In my latest email check I found that there are many common questions regarding juicing. I was expecting requests for more juicing recipes, but instead these are the questions that dominated my in box. My guess is that most of these questions are coming from people yet to commit to juicing, and they are valid and worth detailing, so here we go.
What is juice "fasting" and is it good for you?
Juice fasting is, simply put, to avoid processed foods and animal products completely for a set period of time while taking in juice to compensate or compliment a fast. The reasons to fast are many. The most common reasons are to address some disease condition, to lose weight, or to detoxify the body. Opposed to fad diets and pills, a juicing fast is one of the healthiest way to approach dieting and/or detoxing. Cooked foods and animal products have a great tendency to introduce toxins in our body and over time it can leave us feeling miserable and sloth-like. These toxins produce disease and can slowly kill you. Detoxing cleans the body of all the mean stuff lurking about, and utilizing juices while detoxing keeps you with a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals while your body cleanses. I would avoid fasting before reading a detailed step by step fasting guide. You are always best treated when you are best prepared. A nice collaborative work detailing an excellent fasting guide is available online, you can find it here.
Is juicing worth it even if I don't buy "organic" fruits and vegetables?
Here's a great question. I have always preached that you should buy organic vegetables and fruits as they have not been treated with pesticides and are grown naturally. However there is a slight cost increase in organic produce. My take is this; juice with regular produce if you must because it is still a thousand times better than not doing it at all. Yes, organic contains many benefits over the produce you may normally buy, but at the same time NOT juicing leaves you with no potential benefits at all.
Is juicing a good way to lose weight?
As I just mentioned, juicing is an excellent way to lose weight, when considering the alternatives. There are too many diets these days that would have you sacrifice nutrients to achieve your goal, they are extremely suspect and not worth the paper they're written on. Also, avoid chemicals and concoctions i.e. weight loss pills like you would avoid a rabid dog, because I have personally seen many illnesses manifest from misuse of these products.
Are juicers expensive?
This question has come in one form or another some 37 times in the last month, as I slowly convert the uninformed into proper juice fanatics :-). Here's the skinny on juicers: I would advise against buying any juicer that costs less than 70.00USD. The chances that it is substandard are just too great. As with everything, quality is better. Go for a good brand and sacrifice nothing, because you are buying it for your health. You wouldn't buy budget brakes for your car, so don't try and budget your juicer. The juicers found here at the e store are excellent products and if you are inclined you can grab them right here just by clicking!! Why not go for it? Even if you are not the type that shops online, leave a comment to ask about certain juicers you may have interest in, I almost surely know the pros and cons. :-)
Is it hard to clean a juicer?
In a word, yes, but let's be relative about it. Firstly, these days most of the quality products are dishwasher safe, which adds to ease of cleaning. Juicers do have a tendency to be cumbersome however, so leaving space in your dishwasher is always a good thing to do. Secondly, most of the cleaning involves the "pulp" that remains in your juice extractor after you've juiced your brains out. Here's a great and easy tip; coat the extractor bin with a biodegradable plastic bag! It's easy enough to do on most brands, and it saves you having to go nuts trying to dig out all the pulp and fibrous material. Just yank out the bag and throw it in the trash and you will rarely have to worry about cleaning this part of the juicer.
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