Juicing is the process of extracting pure juice from fruits and vegetables to gain the full effect of the vitamins and nutrients that they contain. It is an excellent way of ensuring that the body gets the proper amount of raw foods each day. Although fruit juicing is important, juices from fruits do tend to increase the insulin levels in the body. For this reason, vegetable juicing is better for your health. It does not raise the insulin levels, except in the case of juice from beets and carrots.
Through juicing, your body can gain the benefits of more vegetables that you would normally eat in one day. Experts recommend that you should consume about one pound of raw vegetables for every fifty pounds of body weight.
The best way to juice vegetables is to use an appliance called a juicer. This helps to grind up the vegetable leaving only the pulp and the juice. It is ideal if you can mix the pulp in with the juice because it is an excellent source of fiber, which the body needs for proper bowel functions. In addition to helping the bowels get rid of the waste quite quickly, the pulp and juice help to provide the colon with good bacteria needed to fight off infection.
It is best to drink the juice as soon as you prepare it. Vegetables are easily perishable and the same thing applies to their juices. You can, though, store it in your refrigerator for up to 24 hours. After that, you should throw it out. If you do need to refrigerate some of the juice, make sure you have it in an airtight container because oxygen will cause spoilage. You should also use an opaque container, which will block out all the light.
Although you can basically juice any vegetables, the best one to start out with is a combination of celery, fennel and cucumber because your body will be able to tolerate this juice more easily than some of the others at the beginning. The more intense dark green leafy vegetables are best for your body. You should include lettuce – red, green Romaine and escarole. Cabbage juice is one of the best ways of healing an ulcer. Herbs added to vegetable juice are also healthy options.
When juicing the vegetables, it is important to rotate them in the juicer. It is also important not to stick to the same kinds of vegetables, because you could become allergic to them.