A Juicer ...

What To Look For In A Juicer
Why You May Want One

Maybe I should have listed a Juicer as an essential small kitchen appliance rather than as an optional one.

There are very few things you can do that will improve your health as much as making your own fresh fruit and vegetable drinks every day right in your own kitchen. Many people I know have more energy, feel better and have actually lost weight after drinking freshly made fruit and/or vegetable beverages on a daily basis. (If you can buy organic fruits and vegetables you will be doing yourself and your loved ones a great favor!)

Nutritionists say fresh, raw fruits and vegetables are an important natural source for many essential vitamins and minerals. Cooking or storing easily destroys some of these nutrients and enzymes.

Drinking just one pint per day will help your body detoxify and regenerate through the assimilation of nutrients.

And by drinking a glass you decrease your body's desire for starches, sweets and other high-calorie foods.

Blending foods is not the same. The idea of using one of these machines is to separate the pulp so that your body can immediately take in the nutrients and not spend energy trying to break down the fiber.

Blenders do an excellent job of making salad dressings, smoothies, sauces, soups, and the like, but blenders do not separate the product from its fiber unless you go to the extra step of straining (which is an option).

A good machine breaks the cellulose barriers in the cells of grasses, fruits, vegetables and herbs, allowing high levels of nutrients and enzymes to be released in such a way as to enter the body's digestive system. Nutrients are made immediately available to our body cells. Pictured to the left is a Lexen Electric.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect machine because fruits and vegetables have different properties. A particular method that is effective for one may not work as well for the other.

If you are thinking about purchasing such a machine, there are several things you must know and consider.

For example, what in the world can be the difference between a $50 machine and one that costs $1000! or more?

The most important consideration when thinking about purchasing such a machine is ease of use and cleaning because the easier it is to use and clean up, the more often you will use it. If you don't use it, nothing else matters.

The amount of liquid extracted from a fruit or vegetable varies from one machine to another. Why is this important? I'm in the restaurant business and understand about "hidden costs." You must have a machine that will maximize the amount of usable product you get from a fruit or vegetable.

An efficient machine can get as much as 30% more juice than an inefficient one! 30% less juice is like throwing 1 glass of juice down the drain for every 2 glasses you drink!

What type do you want? Different machines have different ways of extracting juice.

What difference does it make how the juice gets extracted? In one word: quality. In two words: oxidation and heat. Neither oxidation nor heat is good for those nutrients (enzymes) you want in your body.