Is juicing important?

[hapahaole]

I do not own a juicer and I'm wondering if it's a necessity? It seems like it would be great for mornings where right now I usually consume fruit but I'm thinking maybe it would be best to not have my stomach digesting anything until lunch time when I have my green smoothie.

Juicers are expensive so I don't want to purchase one unless it's really important to have one.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

-K

[Ilse W.]

A juicer is totally unnecessary. Fruit normally digests in 30 minutes, so it's not hard on your digestive system at all. A juicer is "nice" to have, but we primates have great teeth to masticate our fruit before swallowing and have survived and thrived for millions of years without juicers.:D

[Blazin'Jane]

I don't think you need to hurry to buy a juicer. Their are some benefits to juicing particularly if you are very ill, but most of the benefits of drinking lots of fresh juice will be had by continuing to eat lots of raw foods.

[Frugal Raw]

Juicing strips the fiber out of the fruit and the natural sugars hit your system faster than eating that whole fruit. I don't own a juicer - I blend my fruits whole:D.

[iluvmangos]

I don't believe juicing is important. The whole food is good for you, not just the juice. If you like juice, that's fine, but it's certainly not a necessity.

[tylerdurden]

I would not suggest juicing fruit because it tastes amazing as it is. It seems so unnecessary. However, instead of chewing endlessly on carrots or other vegetables it’s sometimes easier to juice them. I wouldn’t recommend getting an expensive one because they are such a hassle especially the cleaning aspect. A small manual masticating juicer works nicely for leafy greens.

If you want to follow the circadian rhythm you are right you shouldn’t eat anything until after noon.

[spicyfull]

I'm Wired to eat Breakfast, whether Juice or Food, I need something in My Bellie. I function well on at least 2 meals a day being Breakfast and Lunch or if not Lunch an early Dinner.

I like the Jack LaLane Juicer and it can be purchased for $100-. And it is Totally a Personal Choice. At the Moment I am on a Juice Fast and I find having a Juicer is RAWool. When I do a Job, I just like having everything I think I might possibly need. So I use My MEAT and CHEESE MONEY for them.

My Best to you, whatever you decide to do.....

[Cerellia]

I'm also considering to buy a juicer. The main reason is that I'm on a fast and I plan to break it with a juice day at first. Actually, I believe that whole foods are better than juices but I think juicing can have some benefits: It would be much easier to just drink a glass of wild green juice instead of eating tons of greens with every meal. Also, root vegetables can be hard to digest and it would sometimes be more convinient just to drink them as a juice.

[apb1172]

I would say that the only totally needed uncooking tools for this diet are a sharp kitchen knife and a salad spinner to dry off your greens after cleaning them. Other than that, everything else is gravy. However, if you do decide that you want to get a juicer, blender, spiralizer, or whatever else that you convince yourself that you can't do without (or am I the only one who does that?) just make sure that you compare and contrast a lot! The price tag can get hefty after a while. I was gifted my Jack LaLane, I paid 20 bucks for my 5 tray nesco dehydrator (I haven't used it in WEEKS!) and I paid $335 for my blend tec.

[hapahaole]

I have a Vitamix that my aunt gave me and it has made transitioning to raw food a breeze. I would much rather drink my greens then eat them. I have put an entire kohlrabi in my smoothie which is something I would never eat alone so I get a lot more variety drinking green smoothies. So to me a Vitamix is a necessity.

A dehydrator seems more of an option.

A juicer I'm not sure about. Right now I'm assuming I can't fast since I have a nursling but I could see how it could be important to have on a juice fast.

Do you get more or less nutrients from juicing vs. eating vs. blending fruits and veggies?

I appreciate everyone's help!

-K

[RawYorkCity]

I'd say it depends how far you are on your raw journey, and what you had eaten the last night. If you ate something cooked, or heavy in nuts/fat than a juice in the morning will flush that stuff right out! I've become too sensitive to juices now, so I just blend the fruit to keep the fiber.

[Mikey_H]

Having a juicer isn't needed to live healthy, whole foods are always good.

However, I have a juicer myself and use it everyday for vegetable juices. Everyday I make a big mixture of a bunch of veggies and gulp it down. It's an easy way to get extra nutrients and it's good! Definitely a good investment if you got the extra cash, as long as it is taken care of.
Not to mention it's a good way to get some quick apple or orange juice for big smoothies instead of water or going for the bottled stuff.

[artgirly4]

I do not need a juicer. I put all my greens in the blender and blend them,strain them in a nut milk bag, add green juice ice cubes and drink.

Juice, to me and for me, is essential for deep cleansing and healing. I am on a boatload of green juice right now. It is doing a huge job. I have been seeing strange stuff in my poo and I know it is cleaning to my depths. My emotions too..eeek.

Our bodies need so many greens, to chew all that I need, would be ludicrous. Juicing breaks down the plants and the nutrition is instantly available. The body has so very little work to do to process it. Organs can rest, body can heal. Wow...I could go on for hours about juice.

So, to me, juice is humongous. A juicer...naw..if u have a blender u r all set.

[lori ann]

Hello there,

I believe it is a personal choice also on your journey. I have one and try to juice every morning if I can. I mainly juice vegtables and greens and will throw in a apple or lemon to it. I own a green star which I love, but I first used one I got at a gargage sale for $20 that I wanted to make sure I was going to put into my life style before investing in a more expensive one. You do not need to get a green star that is up to you of what one you would get. There are a lot of posts on reviews of different ones. The good thing about juicing is that it takes the fiber out and the nutrients go straight to your system. Of course you eat whole fruits and vegtables along with your diet as well to get your fiber. It is just another aspect of the diet if you want to add.

As for tools for this diet (if you want to get them) the two best things in my opinion are a blender and a food processor. Good luck with your decsion :)

[hapahaole]

So do you just throw away or compost the fiber left over from juicing? It seems like a waste though. Our body needs the fiber right?

Thanks!

[DeborahB]

I have a juicer which gets used very rarely.
I find cleaning it out quite time consuming.

I bought it on eBay for a great price.

When I do use it, I save the pulp to make burgers and fillers for lettuce wraps.

[artgirly4]

Leftovers from juicing? I do two things. I sometimes put it in compost pile. ALot of times do.(tried makng crackers many times with green sludge and they were disgusting).

Also I take it out and bury it under my plants in the pots.

Fiber we need. But if one wants to really cleanse and heal, green juice is like an i.v. of chlorophyll and the body can utilize it immediatley without any labor.

Juice is super cool. I have been drinking alot!!!

[Tenuho]

i LOVE juicing...

i have a pretty slow digestive system....which basically comes from the work i do and the fact that im allways just ''sitting'' there....

so sometimes....if i were to eat loads of fruits back 2 back or veggies back 2 back they will pile up and rob me of energy....

so every now and then i go on juice fasts....just to clean myself out...

after about the 6th or 7th day....i dont really want food anymore....i usually break the fast around the 10th or 11th day because my body starts calling for something solid....but it deffinatly cleans the body up well...

even if you are on a raw food diet....and you are constantly eating which many of these raw food diet plans tell you you should do....

your constantly digesting...okay its not as heavy as digesting meat but your still constantly constantly working away at digesting stuff.....when you juice you give your body a real rest...

you will notice the difference between juice fasting and eating raw because in a juice fast your body will become tired because it starts a deep healing process....i also notice that around the 5th or 6th day the cells start releasing stress i noticed memories of some difficult times come flooding back and the emotions coming up again to be released....i was amazed...

i think juicing is highly underrated amoung the raw food community...

so for me personally i think a juicer is deffinatly a great thing to have...

if your just going to make the odd veggetable juice every now and then, probably not....but if yout going to use it to do a fast...then deffinatly worth it...

[artgirly4]

I think juicing is highly underrated amoung the raw food community

thats worth repeating

[LilacLavender]

You don't "need" any appliances at all. They just make life easier.

[zinny]

A juicer is *not necessary. However a high-powered juicer is definitely my appliance of choice, and I would prioritize it over a blender or food processor (neither of which I have at the moment--although I used them almost every day when I had them). But I really love green juice in the mornings. If you are only going to juice a few times a month and the expense is an issue, don't bother. If you're interested in juicing on a regular basis, go for the strongest motor you can afford (otherwise you wind up with really juicy pulp).

My extended family are mostly-cooked. When I got into juicing I would bring my juicer with and give them demos and tastings. Now they all have juicers and morning juices.

If you have a high-speed blender and want juice, you can can blend the produce and then squeeze through a nut milk bag/cheesecloth/sieve. (Haven't ever tried it--for me it is too much effort!)

[Mamoo]

My juicer as my first purchase, and I love it. Going raw doesn't mean you have to juice and you have many options for getting raw food including juices in your body, so a juicer isn't a necessary item. However, if you are wanting to heal, then juicing without the pulp is the way to go. Fiber sends your body into digestion mode and you can't heal and digest at the same time so drinking juice from a good juicer is definitely the way to go.

I use the Champion juicer and when I juice, I do enough for 4-5 days and then use my Food Saver handheld to seal it. This is great because it eliminates cleaning the juicer every time you juice. If you can't seal the juice it will still last 2 days in the fridge.

Good luck which ever way you choose to go. Hugs, Smiles and more Smiles!