Dirty Thirty #18: Juice

We drink it ourselves. We give it to our kids. It's loaded with vitamins and nutrients...errrr...think again. Juice that you buy at the store has been squeezed from its original source and quickly loses nutrients. So, that juice that you drink every morning is just a quick way of getting a sugar rush.

Fruit juice = bad. Freshly pressed vegetable juice, though = GOOD! Buy a juicer. They can range from pretty affordable to downright expensive. I actually have this one, which is on the lower end, and I find it works pretty well.

When juicing, a few things are very important:

• Juicing your vegetables with any fruit other than apple will actually cancel out the nutrients; so, you may not as well do it at all.
• Juice loses most of its nutrients after 20 minutes; so, drink it quickly after making. 
• You want to give your body time to absorb all the nutrients; so, don't drink it too quickly. Take 10-15 minutes to enjoy it, instead of gulping it all down at once.
• Juicing organic produce is extra important, as juicing concentrates whatever is in the produce. If you juice something with pesticides, you will get a higher concentration of pesticides in your body. Even if the items you are juicing are on the "Clean 15," be sure you only purchase organic produce for juicing.

My favorite juice resembles a bloody Mary. I juice an heirloom tomato or two (depending on the size), a clove of garlic, a half of a bell pepper, a couple of stalks of celery, a quarter of a cucumber, some cilantro (or parsley), kale, spinach (or other dark, leafy green), a half a lemon and mix in some prepared horseradish. I don't usually add vodka, though ;-) Adjust each ingredient to your taste and your body's needs.

I also like to do some dark, leafy greens with cucumber, a half a lemon, parsley and a quarter of an apple. Start with half an apple if you need, and slowly work your way down. I actually forgot the apple one day and realized that I liked it even without the added fructose.

As long as we're talking about fructose: Yes, juicing the apple does bring out the fructose, but it is so much less than you would get by drinking a glass of straight apple juice that it is fine for beginners. Juicing a quarter of an apple is even fine for those who are "experienced" juicers if it helps you drink the delicious nutrients of the greens. So, basically, I'm saying don't worry about it (as long as you're not overdoing it)!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Check back tomorrow for another Dirty Thirty!