vegetable and fruit juicer guide

Centrifugal juicers

As a self-professed juicing addict, I’ve spent hours on end researching online and poring through articles about the many different aspects of “raw” diets, and fruit and vegetable juicing in particular.  Of course, I wasn’t always so into this, by any means!  Like many others out there, the stresses of life (and love!) had forced me into a rut of bad food choices, weight gain, and the onset of health problems that I definitely was not ready for.  I knew a healthy lifestyle change was in order, thus I made a strict commitment and set out on my quest.  Luckily, unlike some people, I do enjoy fruits and vegetables – it was just a matter of taking the time to incorporate them into my diet on a consistent basis.  And that’s when I discovered the wondrous world of juicing!

While doing my research, I came across many articles about the benefits of “raw” fruit and vegetable juice versus eating produce whole.  Either way, you can’t argue the fact that produce is good for you – we have all heard that time and time again since childhood.  But it seems our bodies have a bit of a hard time extracting the nutrients of foodstuff that is rife with fiber.  Juicers do away with the portions that are difficult for us to digest (fiber), leaving only the prized nectar that is chock-full of vital nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals, and all in a form that the body can easily absorb and digest.  Of course, in order to gain access to all this goodness, the services of a quality juicing machine are in order, so I set out on a mission to find the best!

My search yielded some interesting findings.  There are several different types of gadgets out there on the market designed to help reap the benefits of produce in juice form.  I found that the most popular, and most widely available, were devices known as centrifugal juicers.  Now, centrifugal means “directed away from a center axis,” and this is just how these juicers operate.  Sharp blades spin at high speeds, grinding up produce to a pulp.  Subsequently, the juice is then forced out and away from the pulp and presented to you in a pure, easily assimilated form!  It all sounded good to me, so I did some comparison shopping to find the best centrifugal juice extractor to fit my needs and budget.

Once my mission was complete and my new gadget all set up and ready to go in its very own special spot on my countertop, I proceeded with my first “cocktail” recipe.  It was just a simple carrot juice concoction, but needless to say, I was hooked!  Via trial and error, I have learned what works (and what doesn’t – for me anyway), what tastes good, and all the different benefits that various fruit and vegetable juices provide the body.  I have lost 35 pounds so far and have never felt better!  My blood pressure is down, my spirits are up, and my energy levels are through the roof!  And I owe it all to my new best friend – my coveted centrifugal juicer!