To reap the rewards of juicing, you obviously need to choose a juicer from the wide variety available. Before discussing some of the features of juicers, it is important to differentiate a juicer from a blender.
A juicer separates the liquid from the pulp. Remember, fiber is very important, but it is the juice that nourishes our cells. It is the juice that we absorb. A blender is designed to liquefy all that is placed in it by chopping it up at high speeds. It may liquefy, but the nutrients are still not liberated. That said, a blender can be quite useful in conjunction with a juicer to create delicious smoothies.
Juicers were once found only in health food stores; now they are everywhere. Most department stores usually offer only a selection of low-power juicers; however, if you are serious about your health, get a serious juicer.
Juice extractors use rapidly whirling blades or disks to cut fruit or vegetables into tiny pieces that are then spun to separate juice from pulp. Most can juice a variety of fruits and vegetables, including the skins, seeds, and stems of many fruits and vegetables. Some can even make sorbet, pâté, and nut butters. There are three main types of juice extractors currently on the marketplace, each with pros and cons:
Centrifugal juicers are typically the least expensive type of juice extractors and the most popular. When you push the produce through the feeding tube, it comes in contact with the bottom of the spinning basket where it is grated up into very fine pieces or pulp. Then, through centrifugal force, the tiny grated pieces are thrown against the sides of the basket to allow the juice to be extracted. Depending on the design, the pulp will either be expelled or contained within the inside of the unit.
Centrifugal juicers are easy to use and affordable (typically $40 to $200). However, because the extractor is spinning at a pretty high revolution per minute (RPM), the juice can get foamy and thus it oxidizes rapidly. When the juice oxidizes, it can taste bitter and may lose some of the phytochemicals because of the heat generated in the process. The units may also be difficult to clean.
Masticating juicers (also known as single gear juicers) don’t use centrifugal force. Instead, the food item is fed through a tube and comes into contact with an auger (a shaft with blades) that grinds up, or “masticates,” the fruit or vegetable into a pulp just like when we chew our food. The pulp is squeezed up against a mesh strainer so the juice is extracted while the pulp gets ejected. Masticating juicers are more efficient than centrifugal juicers, yielding more juice from the same amount of raw food. They also run at a much lower rpm, especially slow juicers (see below), so the foam and oxidation is decreased. Most models do well with a variety of fruits and vegetables and some can even make sorbets, nut butters, pâtés, baby food, and more. They are also durable but have smaller feeding tubes requiring smaller pieces of fruits and vegetables to be pushed through. On the downside, they are a significant piece of machinery so they tend to be heavy and clunky, and expensive (from $1,500 to $3,000).
what is a slow juicer?
Slow juicers are masticating juicers that operate at only 80 rpm instead of the 1,000–24,000 rpm that a typical centrifugal high-speed juicer spins. The Hurom juicer is the lead machine in this category and the holder of unique patented technology. It is the juicer I currently own. A slow juicer is a little different than a typical masticating juicer as it uses the screwlike auger as a mortar and pestle to both crush and press the juice out of the fruit or vegetable. A slow juicer typically expels significantly more juice from the same foods, with much drier pulp. The key benefit of a slow juicer is the fact that the slow rpm preserves the precious enzymes, nutrients, and phytochemicals because there is no heat and less friction or damage during the juicing process. At higher rpm these compounds are more likely to become damaged and as a result taste a little bitter. A slow juicer generally produces better-tasting and higher-quality juice. That is the chief reason why I use it.
Triturating juicers are twin-gear juicers; the two interlocking gears grind up raw food. They are the most efficient juicers and run at the lowest rpm, so the effects of foam and oxidation are very low. They can also juice wheatgrass and leafy greens more efficiently than other models. Like masticating juicers, they can also be used to create sorbet, pâté, baby food, and more. Unfortunately, they are expensive ($300 to $900), and slower (it takes more time to juice the same amount of produce compared to centrifugal or masticating juicers). Cleanup is more involved as well, as these juicers are typically more cumbersome to take apart and put back together.
There are great juicers within each category that would satisfy the classification of a good juice extractor. So it is difficult to give you a strong recommendation of one type over another. That said, here are some general guidelines:
• If you are only going to use a juicer occasionally or have no interest in nut butters, sorbets, or other uses, then definitely go with a centrifugal juicer. Just be sure to get a higher-quality version. There is a big difference between the higher-end models and the lower-end models. The small appliance maker Breville currently dominates the centrifugal juicer category and offers products at different price points. Their Juice Fountain Duo and Elite are by far the most popular.
• A masticating juicer, especially a slow juicer, is a great choice if you plan to juice frequently and want more than a juicer at a great price that will likely last you a lifetime. They are a great combination of ease of use and a higher quality of juice.
• A triturating juicer is ideal for people who adopt a “raw” lifestyle, want greater functionality, and plan on regular juicing. It’s expensive but generally worth the investment if you plan on making fresh wheatgrass juice on a frequent basis.
Although “how to juice” may seem pretty obvious, take the time to read through the manual or watch the instructional video if that is included with your juicer. Guidelines for individual fruits and vegetables will be discussed in chapters 5 and 6.
I strongly urge you to buy organic and local fruits and vegetables. The only way we are going to see significant reduction in pesticide and herbicide use is to stop buying foods that are sprayed. In the United States, the EPA estimates that more than 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides and herbicides are sprayed or added to food crops each year. That’s roughly 5 pounds of pesticides for each man, woman, and child. There is a growing concern that in addition to these pesticides directly causing a significant number of cancers, exposure to these chemicals damages your body’s detoxification mechanisms, thereby increasing your risk of getting cancer and other diseases.
We are all exposed to pesticides and other toxins in the air that we breathe, the environment, and the food that we eat. To illustrate just how problematic pesticides can be, let’s take a quick look at the health problems of the farmer. The lifestyle of farmers is generally healthful: Compared to city dwellers, they have access to lots of fresh food; they breathe clean air, engage in extensive physical activity, and have a lower rate of cigarette smoking and alcohol use. Yet studies show that farmers have a higher risk of developing lymphomas, leukemias, and cancers of the stomach, prostate, brain, and skin.1
Perhaps the most problematic pesticides are the halogenated hydrocarbon family—DDE (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethylene), PCB, PCP (pentachlorophenol), dieldrin, and chlordane. These chemicals persist almost indefinitely in the environment similar to DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), a pesticide that has been banned since 1972. DDT can still be found in the soil and root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes. Like the environment, our bodies also have a tough time detoxifying and eliminating these compounds. Instead, they end up being stored in our fat cells. What’s more, inside the body these chemicals can act like the hormone estrogen and are thus suspected as a major cause of the growing epidemic of estrogen-related health problems, including breast cancer. Strong evidence also suggests that these chemicals increase the risk of lymphomas, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer, as well as play a role in low sperm counts and reduced fertility in men.
Avoiding pesticides is especially important in pre-school-aged children, who are at greater risk for two reasons: They eat more food relative to body mass, and they consume more foods higher in pesticide residues—such as juices, fresh fruits, and vegetables. A 2006 University of Washington study analyzed levels of breakdown products of organophosphorus pesticides (a class of insecticides that disrupt the nervous system) in the urine of 39 urban and suburban children aged 2 to 4 years. Concentrations of pesticide metabolites were six times lower in the children who ate organic fruits and vegetables compared to those eating conventional produce.2
After conducting an analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture residue data for all pesticides for 1999 and 2000, the Consumers Union, the policy and action arm of Consumer Reports, warns parents of small children to limit or avoid conventionally grown foods known to have high pesticide residues, such as apples, cantaloupes, green beans (canned or frozen), pears, strawberries, tomatoes (Mexican grown), and winter squash.
Here are my recommendations for avoiding pesticides in your diet.
• Do not overconsume foods that have a tendency to concentrate pesticides, such as animal fat, meat, eggs, cheese, and milk.
• Try to buy local in-season produce.
• Buy organic produce, which is grown without the aid of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
• Develop a good relationship with your local grocery store produce manager. Explain your desire to reduce the exposure to pesticides and waxes and ask what measures the store takes to assure pesticide residues are within approved limits. Ask where the store gets its produce; make sure the store is aware that foreign produce is much more likely to contain not only excessive levels of pesticides but also pesticides that have been banned in the United States.
• Peel the skin or remove the outer layer of leaves of some produce; that may be all you need to do to reduce pesticide levels. The downside of this is that many of the nutritional benefits are concentrated in the skin and outer layers. An alternative measure is to remove surface pesticide residues, waxes, fungicides, and fertilizers by soaking the item in a mild solution of additive-free soap such as Ivory or pure Castile soap. All-natural, biodegradable cleansers are also available at most health food stores. To use, spray the food with the cleanser, gently scrub, and rinse.
Last, some fruit and vegetables are more likely to contain pesticides than others. Appendix C provides information from the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit consumer advocate group, that evaluated pesticide contamination for 48 popular fruits and vegetables based on an analysis of over 100,000 tests for pesticides on these foods, conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
To prepare fresh fruit and vegetable juices, you will need a good juice extractor. Each type of juice extractor has pros and cons. As for produce, it is best to buy local and organic. Evidence is accumulating on the dangerous health effects of pesticides. If you purchase nonorganic produce, it is important to take precautions to reduce exposure to toxins.