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If you are just starting juicing or are 
looking for information about juicing before you get started, then you are in the right place! This juicing for beginners post will give you the information and tools you need to get started! Let’s dive right in!
Why is juicing so healthy?
When juicing, what you are really doing is separating the liquid content and bulk of the nutrients from the pulp, which holds it all in place. When eating something whole this pulp (fiber) usually needs to be broken down inside of our bodies so that we can get the nutrients it contains. When juicing, these nutrients are immediately available to your body as soon as you drink them.
On top of this, when juicing you can get a whole lot more fruit and vegetables into your body at once than you normally would when eating them. Sometimes a single glass of juice can be made up of more fruit and vegetables than a lot of people can eat in an entire day! This makes it a very efficient way to get your daily servings!
Can I just buy bottled juice from the store instead?
Most bottled juices unfortunately have been heated or pasteurized, which destroys many of the nutrients. To make up for this pasteurization process nutrients are added back into these juices. One of the problems with this approach is raw fruit and vegetables contain living enzymes and nutrients that cannot be found anywhere else in the same form. Even replacing some of these other nutrients will not achieve the same result.
One of the reasons for this is natural whole foods such as fruit and vegetables contain certain combinations of nutrients that work in symbiosis with one another. When you have one of these nutrients, but are missing another, the full potential of what these fruit and vegetables can offer becomes extremely diminished. Since we do not know everything about which nutrients help each other out, there is no way we can synthetically reproduce this. Nature knows what it’s doing and has been around much longer than we have.
Isn’t the sugar in fruit juice just as bad as the sugar in artificial drinks?
This is a common misconception and something that many have used to confuse the issue. The first thing you need to know is the sugar in fruit juices are accompanied by a whole lot of nutrients that artificial drinks do not have. Like mentioned above even artificial drinks that include vitamins and minerals do not compare.
When many people make the argument that fruit juice is just as bad as artificial beverages they are talking about bottled juices that have been pasteurized. You will notice orange juice is commonly referred to when relating to this. Unfortunately the kind of orange juice you find in a container or bottle has usually been pasteurized. On top of this there can be other additives and junk in there, so it really is not the same as raw, fresh, homemade juice.
If you are switching from drinking artificial beverages like soda pop (cola), energy drinks, and other bottled sugar beverages then fruit juice can be a good replacement to introduce you to juicing. You will get a nice sweet beverage with all of the added benefits of the nutrients the fruit contains.
Just because it is full of these nutrients though, does not mean you can just drink fruit juice all day long! If you are diabetic or looking to lose weight you can still have some of the same issues that sugar overload can cause. Fresh, homemade, raw fruit juice is still a much better beverage to put into your body than an artificial drink of any kind.
One of the main differences to keep in mind is these are not empty sugar calories with no nutritional value that you are taking in. Along with this sugar you are getting many of the goodies these raw living fruits provide! You still do not want to just chug down fruit juice all day long. On top of this the sugars in many artificial beverages are refined and processed sugars unlike the sugars found in fruit juice completely in their original form.
Green juices are where it’s at!
You will notice this is a theme you will find consistently around our website! In the long run green juices are really where it’s at!
It is completely fine to enjoy a fruit juice here and there, and especially if you are beginning your juicing journey or making the transition away from junky artificial beverages. What you do want to aim for in the long run is that your juices are more and more green! Why is this you may ask?
Green juices are loaded with nutrients and contain many that you will not find in fruit juices! On top of this green juices are much lower in sugar! These powerful antioxidant, vitamin, mineral, and enzyme packed cocktails are also very low in calories. This means that for the amount of calories you are putting into your body you are getting a high amount of nutrients in exchange. This makes them one of the most nutritionally efficient “foods” on the planet! A typical quart (32 ounces!) of green juice can contain anywhere between 150 to 300 calories. The greener it is the less calories and the more nutrition it contains!
The idea of adding fruit to your green juices is to make them tasty and something you will enjoy! The flavors of some green vegetables can be hard for beginners to handle, and some even for people who have been juicing for awhile. This is why fruit becomes a powerful sidekick that can enhance your juices! What’s even better is that you are not just pouring refined and processed sugar into your beverage to make it tasty. Fruits also contain a whole spectrum of nutrition and health benefits all by themselves!
In the beginning you might find that you need a little more fruit to help those veggies along in your juices. As you drink more green juice over time you will notice that sometimes you need less fruit. Many people will find that eventually they need much less! We enjoy pure green juices quite often and appreciate the fact that we can drink large amounts for low input of calories. When I first began juicing I had to add much more fruit than I do now! Another good way to keep your juices green yet more palatable is to add cucumber juice into the mix! This will thin some of the flavors of the stronger greens out, while still keeping your juice lower in sugars.
To help get you started with green juices we have a page with many green juice recipes for beginners. These tasty beverages come off more like a fruit juice, yet contain nutritionally dense and powerful green ingredients, which your body will love!
What you will need to begin your juicing journey!
The first thing you are going to need to get started juicing is a juicer! There are differences between juicers, and before rushing out to buy one you will want to read this very informative page all about juicers and what the best juicers are for your specific needs.
On top of a juicer you will want a cutting board to cut your fruit and vegetables up on and a knife. If you are going to store some of your juice to drink throughout the day then you will want some kind of container(s) for this.
To get the maximum benefits from your juice we do recommend that you drink it as soon as you can after you make it. Although this is true many of us like to enjoy some juice throughout the day, and do not have the time to make more each and every time we want some. Remember that storing your juice properly is important! This post here will explain more about how to store your juice properly to help it retain its freshness and maximum nutritional value.
Juice cleansing for beginners
When doing a juice cleanse people do not eat food, but only drink juice for a period of time. People do juice cleanses for many reasons which include quicker yet healthier weight loss, detoxification of the body, increased energy, and healing of the body. You can read more about why you might want do a juice cleanse by following that link.
If you are interested in learning even more about juice cleansing you should read more of our articles in this category here.
You might also be interested in reading a post we wrote that covered a 30 day juice cleanse we did! We each lost around 27 pounds, blogged almost daily about our progress and included many tips as well!
We also released an Ebook The Complete Guide To Doing A 7 Day Juice Cleanse recently. This 118 page Ebook contains the culmination of years of our juice cleansing experience, and is a thorough step by step guide that will help you to successfully complete a juice cleanse!
More Resources and Further Reading About Juicing!
We hope this juicing for beginners post helped you to understand a bit more about juicing, and will give you some of the information and tools you need to get started! If you have any questions at all feel free to leave them in the comments section below! We also have a Facebook page where you can join us and many others who love juicing or just want to learn more about juicing. We would love to hear from you or have you join us! Happy juicing!
Here are some other posts you might want to read to learn more about juicing!
Juicing for Weight Loss
Juicing on a Budget
Staying Consistent with Juicing and Our Diet
Choosing a Healthy Lifestyle and Adding Juicing Into Your Life
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