef.
Making vegetable juices is all about experimenting and finding the combinations that you enjoy the most. When coming up with such combos, refrain from adding too many sweet fruits and going for products that aren’t organic. Doing juicing in the correct way will help you extract all of the amazing substances that nature has placed in fruits and veggies. The more you do it, the more conscious you’ll become of the benefits that your body is experiencing.