Choosing The Best Juicer

Breville JE98XL Juicer

I didn’t choose my first juicer, it was a gift. My son gave me a juicer for Father’s day and I started using it that same day. It was exciting! I remember running down to the grocery store and buying a bunch of fruits and vegetables. When I got home I started juicing for my son and my girlfriend, Virginia. I didn’t even think about the types of juicers or which one was better and what the differences were.

Buying a Juicer

So if you don’t have a juicer and plan on buying one, read on. Get the best one you can afford, and don’t worry about it if it’s not what the “experts” want you to buy. Bottom line: The important thing is that you actually start juicing. I like off-roading, sometimes called “wheeling”, and a guy I know says, “Doesn’t matter what rig you’re driving (Jeep, Toyota, Hummer), just matters that you’re out there wheeling.” I like that and I’ll apply that to juicing. “It doesn’t matter what type you buy, it just matters that you’re juicing.” Juicing is good for your overall health and you won’t be sorry you started!

Centrifugal and Masticating Juicers

Basically there are two types of juicers you need to know about for juicing at home (I want to keep it simple). One type of juicer is a centrifugal juicer like the Breville JE98XL Juice Fountain Plus, pictured above. Most juicers sold are this type. These are usually the least expensive and do a good job. Some are loud, but tolerable. They juice things  fast and are pretty easy to clean. They do a good job on hard fruit and vegetables like apples, carrots and even cucumbers. I think they do well juicing oranges, pineapple and strawberries too. I can put entire small apple into mine. It can take a handful of spinach and two or three carrots at the same time too. You can’t do that with the next type, which is the masticating juicer.

Omega J8006

The second type is a masticating juicer. Like the Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer , pictured right. Sometimes these are called a low speed juicer or slow juicer. They do a great job of juicing things like greens, kale, wheatgrass and spinach, unlike the centrifugal. So if you think you’re going to be juicing a lot of leafy greens, choose one like this.

The slow juicer crushes and squeezes the produce through a screen or filter and this forces the juice out. This supposedly squeezes out more enzymes, vitamins and trace minerals and doesn’t damage them in the process. Since it does it slowly, it doesn’t heat up the juice. Honestly, I can’t tell if the speed of the centrifugal heats up the juice more or not. I haven’t taken its temperature . People claim that a slow juicer keeps the enzymes and nutrients at a temperature that they can survive at and it squeezes out more of them. I don’t know of any studies proving this, but I like the concept.

The other advantage to a masticating juicer is that the pulp it creates is very dry. Proponents of this type say it gets 20% more juice out of the produce than a centrifugal juicer, so you’ll save money in the long run by using it. I can attest to the slow juicer getting more juice out of my produce. That’s a fact, especially since I juice a lot of leafy greens. It can also do other things like pasta, grind coffee, make natural baby food and natural nut butter. Pretty cool, eh?

A third kind is the the twin gear triturating juicers. These are expensive, hard to clean and I don’t think appealing for everyday juicing. Not for the beginner in my opinion. Let’s keep it simple and you can forget about the twin gear for now.

Centrifugal juicers run between $45 and $300. Masticating juicers run between $231 and $379. Basically you’ll be choosing between these two types.

My suggestion is to look at the two mentioned above and less expensive one, the Hamilton Beach 67601A Big Mouth Juice Extractor, pictured below.

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth

So what do I use most often? The Omega J8004 Nutrition Center Commercial Masticating Juicer. I got a good deal on it. It’s just like the Omega J8006 Nutrition Center Juicer, but in white.

Omega J8004

I like the masticating juicer because it does a great job with leafy greens. It’s pretty quiet, and it’s easy to clean. The The Omega J8004 also produces great tasting juice. I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not, but it seems to taste better and last longer than juice made with my centrifugal. I can also make sorbet!

Be sure to visit my Juicers page. There are more options there. For around $350 you could get an Omega VRT350 Heavy Duty Dual-Stage Vertical Single Auger Low Speed Juicer. I hear these are excellent and it’s what I’m going to get next.

Remember: There’s no-thing better for your body than FRESH fruit and vegetable juice! So JUICE ON!

Choosing The Best Juicer

2 Powerful Reasons To Juice

What are some reasons to juice? At PRIME Juicers we believe it’s good for your body. FRESH fruit and vegetable juice will give your body the antioxidants, enzymes, vitamins and minerals it needs to heal, be stronger and feel better. FRESH juice contains more available nutrients and enzymes than chewed raw food.

2 Powerful Reasons To Juice

Phytonutrients

They are natural compounds found in fruits and vegetables and have been proven to be beneficial to human health and help the body fight disease. Some claim they can slow the aging process by reducing the negative effects of aging. Nothing will keep you from getting older, but FRESH fruit and vegetable juice makes it easier. Phytonutrients protect you from high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, many forms of cancer, and a whole host of other illnesses. Phytonutrients are also known to fight free radicals. Free radicals cause deterioration of our healthy cells. When we drink juices with phytonutrients they’ll activate a group of enzymes that will go around and clean up free radicals in the body before they can do any harm. Kind of like antioxidants. Actually, many phytonutrients are anti-oxidant.

Carotenoids

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Carotenoids also act like antioxidants in your body. Carotenoids provide the yellow, red and orange colors in fruits and vegetables. That’s why I always say make your meal colorful and when juicing do the same. That way you’re sure to get a balanced amount of these fabulous free radical fighters. There are many types of carotenoids: Alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene and lutein.

People have lots of reasons to juice and new discoveries are being made regularly on the benefits of eating raw food and we’d like to share them with you. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Thank you for reading and Juice On!

Resources:

Articlesbase: Phytochemicals in Fruit and Vegetable Juice

Juicing-For-Health.com: What is Phytochemical/Phytonutrient?

WebMD: Phytonutrients

2 Powerful Reasons To Juice

Dr Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet Food Pyramid

I’m a big fan of Dr. Weil and have been for many years. I like his books, audiobooks, and especially his website which includes his anti-inflammatory diet. All of it is very interesting to me and very informative.  I respect his straight, no-nonsense talk about health. He always backs up what he says and my goal is to do the same. My articles are researched and my references are by respected authorities.

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

It is becoming increasingly clear that chronic inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses – including heart disease, many cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease. – Dr. Weil

General Diet Tips:

• Aim for variety.


• Include as much fresh food as possible.


• Minimize your consumption of processed foods and fast food.


• Eat an abundance of fruits and vegetables.

Here’s a pyramid from Dr. Weil. It’s just some good information to pass along and I hope you find it useful. The bottom line: Stop eating refined, processed and manufactured food. Eat more fish and more fresh fruits and vegetables.

And let me add, if you have trouble getting the recommended servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, Juice!

Resources:

Dr Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet Food Pyramid

Dr. Weil’s Anti-Inflammatory Diet

 

 

Dr Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet Food Pyramid

Test Post from PRIME Juicers

Test Post from PRIME Juicers http://www.primejuicers.com

Berry Medley Fruit Juice Recipe

Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries…three of my favorites! This juice recipe uses them all. It’s so simple and I just love drinking this delicious recipe. I first tried this juice in 2012 and I decided to revive it again and give it it’s due. Berry Medley Fruit Juice is so healthy for our bodies and mind!

Blueberries, contain a wide variety of phytochemicals. Anthocyanins is what gives blueberries their wonderful blue color. Blueberries contain other phytochemicals which can improve memory.

About the ingredients in our juice Recipe – The heart-shaped silhouette of the strawberry is the first clue that this fruit is good for you. These potent little packages protect your heart, increase HDL (good) cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and guard against cancer. They are among the top 20 fruits in antioxidant capacity and are a good source of manganese and potassium. Just one serving — about eight strawberries — provides more vitamin C than an orange. Berries in general are a good source of antioxidants called anthocyanins that help to strengthen our arteries ad help protect them from oxidative damage. Berries also contain an antioxidant called ellagic acid that is strongly associated with cancer prevention.

Berry Medley Fruit Juice Recipe

The ingredients in the Berry Medley Fruit Juice recipe:

• 2 cups of strawberries


• 2 cups of blueberries


• 1 and a 1/2 cup of raspberries

Wash thoroughly and juice. This berry juice is loaded with antioxidants.

via Fruit Juice Recipes | Juicer Recipes Now.

Reference:

Web MD: Nutritional Benefits Of The Strawberry

Berry Medley Fruit Juice Recipe