Juicing - Why would I want to try it?

Thanks @robbinr, I'm constantly on the lookout for good tasting mostly vegetable combinations for good tasting juice. I make 4 to 6 18 oz bottles a week and use them in about 5 days, keeping them in the refrigerator. I guess they may lose a little nutritional value but convenience of only cleaning the juicer once a week is more important that the extra nutritional value I would get (to me anyway!). You are so right about watching the sugar if you use mostly fruit.

Most of us dads are slow learners so you have to cut us a little slack ☺ I will say I'm fortunate enough to have a daughter that is tech savvy (Yea! I passed something good on to her from sitting at my old IBM PC when she was 3 or 4 years old and up). Now it's time for her to keep me on track...which I appreciate!

Hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

John

@john prune juice

Absolutely juicing has helped me. I am sure most of this you have heard but this is what I can tell you ... Pineapple helps with my joints. I notice when I don't use it but it will raise my raise your blood sugar so use it sparingly and adding a protein helps. Tumeric and ginger..fresh is great but too much isn't good either because long term it can cause stomach upset and mouth ulcers if you are sensitive. I alternate and that helps. I never juice without a green, and watch the glycemic load on what fruits I incorporate.. a high GL load smoothie can easily send you over 1,000 calories and spike your blood sugar. Flax seed, ground and chai seed are great fillers and add nutritional balance and avocado is great for fat and thickens green smoothies and makes them more palatable. A lot of greens have calcium which helps with vitamin D absorbtion.Hope this helps.

Also..please make sure you are eating as much if not more whole fruits and vegetables. Juicing is great but you don't want to miss out on the fiber you are getting from whole foods.

Some very good ideas. Thank you. Roger

As many others mentioned juicing removes the fiber and I need fiber to stay regular. My old blender can blend carrots, zucchini, well any raw vegetable or fruit or herbs with a base of almond milk or kefir just fine. I also toss in a few ice cubes. Sure it's not the clear liquid that a juicer can produce, but I personally see no benefit in it after seeing how much pulp was removed processing with juicer so I decided against it. A lack of vitamins and minerals is not an issue for me as I eat a healthy diet. I do know my compost heap would love this fiber, but I'd rather break it down myself rather than sharing it with wiggly worms and meal worms in the heap!

@gardenjunkie When I use my bullet the pulp is left as you said but I drink it I just dont like the greens that much to eat fresh

The Bullet is awesome at blending to a smooth liquid. Plus we have all the pulp left, even though very smooth. I have arthritis in my wrists and carpel tunnel. Probably should get my carpel tunnel taken care of, but managing still. I have a hard time opening my model, a basic one called the Magic Bullet. With the my model it must be closed tightly or it will leak and impossible for me to open after blending, too much pain and I don't have the strength in the wrists to turn it. I figured out a way to open it after blending by using an oil filter wrench to turn it. But a hassle. Another negative with bullet is the gasket which must be removed occasionally or it gets putrid and it is very challenging to take out to sanitize. It must be pried out with a butter knife and then hard also to replace in the slot. I contacted the company about that and they say it is not meant to be removed like in a blender. Well- as stinky as mine got and when I did finally get the gasket out of the blade unit underneath was a slime, rotten and nasty that is unsanitary. These are my negatives dealing with the Bullet so I just revert to my old classic blender which is not as smooth but easier to clean parts and no opening issues.

Like you I couldn't get into the greens in my smoothie until I was forced to. My breakfast smoothie was always with fruit: banana a must and various other fruits plus pro-biotic yogurt or kefir and almond milk. Delicious. I add whey powder to my husbands, but whey doesn't agree with me. I have been trying a yeast and eczema diet now for 4 weeks- no sugar or the sugar in any fruits and no carbs. Now I am forced into the raw veggie world of smoothies. Veggies with sugar are allowed, like carrots or onions but green veggies are preferred. Thank goodness Stevia is allowed as a sweetener or I couldn't get the veggie smoothly down. Ever tried Kale in a smoothly? As much as I enjoy it cooked with garlic and olive oil it is not possible for me to gag it down in a smoothly, sweetener or not. Ugh! Yet after a month of drinking a veggie smoothie, always with a big carrot because of the sweetness, I am getting used to them. Carrot with cucumber or zucchini is very drinkable. Plus I add raw oregano or basil, tasty.

@gardenjunkie I use a rubber gasket to turn the model but a friend gave me a jar opener its electrical just put jar in and it twist it for you Wont work know for bullet but the rubber thing does whatever its called .Ijust add spi1nach,kale apple carrot celery for a smoothie .I do like a potato,onion kaLe soup its good my Mother loved it.I,ll have to try the zucchini,carrot,cuke never thought of basil .

lioness- My oil filter wrench is a rubber gasket with a plastic handle that adjusts; sounds like your rubber gasket, but I really like the info about an electrical jar opener. I will look up and get one.

Most juicing are looking for more nutrition as it is a great way to get it naturally and most herbs are full of nutrition. I grow many fresh herbs in zone 6. Some are perennial like the mint; always grow in a pot, it will come back, but if you allow it in garden bed it will take over. Basil and dill freeze out, but I save dill seeds for the next season (plus dry and keep in pantry. Rosemary, thyme, parsley and oregano are available year round, even with the light snows we get. Fresh herbs are not even close to their dried up version, the taste is far superior.

For a month now after reading more I learned about the multiple benefits of OREGANO-Based on scientific studies researchers have concluded that oregano is an effective anti yeast agent and more potent than caprylic acid, which is natural and also anti-yeast.
(Stiles, J. C., Sparks, W and Ronzio, R.A., "The Inhibition of Candida albicans by Oregano'"J. Applied Nutrition, 1995; 47:96-101).
Jonathan Wright, MD Kent, Washington found oregano to be a safe and excellent anti yeast agent and in his experience it was as effective as Nystatin. His dose is 50 mg tab- 4 times daily. I am not sure how much that translates to so I put a small handful in smoothly and tear off leaves to put in my salads or cooked veggies. I have a raised bed for herbs and oregano is so easy, plant once and it's forever, in mint family but not as aggressive.

Reducing yeast, which our bodies naturally make out of fermented sugars and fruits in our guts (just like moonshine is made from fermented fruits) creates an overabundance of yeast for many. This raises our inflammation levels and aggravates conditions like eczema (that's one reasons why sugars/fruits are limited or not allowed at all in eczema diets) or other female yeast related issues. I love fruit and would snack on it daily, besides having a fruit smoothly with my breakfast every morning.

John- My experience with juicing to improve my inflammation levels actually backfired, as I started consuming too much fruit which aggravated my eczema and yeast issues. I was adding the wrong smoothly ingredients for years- too many delicious fruits full of natural sugar and no veggies. For a month now I have changed over to allowed veggies and herbs and although a major taste adjustment, in time will find out if these non fruit smoothies are a benefit.