Wonderful ones how are you? I feel like every time I am about to write a blog post it feels like my favorite one. This blog is just me truly sharing my heart and passions.

So next up is my juice love! I have been juicing for 8 years now. I started making overall healthier lifestyle changes when I lost my mom to breast cancer. It was one of the hardest journeys of my entire existence. When she got diagnosed, a friend suggested juicing and that’s how I was introduced to this amazing path. And I have been juicing ever since.

Juicing is truly natural medicine for your body.

Some benefits:

Juicing can reduce your risk of cancer, boost your immune system, help remove toxins from your body, aid with digestion and help you lose weight. It is excellent for improving your skin quality and increasing your energy levels. It allows you to consume a wider range of vegetables, which allows your body to get more nutrients. You receive mental alertness and disease prevention. Overall it revitalizes your body and allows it to get to a place of healing and wholeness.

So what is juicing?

Basically juicing is the process of extracting the juice from raw fruit and vegetables. 95% of all the vitamins and enzymes that our body needs come from the juice of raw fruit and vegetables.

Types of juicers

There are two types of juicers:

1. Centrifugal Juicer

This is the most common type of juicer. These typically utilize a fast-spinning metal blade that spins against a mesh filter, separating juice from flesh due to the centrifugal force. The juice and pulp are then separated into different containers. You can actually use the pulp to make soups, smoothies, or in your plants. The problem with centrifugal juicers is that the fast-spinning metal blade generates heat, which destroys some of the enzymes in the fruit and vegetables that you are juicing. The heat also oxidizes those nutrients, rendering less nutritious juice than a cold-press juicer.

2. Cold Press Juicers (a.k.a. Masticating Juicers)

These are the newer juicers. They extract juice by first crushing and then pressing fruit and vegetables for the highest juice yield. Because they don't produce as much heat, they keep more nutrients intact.

The breakdown:

You would buy a centrifugal juicer if:

You use the juice mostly for baking, cooking or other processes where heat will eventually be applied.
You're not picky about getting maximum nutrients.
You're trying to save money.

You would buy a cold or slow press juicer if:

You're into cleansing, making green juices and nut milks, and you overall enjoy fresh juices.
You want to obtain the most nutrients that your body possibly can from the juice being extracted.
You don't mind spending a few extra bucks!

Some excellent brands are Elite, Breville, Hamilton Beach, Omega and Muella.

Produce

I always try to ensure that my fruit and vegetables are organic. And before I juice them, I thoroughly wash them. Because washing will help remove bacteria from the surface of fruit and vegetables. Most of the bacteria will be in the soil attached to the produce. So wash them very well.

Tips before you get started

Okay so we learnt what juicing is, the benefits of juicing, the different types of juicers, the best type of produce you should use and what you should do before using your produce. Now I’m going to give you some helpful things to keep in mind.

Please remember to consult your doctor or physician before you get started with any juice fast or cleanse, especially depending on your health conditions.
Remember that juicing is not a cure for anything, but it can definitely assist with healing numerous diseases and improving your health overall.
Depending on the level of acidity in your body (which pretty much means how your overall health is, like your diet- the foods you consume on a daily basis, your water intake, physical activity levels, health conditions), you will experience flu like symptoms ( such as headaches, nausea etc.) when you start a juice cleanse. Because your body is going to start ridding itself from the toxins. So don’t quit, just keep going! It’s all part of the process.
Consume a lot of alkaline water when you are juicing, because this assists with the cleansing and detoxing process.
Enjoy the journey. You are doing something incredibly amazing for your body and overall health.
Everyone’s body is different, so do what works best for yours.
It is a process so please be patient with yourself.

Ways to juice

So there are a couple of options. You can start incorporating juices in your diet. For example, a juice for breakfast, or a snack, or just consuming it with one of your meals. You can also do a juice cleanse or a juice fast.

My family and I usually have juices in our refrigerator, and we just utilize them throughout the week. But there are times (usually like once a month, or once every two months) that my husband and I do an actual cleanse where we only consume juice and water. Or we only eat alkaline foods like fruits, nuts, legumes and vegetables in addition to the juice when we are on that particular cleanse.

Storage

The best way to store your juices are in air tight containers. I love using mason jars. I try consuming my juice right away to yield the best results, or I will leave them in my refrigerator for like 4 days or so.

Juice cleanse guide

So again, before you begin, please see my tips mentioned above. Also remember that healthy foods must taste good too. So play around with your juice blends until you get them to your liking. And remember to drink loads and loads of alkaline water (which is water that has a higher pH level than regular water). Because alkaline water has a higher pH level than plain tap water or other types of water do, proponents say that it can neutralize acid in your bloodstream. Some say that alkaline water can also help prevent disease such as cancer and heart disease.

Some foods to eat:

Fruits

Vegetables

Legumes

Nuts (almonds, walnuts)

Salads

Dark green Leafy veggies

Quinoa

Coconut oil

Olive oil

Almond butter (no sugar added)

Avocados

Some foods to avoid:

Processed foods

Sugary foods

Sugary drinks

Coffee

Meat

Fish

Fatty foods

Grains

Pasta

Cereal

Alcohol

Bread

Rice

Dairy

Flour

Recipes

These are some of my favorites for overall detoxing. The less fruit gives you more detoxing results. But again, play around with the blends until you get them to your liking.

Blend 1:

Carrot

Celery

Ginger

Turmeric

Green apple

Lemon

——

Blend 2:

Beet

Kale

Green apples or oranges

Ginger

Lemon

Spirulina

——

Blend 3:

Kale

Spinach

Cucumber

Green apple

Celery

Lemon

You can add jalapeño or mint to give it an extra kick!

The nutshell:

Juicing has been life changing for me. It has assisted me with weight loss, energy levels, better skin, mental clarity and numerous ailments. I also juice for my kids as well. It has helped my daughter a whole lot with her allergies and it improves their functioning overall. Juicing is an excellent way to implement more nutrients into your system and rid your body from toxins. Whether you incorporate it in your week, or go on a cleanse here and there, juicing is always a superb choice!

Also keep in mind depending on your location, I have juicing and wellness packages available for purchase as well. Just in case you don’t want to do all of the work!

I hope this guide was helpful and that it contributes to you giving juicing a try. Please leave me a comment below if you have any questions. I would love to answer them!

And let’s cheers to better health and wholeness! Happy juicing my loves!

#peace #love #jewelg

My juice love- A beginner's guide to juicing