Juicing for health rules – part 6

How much do you think a cup of healthy juice should cost? Hmm… five bucks?

That’s what you are used to paying for your smoothies and juices at your local juicing franchise. Although it may seem expensive and upscale your juice or smoothie will have to be made of cheap ingredients to fit in that price range.

Is five bucks too much for a cup of juice?

I demonstrated in part 2 that a large bag of spinach only produced 2.5 tablespoon of juice.  Interestingly, I my local grocery store charged me $4.99 for that bag of spinach.

2.5 tablespoons of juice may not do it for you, but to get a full cup of spinach juice you need six bags, each costing $4.99. Your total for the purchase would be $30 and that’s still spinach in a bag. If this spinach is to be prepared in a restaurant you would need to add some extra fees for processing. With the standard restaurant markup this $30 dollars would quickly become $75. This is the money you would be expected to pay for pure spinach juice at the counter. $75 per cup of spinach juice – that’s the price for the un-cheated version.

What can you get for five bucks then?

So what kind of “healthy” ingredients are you getting if your juice bar only charges you $5?

Unless the juice is prepared right in front of your eyes assume that instead actual fruits or vegetables you are getting some artificial syrup mix made six months ago in a Chinese factory. This is a joke, of course, but the reality may not be that far from the truth. Watch, ask questions, and be vigilant or else your juice may be nothing more than a flavored water.

Making your own juices the right way

For those of you who are making juices yourself or are going to an actual juice bar be aware that every time you get a juice made of:

• celery,
• bell peppers,
• cherry tomatoes,
• spinach,
• lettuce,
• cucumbers,
• green beans,
• kale,
• collard greens, or
• any other leafy vegetables,

unless organic, you are getting a nicely concentrated pesticide residue as well. These vegetables carry the highest agri-chemical residue on them, and no, you cannot wash it off. If you want your juice to be healthy you need to opt for pesticide-free or, in other words, certified organic.

Are veggies from your backyard better?

Do not fool yourself with veggies from your own city garden. The quality of your garden soil may be doubtful and your nearby busy street may put a blanket of car exhaust and city pollution on your backyard grown veggies.

If you juice

• apples,
• peaches,
• strawberries,
• grapes, or
• blueberries

besides pesticide residue you are also getting extra concentrated fructose to help your liver cringe. Be aware. Whatever you do, make sure you do it because you understand it and not because you are following fashion. Here is a list of fruits and veggies to avoid unless organic due to the pesticide residues: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php

Daily juicing vs Gerson therapy

The most famous juice therapy is the Gerson cancer therapy. Because Gerson therapy has been shown to reverse cancers, it is very tempting thing that juicing is very healthy. If Gerson therapy is so powerful then its mini version, a cup of home-made juice, must be healthy too. But Gerson therapy is not just juicing. It is a lifestyle. And Gerson’s juicing is not any juicing.

Gerson therapy uses a masticating juicer, a juicer that crushes rather than spins. Gerson therapy does not work with centrifugal juices, in other words centrifugal juices diminish the value of the produce to the point of making juicing an ineffective therapy for cancer.

Chances are you have a centrifugal juicer. Masticating juicers are more expensive, not widely available, slow, heavy and maintenance intensive. They are not modern machines designed to make your life easier or more fun, but are made for an aware consumer that is willing to forgo cost, convenience, taste and is willing to put in the effort to get palpable health benefits from juicing. Healthy juicing takes time, is not cheap and requires substantial effort. Very few people are ready for that kind of commitment.

Juicing summary

Let me summarize healthy juicing rules for you:

1. Do not expect one cup of juice to bring your health back unless your entire lifestyle is health-promoting. Treat juicing as an addition to and not as a substitute for good lifestyle habits.
2. Do not juice fruits.
3. Use only produce that comes from mineral rich soils and is free of agri residue.
4. Drink juices right after making them. Never store them.
5. Only use an approved masticating juicer.

The more rules you break the less healthy your juices will be. In fact, more than two broken rules put you at risk of making your juices a promoter of ill-health rather than optimal health. How do you want your juices to be: healthy or fashionable?

• JUICING FOR HEALTH – PART 1
• SUGAR EQUALS SATISFACTION
• MISGUIDED ALKALINE DIETS
• YOUR PERSONAL MOST POWERFUL DETOXIFICATION