I love green juice so much that I would marry it if I wasn’t already married. When I see families, especially children, drinking green juice, my heart melts on the floor, but when I see people drinking juice in a less than stellar way and making common mistakes, I get crazy concerned and want to help. That’s why I want to go over common juicing mistakes I have personally witnessed, so hopefully I can put my crazy concerned look to rest. It’s important to remember – we are all learning in this big bad world of processed foods, and juicing is better than not juicing at all, even if you make these mistakes.
TOP COMMON JUICING MISTAKES
Not Drinking Green Juice On An Empty Stomach – Recently a blogger friend of mine tried juicing for the first time, and when she finished her first juice she proclaimed to me that it gave her heart burn. Immediately, I asked her if she drank her juice on an empty stomach, and she said “No, I had it after breakfast.” Fresh juice should only be consumed on an empty stomach. The whole point of drinking juice is diminished if you don’t, and can end up giving you digestive issues like my friend experienced. Drinking juice on an empty stomach allows the vitamins and minerals in the juice to go straight to your bloodstream. Having fiber or a meal already in your stomach prevents your body from quickly absorbing the nutrients from the juice. A good general rule of thumb to follow is to wait at least 2 hours after a meal to drink a green juice and wait 20 mins after drinking a green juice to consume a meal.
Waiting Too Long To Drink Your Green Juice – As soon as your freshly made green juice gets exposed to air, its live enzymes begin to degrade, therefore decreasing the nutritional content. I can immediately tell the difference in how I feel after drinking fresh juice vs. an older juice. The live enzymes of a fresh juice give me immediate energy – where as older juice just doesn’t give me the same boost. For this reason, unless you have a slow masticating juicer, twin gear or Norwalk press juicer, I recommend always consuming the juice fresh and within 15 mins of making it. This is especially important if you make your juice without a juicer using a blender and strainer. For slow or twin-gear juicers, I recommend storing juice in an airtight container (filled to the top with no air gap) for up to 24-36 hours, and for a press juicer up to 72 hours. If you decide to store your juice, remember to keep it refrigerated at all times before consuming. This is also important to keep in mind when you buy pre-made, raw unpasteurized juice because as soon as the juice becomes warm, bacteria can begin to grow that could be harmful. Always keep your juice in the fridge or a cooler if traveling if you don’t drink it right away. If you notice your favorite juice bar keeping juices longer than 72 hours, make sure they are using high pressure pasteurization technology (like Suja Juice and Blueprint Cleanse) – otherwise, they are getting away with selling you lower quality and nutritionally degraded juice.
Using Too Many Sweet Fruits and Vegetables In Your Green Juice – Sweet fruits and vegetables like watermelon, apples, pears, and carrots are very nutritious when consumed whole, but if you consume too many of them juiced, the amount of sugar and fructose you are adding to your diet could be over the top. If a juice has too much natural sugar it can affect insulin levels pretty dramatically, causing cravings and other not so pretty things to happen, like gaining weight. This is why I recommend keeping the sugary fruits and vegetables in your green juice to a maximum of 1 per serving. For example, in the juice recipe below you can add one green apple for a bit of sweetness. It’s important to keep sugar in check to be able to sustain steady and consistent energy levels. I personally do not add any fruit to my daily green juice any longer, but I still love the occasional carrot (for their eye lash enhancing properties) and beet (for their detoxing capabilities). Exceptions to this rule are lemons and limes that are naturally very low in sugar and do not spike blood insulin levels like other fruits. (One caveat – if you are trying to get your children switched over to green juice, you can start by adding 2 fruits per serving, but then slowly decrease this over time as they become accustomed to the taste.)
Treating Green Juice Like A Meal (unless on a fast or having it as a snack) – Juice isn’t a meal replacement, rather it is a meal enhancer or snack. Juicing is nature’s vitamin pill and should be consumed like a supplement within 20 mins before a complete meal. It’s really hard to eat the amount of vegetables recommended by most experts (6-8 servings) in a typical day. It’s rare to see Americans eating vegetables for breakfast, and at lunch a typical vegetable serving could be as small as a piece of lettuce or tomato on a sandwich, making it probable that your target amount of vegetable servings for the day will not be met. It takes a few pounds of vegetables to get a 12-ounce glass of juice – which gives you an entire day’s serving in one glass. Juicing should be like taking a vitamin but of course it’s a billion times better. Additionally, drinking juice before a meal (like I recommend in the Meal Plans for Health Program) reduces carb and sweet cravings and completely changes your taste buds to want something plant-based versus something heavy or processed. Juicing allows you to absorb many more vitamins and minerals than you would otherwise by consuming smoothies or eating fruits and vegetables with the fiber. The only time I wouldn’t consume a meal after juicing would be during a juice fast.
Not Chewing Your Green Juice – Juice (and smoothies) are food and should be chewed. It’s important to swish around the juice in your mouth or move your jaw up and down for a couple of seconds before swallowing it to release saliva that contains important digestive enzymes. The digestive enzymes are crucial in delivering key nutrients to your cells. When I visited with Dr. Mercola for lunch, it was fun witnessing him doing this when he drank his green juice – he swished it back and forth quite energetically! I personally like to use less of an obvious gesture and keep the juice in my mouth a few seconds before swallowing it.
Leaving Your Juicer Dirty – I know juicing can take time and life can get busy, things like cleaning your juicer right away can get pushed to the side, but let me tell you, cleaning your juicer (at least rinsing it off) will save you and your knuckles a lot of scrubbing later. If I know time is going to be tight, I’ll often throw all the parts of the juicer in a sink and let them soak with water and a little soap – that way, when I get back to cleaning the juicer, it will be much easier. Also, to save time when I juice in the morning, I’ll pre-wash the vegetables the night before, eliminating this step the next day, and allowing me more time to clean the juicer right away. I’ve gotten my juicing routine down to 20 mins using a 2 step press juicer, which is pretty darn good if you ask me! When I use a centrifuge or another type of juicer, my timing is usually around 15 mins from start to cleanup.
Juicing Spinach or Kale Over and Over Again – Variety is the spice of life, and it’s key for juicing correctly and safely and to avoid hormonal issues. Remember to rotate the greens (kale, chard, spinach, mustard greens, collards, dandelion, arugula, etc.) in your juice each week to prevent build up of oxalic acid (which can affect the thyroid gland) and provide a balanced amount of different vitamins and minerals for your body.
You Stopped Green Juicing Because You Heard That Drinking Smoothies Is Better (or maybe you never started) – For the record, I consume both smoothies and juices, but I also know there is no other way to get the extraordinarily amount of powerful nutrients trapped inside green vegetables than to juice them. Drinking juice has the power to make you feel like you have never before – it’s quite magical and something I wouldn’t give up for every smoothie in the world. Our soil is nutritionally depleted due to the use of pesticides, genetically modified seeds, and conventional farming practices, drastically reducing the amount of many vitamins and minerals once abundantly available to us. Eating a piece of broccoli now vs. 20 years ago does not yield the same amount of nutrition. It’s crucial that we try to compensate for this fact by juicing. Juicing allows you to get the extra boost you need much more efficiently than trying to chew an unachievable amount of vegetables all day. When I started drinking carrot juice, my eye lashes immediately started to grow longer within just a couple of weeks. Feeling the extra energy boost is one thing, but seeing the results in the mirror can be quite dramatic and make you a firm believer of the powers of drinking juice. Drinking juice reduces the amount of energy your body uses for digestion, giving your cells a chance to repair and rebuild. It’s the ultimate preventative medicine when it comes to avoiding disease. Don’t wait until you are already sick or trying to get better to consume juice, it’s about creating a healthy body from within now so you never get sick in the first place.
With all this juicing talk… I have to share my most recent concoction which includes both lemon and lime. This juice is so tart and delicious and perfect for a hot Summer evening!
- 1 bunch of any green of your choice (collards, chard, spinach, kale, dandelion)
- 2 cucumbers
- ½ bunch herbs like parsley, cilantro or mint
- 1 lemon with peel removed
- 1 lime with peel removed
- 1 green apple (optional for added sweetness)
- Wash all vegetables thoroughly and place into a large bowl
- Juice each vegetable in this order – greens, herbs, lemon, lime, cucumber
- Stir mixture before serving
- Rinse and clean juicer immediately
Do you know someone who might be making these common juicing mistakes? Then please share this post with them. I want everyone to feel the ALL of the magic of the juice they are drinking!
Cheers,
Food Babe
P.S. Ready for a 3-day juice cleanse? It’s the ultimate way to break the cycle of consuming processed foods! Check it out here.
Just wanted to add: Save up for a high quality juicer is very important if you want good healthy juice. Particularly if your paying high dollars for high quality organic fruits and vegetable’s. If your juicing them in a cheap juicer your just destroying the nutrition and thereby wasting your hard earn cash and health. So do the research before you buy. I recommend to stay away from those high speed centrifugal juice machines which I myself have owned in the pass. I am now very happy using very low speed masticating style juicer instead (Omega 350) that produces high healthy quality juices, easier to clean, and know need for ear plugs when juicing.
I was wondering about using a high power/high speed juicer and if those work ok? I use a blendtec and it does have a smoothie and a juice setting, both settings work good…however in both cases you can leave the skins from fruits and veggies on so I’m wondering if that defeats any purpose?
Okay, you say mix the greens but I’m the only juicer in my family and I can’t use the greens fast enough before they go bad. So I can’t keep a large variety of greens on hand only to waist the money. Any response to this problem?
How about Kale for a week, then Spinach next week, follow that with a week of Chard. And so on. 🙂
Freeze your juice in freezer mason jars. Leave half inch at top for expansion. Use within 3 weeks. Lemons keep juice vital longer without breaking down as fast.
Freezing it destroys the natural cellular structure and kills the “live” food aspects of the juice. Freeze your hand for three weeks and tell me if it’s the same when it comes out.
Use the Debbie green produce bags after you wash and clean and dry your greens.
Use greens that last only a few days first first (spinach, chard, cilantro etc) and greens that last longer at the end of the week (kale, collards, parsley etc) to stretch life span. Also, don’t keep them in plastic bags tightly in the fridge, give them space – this is probably the hardest for a big family.
I got so sick juicing. I watched the documentary movie, FAT SICK and Nearly DEAD and was inspired to start juicing. I threw up a lot the next day and my throat is in a lot of pain. It hurts to swallow. My doctor thought I tore may have torn my esophagus throwing up.
Can you give me exact guidelines on how much of what to do. in the juicer and when. I am afraid to juice again. I am also having constant diarrhea and lost 2 days of my vacation being sick. Any suggestions welcomed. Melissa
Hi Melissa,
First things first, you need to slowly accustom your body to this sort of raw juicing diet and if executed right you’ll have a very long healthy life with little or no diseases and trips to the doctors clinic/Hospital considering you you also add a healthy diet and fitness regime. Secondly you were probably having enzymes burn which is basically what happens when you juice greens that have a high yield of nutrients in them, for example; solely juicing greens such as kale, parsley, collards, endives and kohlrabi etc or even juicing them in a combination are extremely rich in nutrients and has most likely caused your body to over spike in alkalinity (Alkalosis) that your body was not use too, thus causing yourself to repel what ever was is your stomach. The burning of your oesophagus would have been caused by your stomach acids (Bile). In future when trying to green juice either mix a 50/50 ratio of filtered, revers osmosis or pure mineral water just to break down the concentrated enzymes within. You must also remember that if you are new to this sort of thing it is better if you use a combination of coloured vegetables such as capsicum, carrot, raw corn,celery and cucumber etc…. along with dark leafy greens and adding 50% diluted water until your body becomes accustomed to this change. I suggest you go online or go down to a health food store that has an abundance of knowledge and order an Acid-Alkaline & food combing guide so you can tell exactly what concentrates of enzymes weather it be Acidic or Alkaline you are putting into your body. I’m happy that your saw something on TV that shifted your mind towards juicing however it’s an awesome journey if applied correctly. There are a lot of people out there even when advised by their G.P that they must make healthier choices weather it be stop smoking, change diet, exercise more often but don’t bother to do a thing until it’s to late and even then they do nothing. So when it comes to your health and vitality we should always remember this rule. “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”. I hope I’ve explained enough to help you out. Cheers
Mario,
Thank you for your comment about juicing. I know now that I went gung ho so to speak, and juiced every meal. Each meal, my portion was way too much, and I juiced Kale twice, the whole thing, in a bullet, not an actual juicer that separates certain things. So, I did not realize that with Kale, you need to de-stem it first, and it is not a good green to blend when you are just starting. You should stick to 50% leafy greens, like spinach, or a spring mix, rather than Kale….Thanks for making me more aware and thus a little bit wiser on how to proceed.
Melisssa
Age 46
Portland Maine
I juice everything. I mean everything!
I put carrot, celery, kale, beet, aloe vera and many more. combined even.
I don’t care for the taste at all (as I have serious problem with eating veggies). my advice is this:
1) Take two glasses, fill one with any strong juice you like like orange juice, apples or even unhealthy ones.
fill the second with all your stuff. pinch your nose than down the second glass, keep it pinched than down the first glass. that’s it.
2) if you can’t tolerate the first, squeeze out 2-3 orange juice and do 50% orange 50% veggies, the orange mask the taste amazingly.
In winter when there are oranges I follow the second point, otherwise I follow the first.
Enjoy! (3 months now and keep doing it :P)
Hi Melissa,
Make sure you use a juicer and NOT a blender to make juice. Blending instead of juicing makes the taste and consistency horrible, and very hard to actually swallow. It also means you are eating the fiber of the vegetables instead of just their juices. What’s more, you are eating that fiber raw.
I got myself a cheap juicer while I started out, so as not to waste money if I didn’t like it. Now I juice every day. Eventually I will get a professional juicer. But A cheap juicer should cost around $40/£30, and will give better results than a blender!
Melissa, kudos to you for being willing to continue learning versus giving up after an initial uncomfortable experience. Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly (to begin with). In other words, we can’t expect to be a master right out of the gates with anything we do. When we were young we walked, talked and bathed ourselves poorly as we were learning, but they were worth doing, so we continued until we became competent. The same holds true in Cleansing and Detox. Just commit to get better and learn through time, knowing that you will fall a few times. When I coach people through a Cleanse (27 years experience), we always do a “transition” phase first, during which we gradually increase the amount of juice and “good stuff” while decreasing the non-cleansing foods. This can be a few days of transition or even a few weeks. Transitioning out of a cleanse is critical also, the general rule being that the transition out of a cleanse needs to be longer if the cleanse itself was longer and deeper. You could transition into a cleanse by juicing once per day for a day or two, then twice for a day or two, while eliminating meats, dairy, etc. and increasing the ratio of fresh & raw foods in your “non-juiced” meal. Nuts, seeds, and oils (avocados, flax, hemp, etc.) help transition away from meats and greasy foods while contributing critical, essential fatty-acids. You can dilute the juice with pure water or “chase it” with sips of pure water, making sure you hydrate in-between meals. Consider carrying sea salt around with you during the day (I use Real Salt brand), and take a pinch on the tongue, followed by sips of water, anytime you start to feel queasy, get a headache or joint pain, or have intense cravings. This electrolyte technique can be shockingly effective. As toxins leave the system, expect discomfort, whether in the gut, joints, head or elsewhere, and feel free to mitigate it with hydration, the sea salt technique, or even slowing the cleanse down by eating something solid like a piece of fruit or raw almonds. It takes time and multiple cleanses to become competent and eventually masterful. Be willing to do it poorly at first (without hurting yourself!), and know that each time you cleanse you not only learn by experience, but you also will be waking up your body’s intelligence more and more which will result in insightfulness you did not you had in you. Just as a dog eats grass when it needs it, you will begin to get signals from your body that will guide your decisions. Congratulations; you tried to walk (cleanse) and fell down. Now you can get up and try it again, and again, and again….! I recommend The PH Miracle by Robert Young, Colorado Cleanse by John Douillard, and my book (when it comes out-stay posted!)
Last fall, I discovered I had an intolerance to carrots. I was doing an Elimination Diet for food allergies/intolerance and was having carrots at every meal. I felt horrible. Knowing that I have food intolerance and recalling that I’ve never liked carrots and have had indigestion with them, I cut out the carrots and felt much better a few days later. Listen to your body and definitely take it slow.
I’ve been drinking a vitamin enhanced spinach drink every morning for going on 6 months now. You’re telling me that it’s not healthy for me? Because I always use spinach or nothing Else in the way of greens?
Food Babe,
I am SO happy that you are leading people, en mass, to food consciousness!
I look forward to all your posts and would like to know if you can recommend a good juicing book. I’ve just recently taken my juicing VERY seriously but am still a novice concerning which product to use. A few weeks ago I started juicing beets, carrots, spinach and celery….taking my juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and waiting 30 mins. before eating. Unfortunately, I found this to be very hard on my digestive system creating lots of bloating and some constipation. Although I continued with juicing this combo for a week, feeling gastricly uncomfortable discouraged me and I stopped and spent the following week bringing my system back to normal.
I was wondering if you had any recipes for green juicing that would not be so hard on me? I was also wondering if you had any thoughts as to why my system reacted this way?
THANK YOU!
Lia
I’m really curious about this too? My abdomen has felt very tender and uncomfortable lately and I’m wondering if it is the juice I’m making. Hoping you’ll comment on this topic 🙂
Drink some water first to prep the stomach for juice absorption: Sometimes when people start juicing in addition to their normal diet or on a Reboot, they can experience various digestive upsets or changes. To help alleviate these symptoms, make sure you are drinking plenty of water spread throughout the day in small portions. If there are any individual ingredients that seem to irritate you more than others, eliminate them and adjust the recipe with new or trusted ingredients next time you juice. Removing or reducing the gas-causing vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, onions, and spicy peppers, can also help. Try drinking your juice in smaller portions spread throughout the day, and dilute your juice with 25 percent water as needed. For nausea, try increasing your intake of hot water with lemon and ginger. Gentle exercise, such as walking, yoga, and stretching, has been shown to reduce stomach and digestive upsets. Find out more ways to combat some of these side effects.
http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/rebooting/rebooting-faqs/
Could you please give a few recommendations on which juicer to purchase? Googling gives you an overload of options, being my first time to purchase I don’t know how to pick from the descriptions given. Thank you!!!
Hi Erin – check out the recommended juicers here: https://foodbabe.com/shop/the-best-juicers-and-blenders/
Some Vitamins in leafy greens are fat soluble. Taken on an empty stomach they well not be taken up by the body but just end up as waste.
I use cucumber, carrots, lemon or lime, spinach, gourd, romaine or whatever edible green vegetable leaves found in our country. Please correct me if i am wrong. I learned somewhere that vitamin C can be found more in the peel. So why do we have to peel lime or lemons when juicing? Thank you.
There are a few reasons why people choose to peel the lime/lemons even though they are packed with nutrients. 1) The peel makes the juice bitter 2) Some people don’t have the funds/access to organic lemons so they choose not to use the peels because of this 3) the peels have a high content of oils that can cause indigestion if you aren’t careful.
If I didn’t have my juicer, I’d never get the daily 5 to 10 servings of fruits/veggies needed every day. I’d never be able to physically eat 10 oranges or 10 carrots.
But I’ll be honest: I hate the prep! I also kinda regret throwing the fiber-rich pulp in the compost bin.
I use the pulp in muffins soups, meat loaf ….. also give some to my dogs daily. I freeze it in ice cube trays for future use.
I been juicing for several years now and love the health benefits I’m getting. The downside was cleaning the darn juicer. I switched to the Nutribullet where cleanup is a snap. The mixing bowl is the cup you drink from. Just rinse the blades and you’re done.
My wife and I have been juicing and working out for a month and a half.
We’ve been able to quit coffee, milk, most read meat and we have a small dinner at night. Regarding the pulp the chickens and animal’s love it. It also makes great stock to use or pork over our dogs food.. Every one’s healthy and happy. .. Remember be small or skinny doesn’t mean your healthy or fit… Two hours of kick boxing three times a week changed my Life in a month. Thank you Doug ‘THE RHINO’ Marshal
Team Elite Muay Thai
I always had a very touchy stomach I bought a juicer and was afraid to use it. After a couple of months I did I had no problems with it. Felt better I use all the greens and nuts, shave a little ginger in, I keep ginger in the freezer. A little orange or apple, and always coconut water unflavored . Love my nutri bullet makes the perfect size no left overs make fresh every day. I’m reading here that I might be doing it wrong I make it before I leave for work and I’m good But been drinking it on an empty stomach. Thanks for the info. I agree with Gary nutribullet is great nothing is even left behind it’s done nothing on the blades.
I’ve looked a lot of places on the internet trying to find way to replace some meals with juicing. what would you suggest?
Hi, Food Babe! Love your stuff. I cited your wisdom in my blog post, “excitement about enzymes!!” (http://findingmyyoga.com/the-excitement-of-enzymes/). Thanks so much for being an inspiration. I shall be buying your book AND super cute shirt. xo
I loved this article it was very helpful. However, recently I got a juicer and started off with a green detox… it tasted awful!. You suggest not using any fruits in your green drinks, but are there any recipes out there that actually taste good? I don’t want to get discouraged. All I need is one GOOD TO THE TASTE BUDS recipe. Thank you 🙂
I’m new to juicing and was pleasantly surprised by this one:
1 apple (granny smith)
1/2 lemon
3 celery stalks
1 cucumber
3 kale leafs
small handful of spinach
1 inch ginger root
If it’s still to much, add another apple. Drink this and then over time decrease the apples. I think the best way to do it is to make a juice that tastes good that has your target greens in it and then slowly decrease the fruits as you get used to the flavors.
Thank you very much Lindsey… The recipe I have been using is very similar to yours. Perhaps it is the amount of Kale is too much… I am learning to grin and bear it.. I so want those nutrients, so I will keep trying.
Hi Sharene,
I made a new recipe recently that my girlfriend actually thought tasted good (been trying to get her to juice for ages!):-
225g Spinach
1 1/2 Cucumbers
6-8 Celery sticks
2 Small apples/1 large cooking apple
1 Lemon (or half if you find lemon strong)
Small chunk of ginger
It should make you two 500ml juices, and tastes great. The colour is awesome, too!
Thank you Guy. I will give it a try… hey that Rhymes… 🙂
6 kale leaves
2 cucumber
2 green apples
1/2 lemon
4 stalks of celery
1/2-1 inch piece of ginger (depending on personal taste)
This is delicious. Apples give it a little sweetness. 🙂
Thank you Jenni for your reply. My recipe is almost identical to yours… perhaps I need to play with the amounts a bit. Also seems like quite a bit of juice so I may have to cut that in half, and give it a try.
Mean Green
This was an interesting read. Along my juicing adventures, I have made some of the mistakes you have mentioned. Your post has given me more knowledge and I appreciate it.
You can check out my juicing adventure along with some juicing recipes at http://www.juicingdelights.com/
This was good information, and have made a couple of those “mistakes”. Also, I can see why my son had a bad reaction when drinking them sometimes, plus he has some severe stomach problems anyway. I used to juice and hated the pulp waste and amount of veges you would have to use, expensive! I switched to a Blendtec blender and love it. I add pure water or acai berry juice to thin it out, but I get the whole food and no waste. I will start making less, so it is not sitting in the fridge for a day or so! Thanks for the info!
Question: Do you think it is ok to juice wheatgrass and freeze in ice cube trays?
Dear Foodbabe and fellow juicers,
I know this is an older thread, so I hope someone out there is still reading! I have begun juicing with an Omega (masticating) Juicer, and I’ve been having a Green Drink in the morning on an empty stomach for the last three days–Foodbabe’s Lemon Lime Green juice with celery added and Giada de Laurentiis’ Rise and Shine juice with Kale added. In both drinks I used kale, ginger, celery, and lemon. I am getting the absolute worst headaches, and they’re so terrible I can’t continue this way. I’ve been reading online that this may be detox, but the headaches feel so debilitating that I can’t keep up with this. I’ve read that perhaps I’m using too much of the greens (kale) and should back off of these a little, just adding a few leaves instead of handfuls and handfuls. I’ve also considered that it might be caffeine withdrawal, but the headaches seem too severe for this and in the wrong place (not starting behind the eyes). To be clear, this isn’t from fasting. I wait 2 hours and then eat a healthy meal and eat normally the rest of the day. I’ve been using the green drinks as an addition not as a fast. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for any help you can offer! All Best, Brooke
I do kale, apple, cucumber, celery, and lemon…..its wonderful….tastes great……
Hey. I think I may be able to help. I had this problem too. There may be 2 reasons. Frist reason is if you juice a lot, especially on an empty stomach, it can cause major dehydration. Dehydration causes headaches. So I would recommend you drinking ALOT of water to flush your system. But not any kind of water, it has to be Distilled water! I actually drink on average 2 gallons of distilled water a day. I just finished a 36 hour fast and thats all I drank. The distilled water will help flush out all the impurities. Second, You might have a reaction to amounts of Vitamin B. I was taking B complex vitamins and within 20 min I would get horrible pounding headaches. I would have to take aspirin. I knew it was the B complex because every time I took it I would get the same pounding headache. Once I stopped they went away. Just my 2 cents.
So long story short. Drink a lot of water!
ACEY, thanks so much for your comment and advice. It’s funny you mention the B vitamins because one of the main reasons I started juicing was to get more of the good B vitamins–wouldn’t it be funny if that’s the thing that’s causing the headaches. I had a green juice this morning and am drinking water like you suggested, so thanks. Any idea why it has to be distilled water? Cheers, Brooke.
https://www.mercola.com/article/water/distilled_water.htm
Brooke – HANG IN THERE. The first FOUR days are BRUTAL. The headaches go away and you should feel better by day 5 if not sooner. As for distilled water? That is a new one. My nutritionist explained that tap water is fine (some juice fasts recommend coconut water and he said it was a waste of money). It’s worth it if you stick with it.
I have been juicing for four days now, and yesterday I had the worst headache. It was my 3rd day and it was DEFINITELY caffeine withdrawal. I seriously thought I was going to die! ..and I have a high pain tolerance! I took an Epsom salt bath with an ice pack on my neck and drank a little juice and H2O and went to sleep. The next morning (this morning) I felt like I had a hangover but was fine. Don’t give up! Make sure you are drinking 1/2 your body weight in oz of water. I wasn’t!
Any information ? How to loose weight by juicing, my fat is all around my belly.
I do exercise twice or more in week, I am 30 lb over weight , I am 67 years old.
Please help me. Thanks
Hi Nasim,
You may be interested in trying the Juice Guide program: https://foodbabe.com/juiceguide/
Had a question. I recently started to juice again. I have the juicerator 6001. It about 10-15 years old, maybe older, but still strong and still goes for about 200$ on the internet. Only problem I have with it is that it shakes really bad once I juice around 30 OZ of juice, and I have to stop and clear the pulp from the filter which fixes the problem.
My question is should I buy a new juicer thats up to date? I was told by someone that I should get a juicer that blends the pulp instead of throwing it away because it has a lot of nutritional value? Like the nutribullet? Because after I clean my juicerator I throw out a tons of pulp.
Dr. Mercola says to not combine fruits with vegetables when juicing besides lemon and lime. Why do you add fruit to your green juices and do you think they’re still effective?
Juicing is a great way to help you live a healthy life. juicing recipes are perfect for kids, teenagers and adults. I believe, the earlier in life you start juicing the better your health will be in the long run. I have some more juicing tips on my site http://www.healthy-eating-habit.com/Juicingrecipes.html
Recipes call for a “bunch” of kale, spinach, etc. How much is a bunch?! One of the bunches held together by wire in the grocery store? A handful? Arggggh!! Can you tell I am rather new to this? Thanks for all the great information.
Yes Pam – a bunch like you would see tied together at the grocery store. If you go with a leafy green that is not a kale bunch, then you can use that as a guide as to how much you put in your juice. 🙂 Feel free to experiment and find what works best for you!
what happen when we mix the, spinach, lemon juice, orange juice, aloe Vera, ginger, parsley, carrots, green apple, celery, and a little bit of honey? and why the stomach start to hurt after a while?
Hi! I just started juicing and I’m concerned about that I’m doing it right.
I did 1 lbs. of spinach and I only 1/2 cup of juice out of it.
1 pineapple 1 cup.
Am I doing something wrong?
I did them separately just so I can mix them by hand so see what I like together.
I did a bag of kale and after redoing the same kale twice in the juicer I got more stuff out.
What about frozen stuff is it to recommend to us or not in a juicer ???
The beginner…
Natural fructose does not raise insulin. And no physiology book you can find anywhere will say that it does.
Our bodies have only a limited capacity to deal with high levels of fructose, High intake of fructose bypasses the body’s normal processes of controlling the amount of sugar in the bloodstream – the body produces the hormone insulin to use or store the glucose it gets from food. But high levels of fructose don’t stimulate the body to produce insulin and hormones that suppress appetite. As a result, fatty substances can build up in the liver, causing them to become enlarged and inefficient, leading ultimately to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
I am new to juicing and I haven’t quite figured it out. Whenever I try to juice kale or spinach I dint get anything out of it. It all turns into mush and gets pushed out like pulp. Any suggestions?
I want to start ear clean and I started with juices. I drink apple juice every morning and I feel incredibly good. I think eat clean means to pick very carefully what you put in your stomach. So, be careful!
Hi Food babe!
This is certainly a very interesting article.
I want to ask you a question though.
I have been juicing my veggies since two months now. I do see and have earned great benefits.
I have been a sufferer of chronic constipation and juicing certainly has helped with that.
Very recently, I did something with my normal juice and I want you to please tell me if I should continue doing it.
I juiced my veggies like I normally do, then I poured the juice in a blender and added some of the veggie pulp (that’s contained in the juicer) to my juice and blended it. It turned out to be thick but I stick drank it, chewing it away like you mentioned in the article before swallowing. I did this to add some fiber to my juice as I don’t really feel like eating veggies with my juice. Is that ok? Or I should have my juice only without the pulp?
Anxiously waiting for your reply!
P.s. this new way gave me a diarrhea attack the first time. But I tried it again today n nothing really happened.
I just started a 3 day detox cleanse. After one day, I can barely handle the lunch time green drink.
Could you advise , should Cucumbers and the green apples be peeled? Also I use half a lime in the drink, I peel the rine off. Is is better to cut the fruit out thus removing both the skin and the white pith the surrounds the fruit? Right now I am including the pith and my drink taste like a soggy celery pith drink.
My ingredients are:
4 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 C Kale
1/2 green apple
1/2 lime
1/2 C almond milk
1 C pineapple
Thanks in advance!
Albert, I don’t have all the answers, but for peeling the apples and cucumbers…it depends on your juicer. I have a Breville Multi-Speed, and I don’t peel apples or softer skinned cucumbers. If the skin on the cucumber feels tougher/harder, I will peel those. For lemons/limes, I do try to get most of the pith off, but that’s mainly to reduce the bitterness and not because of my juicer. I would also try your recipe without the almond milk; I like almond milk, but I’m not sure I would like it in the juice. My fave combo so far is:
1 cucumber
4 celery stalks
2 sm/med apples
6-8 kale leaves
1/2 lemon (sometimes I use a whole one)
1-2″ piece of ginger ( a little goes a loooong way!)
I find this juice quite refreshing, and it’s my go-to recipe.
I think there is more to it about sugars in juices and raw fruits, than saying they spike insulin release and therefore cause fat to be stored, etc. Check out this very interesting video, summerizing some of the latest studies on fruit and fruit juices, but especially berries!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHEJE6I-Yl4
And what about those 80/10/10 raw vegans who don’t look fat to me, nor do they have promblems with their blood sugar.? I for one, am not going to avoid fruits when juicing. But, I don’t go crazy with a 30 banana smoothie, either! I have been juicing for over 10 years and get my blood work done 2x a year. My blood sugar is fine.
Do you have any books or recipes to suggest for optimal juicing? Thank you.
Alicia,
Yes, check out the Food Babe Juice Guide here: https://foodbabe.com/juiceguide/
I gave FB an idea for a Test type product, but no reply ?
Seems like there is no input section?
I used to juice, but it ran right through me. Now I use a mixer and put carrots, celery, greens, apple, banana, blueberries with water and unsweetened almond milk. It makes me feel great and keeps me going. It is very hard for me to believe that eating the whole food is not better for you than just the juice.
I want to start introducing juicing into my son’s diet. He is 3. He needs more greens in his diet. I want to find out the best way to introduce juices to him without him being grossed out and not want to drink the juice.
Randi I would start adding chopped spinach or kale to his meatloaf, turkeyburger,etc or whatever he likes…You can even bake with them….Then after his body adjusted you could make him a little smoothie…It would be hard on a little ones tummy if you juiced..That’s my opinion…
My daughter introduced me to juicing. I love it. I use,beets,red or orange,half an apple small orange,some kale,bell peppers and ginger. O my it’s wonderful. I didn’t use to like ginger,but it’s an acquired taste and now I love it. Love juicing. I do change up the kale with spinach sometimes.
As much as I’d love to juice, I’m pregnant and can’t have anything unpasteurized. I have a kale smoothie every morning, which I love. I make it the night before and refrigerate overnight to save time in the morning (which really helps with all the morning commotion before work), but now I’m worried I shouldn’t because of what you said about waiting too long to consume it after it’s been prepared. Do I run the same risk with refrigerating a smoothie overnight? Anyone know for sure?
Also didn’t realize I was supposed to rotate the greens. Just when I think I’m doing something good!
I’m curious which juicer you use? I’m thinking of buying the omega horizontal or vertical, but my main needs are time/clean up & quality.
Check out the recommendations here: https://foodbabe.com/shop/the-best-juicers-and-blenders/
I personally use a Breville and it takes me about 15 minutes total time to make a juice (wash, prep, juice, clean up)
What can I use in place of cucumbers? I know they are good for you but they make me gag. Can’t stand the taste or even the smell. 🙁
Sherry – you can try using celery instead 🙂
Thank you for another informative post! I do have to say, however, that I prefer smoothies to juices any day. I definitely think it’s a personal preference thing….but being able to retain all of the fiber in smoothies vs juices is what gives smoothies an upper hand in my book. But whatever you prefer, I do agree that both are beneficial!
Where is the science behind drinking green juice on an empty stomach? This sounds like opinion and not backed by actually physical science. I searched all over, and found this to be false as there is no 100% adverse affect to drinking a green smoothie after having eaten other foods.
I started my health food journey originally from liking your page on Facebook, and since I have become obsessed with food. After watching documentaries and reading several articles, I have come to a conclusion that being raw vegan is the healthiest diet for my body. I’m wondering why you never touch on raw food or veganism? I would suspect you to definitely be a raw foodist since from what I have read is the healthiest option. Also if you were to spread some knowledge on how being vegan is the most sustainable diet that would be amazing. Since you have such a following you could really make an impact… If everyone consumed less meat we can drive the GMO seed companies out of business and more importantly save our planet. More raw vegan recipes would be appreciated !!! Mahalo let me your thoughts
Being a vegan is unhealthy. I guarantee that you will either end up anemic or you will end up hospitalized. We have evolved as meat eaters and continue to evolve as such. The research you have done is propaganda.
The clear and present danger is that most people do not realize the actual work required to come up with a diet that will provide the proper amount of essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. While there are some cultures that have centuries old practice at developing diets that work, it would appear from an even casual review of the web and other sources, that it is easy to come way short of the info one needs to have a proper diet using the vegan or vegetarian precepts. My concern is that the diets become trendy and folks do not take the time to learn what they need to do to get proper nutrition. I pretty much opt for the Med. Diet. It has fish, etc. but lots of veg. fruits, essential fatty acids, etc.
Very interesting post,there are many benefits of juice and at the same time it also depend on the type of juicer one is using to make it.Most experts prefer masticating juicer than any other types as it produce low heat and prevent nutrient of the juice.For those interested in making juice for healthy purpose, you can read reviews of those juicer to get the most and top rated juicer in the market.
Gary at Retailer Depot mentioned what I found… juicers are a pain to clean and the Nutribullet is awesome and easy. You just rinse the blades and cup and you’re done. Simple and fast. If you want to put a little soapy liquid and water in the glass, you just turn on the Nutribullet and the blending gives it a really good clean.
My question that I haven’t figured out from the comments is… Is using the Nutribullet and drinking your meal with all the juice AND fiber bad for you?
I’ve never even come close to eating so many great fresh foods, vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, etc. with a juicer as I have with the Nutribullet because of the clean-up.
I combine spinach and kale, and celery and carrots and pineapple, and apple and blue, black and raspberries and sunflower seeds, almonds, chia seeds, maca, cacao, gogi berries, all this stuff I’d never normally eat… I liquify it and drink it. It’s awesome. But, again, is all the fiber for some reason bad for you?
After workouts, I have a sweeter version… mostly fruits, like a banana, strawberry or other berries, almonds, chocolate or vanilla rice protein powder, a mix blend of chia, maca and cacao and it’s like a desert or milkshake.
Is all this fiber bad?
Can you clarify Vani? I’m vegetarian (but eat eggs and cheese), and I love this Nutribullet because of it’s speed and ease to clean.
By the way, great interview with Lewis Howes on The School of Greatness, which is where I just heard about you. Thanks for all your efforts and keep up the great work! What you’re doing for the benefit of all of us is AWESOME!
I’m curious… Loved the book! 😀 but in the juicing chapter it talks about how certain juicers you can store juice longer… How is suja juice OK if we don’t know how long it’s been on the shelves?
The pH of stomach acid is in the range of 1.5-3.5. It is safe to say that enzymes found in nature and in our bodies operate at somewhere close to neutral pH. They are denatured at pH levels below and significantly above that. Whether globular proteins like enzymes or other shapes like animal muscle and plant protein, the stomach acid “unrolls” (denatures) proteins so that proteolytic enzymes can start chopping up the protein strings. What difference does it make if the enzyme is from a very fresh piece of kale or a wilted one if it is going to be denatured and chopped into amino acid strings in the stomach and in the small intestine. It would not seem that the enzyme survives the journey. Just wondered.
New to juicing and need advice…using only green veggies as I have Candidia Albicans and need to eliminate sugar. My juice is fine but the taste is awful it is making me feel sick and today I have no energy shaking and heart palpitations.
Using the following
Kale
Cucumber
Brussels sprouts
Celery
Ginger
Cabbage
Please help as I need to continue this without the side effects.
Add 1 apple and pear. This should sweeten it up. Also. For energy add parsley. Even if I don’t juice and have no energy I eat a bundle of parley. better than coffee!!
Try cutting out the cabbage and Brussel sprouts. They have very strong flavors.
I’ve been doing my green juice for about a week in the morning.
The past 3 days my kidney area has been hurting. Is this normal if so how long does it last?
I’ve been juicing spinach, cilantro, kale and green apples
I heard that the Jack LaLane juicer was very good any comments I am ready to start and I do want a decent machine
What is the difference between making juice and making a smoothy? I have juiced things in my blender. I’ve made pineapple juice, orange juice, carrot juice, and grape juice. Why is using a juicer over a blender important? What does it do that a blender doesn’t, or vice versa?