Why is juicing so important?

1. What are enzymes? The basic key to the efficacy of nourishing your body is the life present in food and of those intangible elements known as enzymes. Enzymes are complex substances that enable us to digest food and absorb it into out blood, as well as being catalysts for many essential life functions, such as separating the nitrogen from the air we breath, so we absorb the oxygen. Enzymes become sluggish at cooking temperatures above 118 degrees, and are destroyed at temperatures above 130 degrees (microwaves completely destroy enzymes in your food).
2. Why not just eat fruits and vegetables for our essential nutrients? Solid food requires many hours of digestive activity before its nourishment is finally available to the cells and tissues of the body. While fibers in foods are essential for helping cleanse our digestive tract, the removal of fibers in the extraction of juices allows essential nutrients to be absorbed within minutes instead of hours, and with little effort by our body.
3. Can juicing prevent disease? Many studies point out that a diet high in fruits and vegetables does in fact reduce the incidents of serious disease.
4. Do vegetables contain protein? Although fruits and vegetables do not contain large quantities of protein, their juice can be a convenient carrier. Simply add some brewer's yeast, wheat germ, or whole grains to whatever you're juicing. These give you protein without the fat that meat contains, and protein that is quickly and easily absorbed by the body.
5. What are phytochemicals? They are substances in plants that are linked to good health and to prevention of specific diseases. They are found only in fruits and vegetables, and juicing is a great way to get them.
6. How much juicing can be taken safely? As much as one can drink comfortably without forcing oneself. Recommended amount of juice per day is at least 1 pint per day. Some healing centers actually do 2-8 pints per day for therapeutic purposes.
7. Can I store the juice I make? Juices should generally be drunk when prepared, since certain enzymes and vitamins break down pretty quickly in sunlight.
8. What combinations of fruits and vegetables would be best to juice? There are many different recipes (see below for examples), but in general at least 50-75% of the juicing should consist of greens (spinach, kale, chard, parsley, dandelion, watercress, broccoli, etc.)
9. Can I still continue to eat fast food and sugar products? These should be kept to an absolute minimum as they use our precious resources to breakdown and digest, offering little in the way of healthy nutrients (see Self-help section below).
10. Should I use only organic products? In general, yes. By juicing all non-organic products, we stand the chance of taking in concentrated amounts of pesticides used on the plants, thereby negating the value of daily juicing. Some consolation is offered by J.M. Walker, who wrote the book “Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices” says that the pesticides tend to reside in the fiber, therefore is filtered out when we juice. Our recommendation is to use as much organic produce as possible though.
11. What juicer should I Use? There are a number of excellent juicers. The juicer we decided to offer on our website is the Omega 8002 juicer, which juices without generating heat that can destroy some of the essential nutrients. At 80 RPM (most juicers work at 3600 RPM and higher), it essentially masticates the fruits and vegetables slowly, preserving the most nutrients possible. The disadvantage is that the process is a little slower, and cleaning takes a couple of more minutes.