Juicing is a fantastic and easy way to get more nutrition into your diet. Whether it’s your new year resolution to improve your health or you need a quick way to get vitamins and minerals into your body, juicing ticks all the boxes.

Although a simple and fun process, if you’ve never ‘juiced’ before it can seem difficult. Allow Go Go Fruit Basket to answer everything you need to know about juicing, from the benefits, buying a juicer, tips & tricks as well as the best and worst things you can juice!

Why choose to juice?

There are many reasons people choose to juice. The main reason is due to the many health benefits it brings. As well as being healthy, it’s also a quick and convenient way to get vital nutrients and vitamins, rather than cooking.

People also prefer to make their own freshly squeezed juice, rather than purchase ready-made juice, as they feel it is fresher and tastier.

Juicing also allows us to be experimental and make juice using our favourite flavours. Whether it’s our favourite fruit, vegetable, herbs or even spices, juicing enables us to create new, exciting and healthy flavours.

What are the health benefits of juicing?

Juicing fruit and vegetables brings a number of health benefits. First of all, it’s the easiest and quickest way to get nutrients into your diet. You don’t need to spend time cooking or even chewing. Juicing is also an effective way of incorporating foods you wouldn’t usually into your diet. For example, some people may be aware of the health benefits of broccoli, however, dislike the taste. Juicing enables us to mix foods we don’t like with other flavours, so we gain essential nutrients we wouldn’t usually, whilst still enjoying the taste.

We also absorb vitamins and nutrients from juicing quicker than we would from eating. This is because liquids enter our bloodstream instantly, rather than our bodies needing to digest solid fruits and vegetables.

Is fresh juice healthier than store-bought juice?

Freshly squeezed juice contains a higher volume of vitamins than store-bought counterparts. This is mainly due to the production methods of store-bought juice. Usually, the juice is hot-pressed or pasteurised, which involves the juice being heated. This sterilises the juice, however, it also kills a number of nutrients and vitamins in the juice.

Most store-bought juices also contain lots of added sugar, sweeteners and preservatives.

Are there any drawbacks to juicing compared to eating fruit & vegetables?

Juicing fruit and vegetables is an effective way to take in important nutrients, vitamins and minerals. One drawback with juicing however is a lack of fibre when compared to eating fresh produce.

This is due to a couple of reasons. First of all, lots of fibre is contained in the skin of fresh produce. As we don’t juice the skin of fruit and veg before juicing, this limits the intake of fibre.

Lots of fibre is also found in the pulp of juice, which you can choose to leave in or take out, depending on personal preference.

Will fresh juice go out of date quickly?

Naturally, fresh fruit will go out of date quicker than store-bought fruit, due to it containing fewer preservatives. However, if stored correctly, fresh juice can stay fresh for up to 48 hours. It’s best to store inside the fridge, in an airtight container to keep it preserved for as long as possible.

It’s best to drink fresh juice as soon as it is made. This is because some nutrients will begin to degrade within a day or so.

How do I choose a juicing machine?

There are a few different types of juicing machine you can choose from. These include the manual, the centrifugal, the single gear and the twin gear. You should choose a juicer based on your individual budget, which produce you plan to juice and how often you plan to do so.

Manual juicers are good for beginners and are hand-operated. They are limited however in what they can actually juice. They can only juice soft fruits such as citrus.

Centrifugal juicers are the most common kind of juicer on the market. It uses a spinning blade to extract the liquid from fruit or vegetables. They are relatively inexpensive however have a shorter lifespan than gear juicers.

Geared juicers are the most effective on the market. Some can even be used to make ice cream, pasta and other foods. The gears cut then crush the produce, which means more nutrition is kept in the juice. Twin gear juices contain 2 gears rather than one, which crushes the produce slowly for a higher quality juice. Single and twin geared juicers are more expensive than manual and centrifugal juicers, however, they are more durable and produce a higher quality juice.

Best (and worst) fruits and veg to juice

Whichever produce you choose to juice will depend on personal preference. The great thing about juicing is the creativity and amount of experimenting possible. There are some fruits and vegetables however which are better than others, whether it’s due to nutritional value or ease of juicing.

Some more popular fruits for juicing include apples, tomatoes, berries, melons, pineapples, cranberries, citrus fruits and papaya. Popular vegetables to juice are broccoli, cabbage, celery, carrots, parsley, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, peppers, wheatgrass and dandelion greens.

There are also fruits and vegetables which aren’t ideal for juicing. Bananas, for example, are great for blending into a smoothie, however, their dense texture means they aren’t great for juicing. Other difficult produce to juice includes avocado, leeks, coconut juice and aubergine.

What’s the difference between juicing and blending?

The main difference between juicing and blending is that juicing extracts the liquid and nutrients from produce, however, discards the fibre. Blending on the other hand finely shops all of the produce, including the skin and fibre. This results in a thicker, but smooth liquid, like a smoothie, compared to juice.

There are benefits to both of these. As there is less fibre in the juice, it digests easier and instantly, which can give an instant energy boost. On the other hand, a smoothie from a blender will contain more fibre which has health benefits, however, this will take longer to digest.

Whether you want to juice to lose weight, incorporate more nutrients into your diet or you want to try out interesting combinations and flavours, take a look at GoGo Fruit Basket’s Juicing Boxes to find the right juicing plan for you.