Some Juicing Questions for the Experts

[RawBurger]

Hi everyone -

I'm about 3 weeks into juicing and still working out the kinks in my process. Had some questions:

1) I have been randomly picking a daily quantity of 24 liquid ounces of juiced vegetables. This is only because when I started I poured one glass worth and it happened to be 12 ounces. So i have two per day. Is this considered a normal daily intake? A lot? Bare minimum?

Part of why I ask # 1 is because I have a difficult time quantifying the nutrition intake. I am used to taking vitamin supplements with exact quantities. I did however find this AMAZING web site where you can pop in a search term like Celery, and see what 1 stalk of celery contains: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list Ideally I'd like to have a very measured regimen so I know what I am taking in. Like 6 celery stalks. 10 leaves of Kale. 1 whole green pepper, etc ....

I have more questions but i'll start with that one.

[Aleesha Sattva]

There is no min or max when it comes to juice fasting. It's up to what your body needs that day. Some days I've drunk 6+ litres of juice, other days I barely get one litre into me.

I just realized you didn't ask about fasting. As for juicing... it's whatever floats your boat. Every body is different and so everyone's needs will be unique. My advice is to find what is working for YOU. If you feel good on 24 oz then juice 24 oz. If your body is craving more, then gift it more. If you find that you are forcing down the juice then perhaps change things up and/or decrease your intake. Try not to get too regimented about it. What your body needs one day may be different the next day.

[RawBurger]

Thanks Aleesha!

Gosh i hate that process. :) I am about data and facts, so I may just have to do some research on this. There is a way to quantify things like this, but it takes some significant effort. If you search that link I provided you can see the exact MG content in a typical piece of veggie, and, doing some math, you can come up with a daily MG intake based on that. That sort of thinking is what I mean. Of course there are probably hundreds of other phytonutrients in veggies we don't know about, but it seems reasonable to me to use the MG content of what we do know about, to formulate a daily intake. I guess i'll have to do this the hard way :)

[laughalways]

Why not use a program to quantify the nutrients like Nutritiondata at Self.com?

[Supa]

I think there is some merit to adjusting your container to fit your needs so that when you fill a container for transport there is as little air as possible. My bottles are 18oz so I try to make juice in multiples of 18oz and drink the remainder on the spot. I think the bigger issue with quantity is how lean & green they are versus how much fruit glucose & fructose is in them. Pairing up the sugary juices in the afternoons and preferably preceding physical activity. Not as a jolt to the system on wake, sitting in a chair, or before bed when your body can't use the sugar.

[Aleesha Sattva]

rawburger, you need to remember that:

1) the kind of juicer you have decides how many of those nutrients you are getting from the produce.
2) whether or not the nutrients are breaking down in your juice as it sits (again depending on the type of juicer, the way the juice is stored etc.)

just keeping things real for you. I get it that you want to know the details... but even the details you are getting are hit and miss.

All the best! I hope you find what you are looking for.