Juicing is an essential part of the protocol of our Intensive Medical Program. Patients on our program are asked to juice daily to ensure they receive all of the vital nutrients, vitamins and enzymes that the fruits and vegetables contain. Juicing offers many life-enhancing benefits and is a more efficient way to absorb the beneficial nutrients.
Benefits Of Juicing
Juicing extracts the liquid from the fruits and vegetables and leaves the pulp behind. This is important as it aids in the digestion of the nutrients and enzymes without requiring large amounts of energy to aid in digestion. This reserves the body’s energy for healing.
Another benefit of juicing is that it helps the body become more alkaline which research has shown is beneficial to patients diagnosed with cancer. It also facilitates hydration, reduces inflammation, and eliminates toxins. Some fruits and vegetables have a cleansing action on the liver and aid in releasing bile while others are powerful detoxifiers and fight free radicals.
What Type Of Juicer Is Best?
When it comes to juicing, there are basically two types of juicers that are available for you to choose from; centrifugal juicers or masticating juicers. Centrifugal means moving or directed away from a center or axis. A centrifugal juicer is the most common type of juicer you see in stores and on TV. A centrifugal juicer spins at high speeds and during the spinning motion, the vegetables that you have shoved down the chute are ground to a pulp. The spinning motion then forces the juice away from the pulp.
Masticating means to chew, grind, or knead into a pulp. Your teeth are an excellent example of mastication in action. Your teeth chew and grind food. Much in the same way, a masticating juicer grinds vegetables and literally squishes out the juice. Since a masticating juicer works at low speeds and with no spinning action, it tends to juice many vegetables more efficiently.
The difference between a centrifugal juicer and a masticating juicer is like night and day. Centrifugal juicers work at high speeds and thus kill the enzymes in the juice which is why we recommend patients use a masticating juicer. This juicer retains the beneficial enzymes and is especially good at juicing the very important green leafy vegetables such as wheatgrass, spinach, parsley, cilantro, kale, Swiss Chard, etc.
Is Juicing Safe?
It is important to use safety precautions when preparing produce for juicing in a home juicer. This is an unpasteurized juice and it may increase your risk of food contamination. This risk is minimized if you thoroughly cleanse the fruits and vegetables.
