![]() Great brands for home juicers include Hurom and Omega. Newer models use the cold-press method, which gently but firmly applies pressure to extract a vegetable’s juice without heat. ![]() Older models, sometimes called centrifugal juicers, use blades to slice, thereby exposing produce to both heat and oxygen, both of which reduce a juice’s nutritional value. The method by which a juice is extracted matters quite a bit to how well a vegetable’s nutrients can be used by the body. (A great alternative is blitzing whole greens into smoothies with a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, thereby mitigating fiber loss.) On the other hand, fiber is crucial to cashing in on the digestive and heart health benefits that greens offer, and it helps keep the body’s blood sugar from spiking. In a way, juicing vegetables is almost like pre-digesting them by removing their most fibrous parts and extracting their vitamins, minerals and sugars, juicing allows the body’s enzymes to act quickly and efficiently on those nutrients. Juicing, or the act of extracting liquid from a fruit or vegetable, has a long history of being linked to healthful living, particularly after the development of juice pasteurization in the early part of the 20th century. So how do green vegetable juices and powders compare to each other? Benefits & drawbacks of Vegetable Juice While consuming whole, fresh greens is always the best way to benefit from their nutrients, juicing and powders can be helpful in getting the recommended daily amount. Department of Agriculture recommends eating two to three cups of vegetables per day, but most Americans find it tough to meet that goal: the USDA reported that the average American consumes only 1.5 cups of vegetables per day, of which just 10 percent is comprised of greens. In other words, we understand why they’re called superfoods. Every day, studies and articles tout the nutritional benefits of consuming foods like kale, spinach and broccoli, which are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, and low in carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol. We all know dark, leafy green vegetables are good for us.
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