How To Get The Best Of Your Juice
How To Get The Best Of Your Juice
By Christy Stone
Photo taken by Christy Stone
There are lots of articles on the benefits of juicing. We all know juicing is nutritionally beneficial. Juicing has been a popular dietary trend for years now. Juicing is often associated with cleansing and detoxing. However, there are healthy ways to juice and important things to remember when you juice.
1.) Juice Organically!
Or don’t juice at all in my opinion. GMO’s and produce heavily sprayed with glyphosate and other pesticides add toxins to your body. This counteracts the idea of a cleanse. If you want your body to be clean, your produce should be too. Here is a link to the dirty dozen.
2.) Juice Fresh!
For optimal nutrition, your produce should be fresh not frozen. When you freeze or heat food, the food degrades and reduces its nutritional value. Seasonal juicing is always a good idea, use produce that’s in season. Supporting your local farmers markets or growing your own produce are the freshest ways to get your produce. The further away your produce travels on planes, trains, and trucks to the grocery store, the less fresh it is. Environmental mindfulness should ALWAYS come before convenience.
3.) Juice and Drink!
For optimal nutritional value, you should consume the juice within 30 minutes or less after juicing. This will give you the most nutrients. The nutrients reduce the longer it sits.
4.) Juice Slow!
When you start juicing, you can begin to detox rather quickly and may feel sick or toxic. This is called ‘herxing’. From the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction. So if you think the more juice you drink the better, think again. Or rather, listen again, listen to your body and see how you feel. The ingredients can also have an effect on how much you detox and how fast.
*Friendly Suggestion: When purchasing a juice, ask for an extra cup and share your juice with a friend! This way you won’t over do it and give your digestive system something to grumble about.
5.) Juice With Balance!
Fruits and vegetables can have high sugar contents. Be mindful of your juice’s sweetness. Your juice shouldn’t taste like fruit punch. But it also shouldn’t be so bitter, you make faces to get it down. A balance of sweet and bitter is a good thing.
6.) Juice and Shine!
Juicing is best in the morning. In case you do detox, you will be mobile throughout the day to help cleanse through the detox.
7.) Juice and Wait!
When you drink your juice, you should wait at least 30 minutes before eating any food. This way you can digest and process all of the delicious nutrients you just spent so much time washing, cutting, and prepping. Unless of course you chose to grab your juice on the go and skipped the prep and mess altogether. Oh, the luxury! Although, the preparation of juicing can be therapeutic. The process of juicing should be relaxing and satisfying. Enjoy your juice, especially if you made it!
8.) Real JUICE!
Speaking of on the go juices, juice advertising can be rather tricky. Some juice shops may advertise that they are 100% organic. And to my surprise this is not the case. I visited a long list of juice shops in NYC and most advertise as organic. I was so excited to find so many options and try the all the different juices! But then I started asking questions and my excitement quickly turned into disappointment.
A.) “Is ALL of your produce organic?” - “No, only the prepackaged juices in the refrigerator are all organic.” ( Which I learned come with an expiration date, sometimes all the way from Ohio! )
B.)“Do you make fresh juice in house made-to-order?” - “No, we only make smoothies from frozen, non-organic produce.”
So I’m thinking, “Then why does your building have the USDA Organic seal and say 100% Organic all over it??” But I know why, it’s the exact same reason that got my attention to walk right in thinking I would leave with a freshly pressed 100% organic juice.
Also, the names of these juice shops contain the word ‘Juice’, ‘Press’, or ‘Pressed’ but then only offer half nutritious smoothies or pre packaged juices from who knows when or where.
I found two honest, fresh, and organic options for juice in NYC and even one in Astoria.
1.) Agave Organic Juice Bar - 72 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003
Aside from their happy and authentic decor, their ‘About us’ section on their website says it all!
FYI, Agave is located on the same street as Tokio 7 for a quick 30 minute “digestion period” until you may or may not walk down the same street to Van Leeuwen’s Artisan Ice Cream. This street is dangerous…Organic juice, local/organic ice cream, and sustainable second hand shopping! Throw ‘TheRealReal’ on this street and you’d have a RealReal problem…
2.) East Village Organic Inc. - 124 First Ave, New York, NY 10009
Freindly little place to grab a fresh, organic, made-to-order juice while picking up some organic groceries.
3.) Greenbay Essentials - 32-19 Broadway, Queens, NY 11106
A hop skip and a trip to Astoria! Unless you live in the neighborhood, then you’d be familiar with their own organic grocery store conveniently nearby.
My Advice.. is to purchase your own at home juicer. I have used Omega juicers for years and stand by them. Trust me, they will pay for themselves.
Photo from Omegajuicers.com
Photo from Omegajuicers.com
Juicing has a host of health benefits. It can also be beneficial to those fighting illness and managing the symptoms of candida die off as it gives the body nutrients and antioxidants without putting strain on the system.
BIO
Christy Stone known as 'LouLou' is a sustainable health enthusiast. Christy has a BFA in fashion design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She is currently pursuing a Naturopathic Doctorate degree. Christy also does sustainable consulting and graphic design for brands and individuals. Her love of art and fashion led her to New York City, where she currently resides with her adorable dog, Baguette.
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