Why It Pays To Use A Slow Juicer When Making Fresh Juice

Juicing is a great way to get a concentrated dose not just of yummy fruit and vegetable flavors, but also their antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Old-school hand-wringing is perfectly fine for extracting the juice from citrus fruits, but lousy for things like fresh ginger. The good news is that there's a big variety of mechanical juicers on the market, which tend to come in two versions: the centrifugal type or the slow (sometimes known as the mastication) type. We think slow juicing is the way to go: It's great for pulling out most of the nutrients and best suited for leafy or fibrous vegetables.

Unlike the centrifugal types, slow juicers don't use blades, which can introduce heat into the process, negatively affecting the nutritional value. Instead, they use a low-speed auger to grind the fruit or vegetable up (that's why machines are also called "masticating juicers"). Once the material is ground up, it's forced through a fine screen, separating the pulp. It's a gentle process that not only extracts maximal nutritional value, but also helps preserve those nutrients by reducing oxidation.

Slow juicers work just as well making nut milk and frozen fruit treats as they do OJ. Their only real downside (apart from cleaning, which is a tedious part of the process) is the need to cut the produce into smaller pieces before adding it to the juicer; not a big deal. If you're into maximizing the nutritional value of the juice, don't peel the produce first — this will help extract more vitamins as well. If not consuming it immediately, you can refrigerate your juice for up to three days. (Frozen juice will stay good for about a year.) Both of these methods help preserve the juice's vitamins and nutrients.

Now on to several health benefits of slow juicing: better nutrient absorption (because slow juicers break down the produce's cell walls); better digestion (they do the same thing to fiber); the various benefits from consuming antioxidants; and — perhaps most important of all — a whole lot of deliciousness. Don't forget to keep the pulp!