Читать книгу Bernadette Bohan’s The Choice: The Programme: The simple health plan that saved Bernadette’s life – and could help save yours too - Bernadette Bohan - Страница 12

If ever there was a piece of equipment worthy of a place in your kitchen, it has got to be a juicer. It is important to spend a bit of time choosing the correct machine for your needs. There are so many brands on the market today that you could be forgiven for not knowing which one is best. I myself survived for some time with the centrifugal type of juicer, which is of the less expensive variety readily available in the high street. I use the word survived because I found it fiddly and difficult juicing daily with this type of machine. The reasons for this were:

Centrifugal machines are difficult to clean. Be sure to check this out before purchasing a juicer. It is an extremely important point to remember, as cleaning can be time-consuming especially if you’re trying to fit making juices into an already full and busy schedule.

They are wasteful as they produce a lot of pulp, which is not very cost effective.

They mainly extract the water from the fruit and vegetables. You will notice this as the juice separates after a very short time.

They can also destroy the nutrients in the juice, as these machines operate at very high speeds (about 3,000 revs per minute).

The juicer I now use is a masticating juicer. I carried out a lot of research on many different machines before I discovered the machine I wanted. (You will find addresses in the Resources section to help you if you wish to purchase a masticating juicer). My trusty juicer will juice anything you throw at it. I have had trouble-free use of this robust machine for the past six years.

Juicing is not the only thing I use this machine for; it has many other uses and I have found it to be an effortless way of making cookies and crackers. I feel sure I haven’t yet explored its full potential. Many of my students amaze me when they tell me of the wonderful foods they have managed to make with this machine. Natural healing centres throughout the world have been using these masticating machines for many years. They grind and crush the fruits and vegetables slowly, at around 110 revolutions per minute. While masticating juicers are more expensive, I have certainly found my machine to be worth the extra cost. It provides several advantages:

The slow grinding process produces a good-quality juice loaded with enzymes and nutrients. Independent studies show that they extract up to 74 per cent more vitamins and minerals than centrifugal juicers.

These machines are easy to clean and, believe me, this is a huge advantage and a major selling point of masticating juicers. A quick tip: after a juicing session I open the nozzle at the front of the machine and, with the machine turned on, pour a jug of water through the machine. This cleans out 90 per cent of any leftover waste and there is virtually no cleaning left to do.

They produce very little pulp. I collect what little pulp there is in a small glass and pass it through the machine again and again to squeeze more juice from it.

Wheatgrass and all leafy green vegetables (major sources of chlorophyll and nutrients) can be easily juiced in these twingear masticating juicers. With the cheaper machines these leafy greens get stuck and can jam the machine.

These are just a few of the things to consider when purchasing a juicer, and I hope you find this short analysis of their relative effectiveness useful. I have researched and discussed the merits of various types of juicers with many experts and they all seem to have come to the same or similar conclusions.