We could all use more fruits and veggies in our lives. And this is why I started juicing three years ago.
The Winnipeg juice scene has exploded with the arrival of Green Carrot Juice Company in Osborne Village. Before this hip juice and healthy snack joint opened up there was a small handful of places to get fresh-pressed juice in the ‘Peg– Organic Planet, Fresh Cafe (now closed), and at smoothie chains such as Jugo Juice. But I usually went between Organic Planet and Fresh Cafe until I was given a juicer. Best gift ever.
A batch of Beet Zinger juice made by yours truly
Until Green Carrot there wasn’t a storefront business that sold primarily cold-pressed juice. Well, not at least in my time. Correct me if I’m wrong. And up until pretty recently, I didn’t realize there were two categories of juicing: whole-food and extraction.
I assumed there were only smoothies and (extraction) juice. I was wrong.
Extraction juicing is the type of juicing that I’m familiar with. It involves extracting only the liquids and nutrients from fruits and veggies with a juicer. With this method there is a significant amount of waste– all the fibre and pulp from the fruit and veggies. Apparently you can re-use the pulp to either add to smoothies or make into fruit leather. I haven’t tried either.
Whole-food juicing is what the name implies– using the whole fruit or vegetable and not creating any waste. This variation of traditional extraction juicing was introduced by the people behind the legendary Vitamix blender.
The main premise behind whole-food juicing, besides creating no waste, is that it’s healthier for you than juice made in a traditional juicer. It’s said to be healthier because it has more fibre. Fibre helps to both keep you full longer and balance out the natural sugars in the juice of fruits and vegetables. Another side benefit of whole-food juicing is you can save money, because you use fewer ingredients.
These all seem like great benefits. Whole-food juicing for the win… or not so much.
Fibre is great, but as someone who eats a primarily plant-based diet, I know that too much fibre isn’t a good thing. When I need some extra nutrients in my life, extraction juicing seems like the right option. You can easily digest the nutrients in the juice from an entire head of kale, but consuming a whole head of kale, blended or not blended, is another story.
One of the main reasons I started juicing was to be able to easily absorb nutrients. I have digestive issues, so consuming an abundance of raw fruits and veggies isn’t always an option for me. Like I mentioned, too much of a good thing (fibre) isn’t always so great.
Another claim from whole-food juicing supporters: The natural sugars from the juice of fruits and vegetables can make your blood-sugar levels crash. The fibre in whole-food juice helps to balance out these naturally occurring sugars. This might be relevant if you were consuming juice as a meal.
I don’t believe in juice detoxes or cleanses because your body is designed to detoxify itself. The only real way to get healthy is to eat better and exercise. If you’re interested in this topic, check out this article.
I don’t want to disqualify whole-food juicing. It has it’s benefits. It all depends on what you’re looking to get out of your juice. Either way you go, you’re taking a step in a healthy direction.
PS. I’m sure having a Vitamix would be magical, so much so that maybe a whole-food juice fairy will drop $600 into my palms. Until then, it’ll be smoothies and extraction juicing for this girl.
The Life of Lucky 