Addition Nov 18th 2019 WARNING!!! Diabetics should NOT juice fruit as it will spike blood sugar levels. Fruit is better eaten as a whole fruit as the fibre boosts digestion slowing down it's absorption into the bloodstream. Juicing can be great but always remember 80% or more veg!!!!
So .....six years ago someone told me about Juicing. An old school friend of mine began working for Jason Vale the juice master. She had started doing juice workshops in London so, with my lovely sister-in-law, we trekked up to London to attend.
The workshop lasted an hour and we touched on:-
Different juicers including masticating and centrifugal.
What to juice, what not to juice and what to blend.
How to juice.
Healthy shots.
Nutritional value etc etc
When we left the workshop we were positively buzzing and I, for one, was hooked. I invested in a centrifugal juicer to begin with and juiced sporadically. This lasted a year and I underwent a difficult time in my personal life. Not long after this I met my current husband who, realising I was emotionally over whelmed, encouraged me to visit a juice retreat for a reboot!!!! Obviously I jumped at the chance and booked a week at Juicy Oasis in Portugal. It was life changing, I went alone but met some truly inspirational people who all taught me something different. Steve Mugnier was particularly inspiring. He had suffered a broken back in a car accident and used Yoga to help him recover. He is a great Yoga teacher and though, when walking, you can tell he has suffered a serious injury, he feels no pain. It just got me thinking - life throws us curve balls all the time but with a positive mental attitude and a desire to be the best one can - we can literally achieve anything. I returned from Juicy O with a renewed sense of vigour and a unfaltering drive to take control of my health and stop making excuses.
So I returned to work as a teacher annoying my friends in the staff room with my quinoa salads, green juices and never ending chit chat about nutrition. People started asking me questions about juicing and, being a people person, I found myself thriving on sharing my knowledge (which, by the way, at this point was actually fairly limited). I had always loved my job as a primary school teacher but felt the balance tip at this point towards nutrition/juicing. Three years later I left my job of eighteen years. Anyway I'm at risk of writing an autobiography here and this page is entitled juicing so to make it easier to read here is what I have found out, in a nutshell, about juicing:-
I had my eyes tested following some headaches and was asked by the optician if I ate lots of leafy green vegetables. I smiled smugly (I love it when juicing is proven to show results). I divulged my secret of juicing for five years and he was suitably impressed and told me to keep it up. He said the condition of the back of my eyes was second to none. Juicing gives an easily available source of vitamin A, C, K, potassium, calcium, folate and carotenoids. Vitamin A and carotenoids are essential for eye health and excellent antioxidants, helping to reduce the risk of macular degeneration and cataracts.
I had my heavy metals tested by Biolab and found my arsenic levels were through the roof - obviously this worried me so I called the lab to check it wasn't a typo. Unfortunately for me this posed a very serious problem as arsenic is a carcinogen and capable of interferring with the nervous system. The guys at biolab were most informative and sent me on a mission to find the source of my high arsenic. The only plausible conclusion I could reasonably surmise was PESTICIDES - in the UK, arsenic is banned from pesticides, however imported produce from specific countries may still carry high levels as their guidelines are varied!! Obviously this sent me into a spin as I wasn't sure I was ready to 'give up' the other benefits I was 'feeling'. However I re-evaluated. I had been juicing/teaching the dirty dozen and had not been thoroughly washing the non-organic produce!!! I NOW buy only ORGANIC, wash everything and juice less frequently (just so I can afford the ingredients). The reason I am telling you this is not to put you off juicing but to make people realise that even the seemingly healthy choices can carry risks, if you are ill informed. (watch this space as I am due to be re-tested following a detoxification focussed diet, homeopathy and a few lifestyle changes.
I also do not juice cores anymore (which I did frequently) - pips have been reported to contain some harmful substances. As fruit and vegetables are grown they take up metal contaminants from the soil, it is important to remember some individuals are more sensitive to environmental pollutants than others.
My juicing journey has evolved. I am still an avid juicer and still believe it is the BEST way to absorb vital nutrients (straight to the cells without the process of digestion) but I don’t juice every single day and use it AS PART of an all round healthy diet. For example if I feel I havent’t had my quota of F and V for a day or I’ve been a bit ‘naughty’ I’ll just make myself a massive green juice FULL of vegetables.
I also grow my own organic wheatgrass. Wheatgrass can only be juiced in a masticating juicer (I have a Matstone 6 in 1) Wheatgrass contains contains all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, l and K. It is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Wheatgrass juice contains up to 70% chlorophyll, which is an important blood builder. One shot of wheatgrass can offer you the same benefits as 1kg of leafy green vegetables.
The age old question I ALWAYS get asked about juicing is 'what about the sugar?' the answer is simple I use VERY little fruit and mostly green veg. My juices are usually based with one fruit namely pineapple, apple or lemon and then I add vegetables with very little sugar content ie: spinach, cucumber, broccoli, celery etc. Low fuit, high veg - its simple.
I also do not juice cores anymore (which I did frequently) - pips have been reported to contain some harmful substances. As fruit and vegetables are grown they take up metal contaminants from the soil, it is important to remember some individuals are more sensitive to environmental pollutants than others.
My juicing journey has evolved. I am still an avid juicer and still believe it is the BEST way to absorb vital nutrients (straight to the cells without the process of digestion) but I don’t juice every single day and use it AS PART of an all round healthy diet. For example if I feel I haven’t had my quota of F and V for a day or I’ve been a bit ‘naughty’ I’ll just make myself a massive green juice FULL of vegetables.
I also grow my own organic wheatgrass. Wheatgrass can only be juiced in a masticating juicer (I have a Matstone 6 in 1) Wheatgrass contains contains all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. It is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Wheatgrass juice contains up to 70% chlorophyll, which is an important blood builder. One shot of wheatgrass can offer you the same benefits as 1kg of leafy green vegetables.
The age old question I ALWAYS get asked about juicing is 'what about the sugar?' the answer is simple I use very little fruit and mostly green veg. My juices are usually based with one fruit namely pineapple, apple or lemon and then I add vegetables with very little sugar content ie: spinach, cucumber, broccoli, celery etc. Low fuit, high veg - its simple.