Juicing: The Connection Between Pain Meds, Spinal Injury, Ulcers
 

OK, this topic is a little unusual but I’ll explain. I just started researching juicers/extractors as I’d like to get one some time this summer. I know that juicing provides 1.1 zillion health benefits, but there’s a lot to learn about the various design and models.

If anyone out there has a juicer, and likes its design, please let me know. In the meantime, I found this review (excerpted) on Amazon:

“…My wife and I have had this for four months of intense juicing of cabbage and occasionally broccoli. My wife had multiple stomach and duodenal ulcers from medications due to a spinal injury and we combed the internet looking for studies on the best home remedies, as prescription antacids were not healing her. We chanced across two studies on raw cabbage juice healing ulcers in a matter of weeks, so that led me to research juicers…”

I have an older juicer that I dont think is made any more. Id does not get used much as it is a royal PITA to clean. It is the old type where the pulp gets slung outward and caught in the surrounding dish. The other problem is the spout height, too low for most cups or glasses requiring a shallow dish.

I would look for:

Ease of cleaning
Pulp ejection
A high enough discharge to put a reasonable container under it.

I have been eyeballing the Jack LaLane unit, but have not tried it. The unit you linked to looks more like a wheatgrass juicer, and looks like a lot of cleaning work.

Hope this helps give you more to think about!

Jason

Oh the irony...
 

I have been wanting to find a quality juicer (without paying $800-1000) ever since my fusion surgery. The first evening of my surgery I could not go to sleep because the meds and/or anesthesia were giving me hallucinations and for some reason I could not sleep. I ended up staying awake most of the night watching the Jack Lalanne juicer infomercial.

I was absolutely convinced that I had to have one and if I had not left my credit card at home I would have ordered one right there and then. I did however get up and put the 800 number in my phone so that I could order one when I got home. :laugh: I never did order one though.

Harrison if you ended up buying something that you can recommend, I would love to hear all about it.

Juicing: Let Food be Your Medicine!
 

Jason, thx for sharing your insights on your juicer design. As we know, there’s a lot to know about the biochemistry of juicing! I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time reading about juicing the past six months: the healing power of juices, raw juice chemistry, juicer designs, juicer reviews, books, etc. I’ve learned a lot and would like to learn more from you too.

I purchased a juicer a Breville BJE510XL that has received good reviews and is easy to clean e.g., 4-6 minute cleanup. I purchased it from Amazon for $160. I know that this centrifugal type is not necessarily recommended by the Gerson Institute, who has over sixty years of institutional knowledge on the healing power of raw juices for degenerative diseases. They recommend the Norwalk juicer, which uses a two step process: grinding then pressing. If you can afford the $2500 to get one, go for it! Can you get me one too?

One legitimate design limitation of centrifugal juicers is that because the stainless steel basket spins very fast, the juice separation causes an electrostatic charge, thereby ionizing the juice – which causes some loss of enzymes and vitamins. I believe this to be true, but suspect that this loss may be small (here's one reference on this tricky subject). But it’s important that no matter how you juice, you drink the fresh juice immediately. All fresh juices lose their enzymatic and nutritional value quickly – measured in minutes!

The Breville has five speeds, which does allow juicing of soft fruits or veggies, also preserving some of the nutrition as mentioned above. The $80 Hamilton Beach 67650 Big Mouth Pro is a good basic juicer too which also has decent reviews from Consumer Reports.

A word of caution here -- you do have to be careful of when juicing –- there’s an awful lot to know about produce nutrition:

1. Only buy and juice organic fruits and vegetables. I won’t even explain this here; it’s too involved and you should know the basics on this by now!

2. Fresh raw juices can be powerful medicine. For example, many vegetables have goitrogens – powerful natural chemicals that interact and even interfere with thyroid metabolism. Broccoli and cabbages are the more popular examples; but even veggies that are not considered cruciferous may have goitrogenic effects. Isn’t it interesting that these same veggies are known to be cancer-fighters?!

3. Fresh juices can also contain phytoestrogens (as in soy), which can alter the delicate balance in of hormones in both men and women. In women, this can lead to irregularities in the menstrual cycle; in men, changes in libido.

4. Some juicing books suggest not mixing fruits and veggies together, with a few exceptions like carrot-apple and carrot-apple-beet.

5. Many books will provide specific recipes for focusing on alleviating certain medical conditions, e.g.: arthritis, liver or kidney cleansing, diabetes, fatigue…

6. Fresh juice contains thousands of potent enzymes and vitamins and can quickly “clean out” your body, which is good, but it puts enormous strain on your liver, kidneys and other organs. It would be wise to do your homework on detoxification essentials while ALSO getting the support of a seasoned nutritionist and naturopathic doctor.

I know a few people from this community that started juicing recently and have made substantial improvements in their well-being, perhaps they will post here. I hope this information helps, pls do share your thoughts and observations with us.

A lot to chew on...
 

Harrison,

You're clearly ahead of me in the juicing learning curve :D I'll keep these tips in mind when I start. After my fusion I did start researching different juicers but I read so many differing reviews that I felt it was too hard to decide what to buy. Good pulp extraction and easy to clean up were my initial criteria but then as you point out you can really get technical with all the components and honestly I would have no way of truly knowing what is best. I am hoping to find something that is long lasting, easy to clean, with good pulp/mineral extraction for under $250.

I hope others post their experiences.

Sorry if my post was verbose, but I mentioned the two models I am familiar with like for various reasons. I just added the links in the previous post and the product descriptions also include customer reviews.

Note: I learned that the prices on Amazon vary considerably, even for the same models...

Juicing
 

Juicing, Enzymes, Diet
 

Dan, thanks for posting. As you may know, people with degenerative diseases often have compromised diets. Hell, most Americans do!

As a result, we often have compromised health; meaning the GI tract, liver, gall bladder (et al) are in poor condition to support “good” immunity and detoxification. By now, there are tens of thousands of published works that accentuate this important human health message.

Even last night, I caught five minutes of Bill Clinton on Letterman and he cited statistics praising the cardiovascular improvements that study participants made by switching to a “plant-based” diet. Go to your local library and check out the books on enzymes! I’ll start reading one soon by Dr. Shinya, who has expertise in gastrointestinal health, diet, enzymes and overall health. These experts are hard to find, but I believe will become more sought after in the future – as their understanding of the human body will be accepted and needed!

A page from his practice’s web site is below.

_________________________________________

Dr. Shinya's menu for good health

“ A good dietary health” is the most important factor for you to enjoy a long and healthy life. Good dietary health keeps one’s stomach and intestine clean and prevents the body from decreasing the so called “Miracle Enzymes”.

Good Eating Habits

Good eating habits are essential for a healthy life. This means maintaining "The Miracle Enzymes" and keeping the intestines clean. Let’s review your eating habits; What, When, and How do you eat? Do you understand and control your dietary life?
Dr. Shinya recommends dividing food intake to 90% fruits and vegetables and 10% protein.

The points for good eating are:

1. Eat unpurified grains or cereals.
2. Eat more vegetables.
3. More seafood, less meat.
4. Eat raw foods.
5. Do not eat oxidized foods.
6. Eat fermented foods.
7. Avoid milk and milk products.
8. Take Vitamins and Minerals
9. Be disciplined with the food you eat. Remember, you are what you eat!

Good Water

Water is essential for your health. Drinking “good water” such as mineral water; especially hard water which has much calcium and magnesium keeps your body at an optimal alkaline PH. Optimal quantity is about 2 -3 cups about 1 hour before each meal.

Good Excretion

Start a daily habit to remove 'intestinal pollutants.' and to clean out your systems regularly.

Correct Exercise

Exercise is good for your health.
Walking (about 2.5 miles/day), swimming, tennis, golf, stretch, etc.
Rest / Sleep
Relax mentally and physically
Take enough time to sleep.
Being Stress-Free / Be Happy!
Positive thinking increases one’s immunity.
Negative thinking decreases one’s immunity.
Be good to yourself.
Saying 'NO' to release your stress.

Juicing 101 - Nutrition Info Wanted
 

Fellow Juicers,

I purchased a Breville juicer and have been using it for a week now and really love using it. One thing that I would like to learn more about is how much should I be juicing to receive a healthy amount of vitamins/enzymes. Since I received my juicer I've been juicing every day and usually have a fruit drink in the morning and a vegetable drink in the afternoon. I purchased The Complete Book of Juicing by Michael T. Murray, N.D. which provides recipies and nutritional information on all the drinks but I am not sure if I am getting too little or too much of the nutrients from the fruits and veg that I am using. How much is too much? How often do most people juice? Once a day or more? Just curious what other folks do to get the most out of their juicers.

I think everyone has to find their own rhythm on juicing; meaning, find what fits their body and schedule. I think the hard part, to your point, is finding what your body “wants” and “needs.” I am a little concerned about doing too much of it, as raw juice contains hundred of powerful enzymes, vitamins and minerals and is powerful medicine (see earlier post).

It seems like you found a good balance; but if you can find a good nutritionist or NP that may provide good advice – go for it. There’s a lot to know about detoxification indeed!

Thanks for the book mention by Michael Murray. I didn’t know about this book, but read the book on Candidiasis he wrote which is excellent and an easy read. For anyone with yeast issues I recommend it. It’s on Amazon or maybe at your local library.

Back to healthy juicing. My sister found a pamphlet on Raw Juice Therapy from the 1950s in a used books store. It’s an interesting piece, chock-full of insights that are especially useful today. I scanned it and attached as Word document, see the attached. Also note the testimonials in the back cover a wide range of medical conditions.

If anyone is amenable to spell checking and editing this document, I’d be much obliged! ; )

Harrison this is good info...

I was a manager of a retail kitchen store chain for 4 years and had to quit because of back pain. I do have lots of training when it comes to kitchen appliances.

I used to own the Juiceman and thought it was ok until I bought the Breville from my workplace. The Breville had much dryer pulp. My old one had pulp I could still squeeze juice out of.

The Breville doesn't need a lot of prep. You can drop a whole Apple in it and its not a challenge to the machine.

I would note that juicers aren't really made for citrus. You can put it in a juicers but a lot of the juice goes out with the pulp.
Citrus really needs a press. I have the Breville citrus press and love it. Especially living in Florida. I can make a large pitcher of juice in little time.

In the last year, I switched to using a Vitamix instead.

You get more fiber this way. Every morning I put some yogurt, spinach, ice cubes and fresh fruit in the Vitamix. Best way to eat spinach because you can't taste it.

My doctor told me that when you chew food, enzymes in your saliva help to breakdown the food and get the nutrients out of it. Some people who gulp their smoothies, end up with a stomach ache because they missed the necessary saliva to go with it. So, my doctor told me to try to "chew" each mouthful before swallowing so you get the enzymes.

We grow a lot of veggies, so I throw in all kinds of stuff. Beets are one of our favs.

Thanks for reminding me about the citrus juice press. My mom used one in the 60s that was very much like the one you use. Pressing fruit is always better than centrifugal juicers; the high speed electrostatic process is said to remove important enzymes from the fruits and veggies. Well, that may be, but my juicer has helped me heal from the the damage caused by the systemic bacterial infection (mycoplasma pneumonia).

I sometimes add different roots (ginger, burdock, celery root) and greens into the juice mix. I always add a few drops of flax seed oil to help with the absorption of fat soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin A.

I’d like to get a Vitamix, but $450 is a lot to spend. But if you use it more than the centrifugal, it’s worth it! I talked to a few people this week about this – they are glad they forked out the bucks as they love their Vitamix. They have achieved better health by giving their bodies what they’ve missing – vitamins, enzymes and minerals lacking from the American diet.

Thx again for sharing. :)

BTW, I have not seen this yet -- but I look forward to seeing this for reasons we all mentioned in different ways in this thread:

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Fa...4?trkid=496624

Wow, what a unique documentary!? :shedance: Albeit, not entirely entertaining.

Used to juice ALOT. Wore out 2 centrifugal juicers. Ended up buying a Champion on the recommendation of the health food store I frequented. Owner said his was 20+ years old. He opens a box and pulls out a washing machine motor! (I'm not joking folks). It's a grinder type, pulp fairly dry. Juiced 2 lbs of carrots, 1 lb of apples, 1 turnip, 1 pineapple and some greens every day for about 3 years. Machine is as good as the day I brought it home. It's not very elegant, doesn't magnetize, ionize or Simonize your juice but it does the job.

Food processing, blending, juicing...
 

Hey all, just updating this topic. I am finally shopping for a blender replacement. Vicki, I reread your message and it was helpful. I sent you an email a few weeks ago, I hope you got it. I learned a while ago that the Vitamix won't fit under my cabinet, and also learned about the Ninja's six blade technology which seems useful for almost anything.

I am looking to make purees (fruits and veggies), raw/diced foods and juices too -- even though I have a Breville which leaves a lot of waste pulp.

Any thoughts on high-performance blending would be appreciated. :)

Juicers
 

I'm late on the thread here... I too have the Breville 510XL Ikon 900. It's efficient and rather easy to clean, but if I had to do it again I would not buy a centrifugal juicer. It's an effective way to get juice, but a less effective way to yield both quantity and quality of juice. As a consolation I just bought myself a hand powered masticating juicer for my greens.

There is a secondary solution to the Norwalk (even recommended by the Gerson Institute), and that's to get a Champion juicer to grind the produce and then a separate Welles hydraulic press to squeeze it. It will run you $7-800 but it is still less than the Norwalk!

*tip: you can add vitamin C powder to reduce oxidation if you are gonna save some for consumption later in the day.

I am working up to a long juice fast, which I want to do before my surgery to be in optimal health going in. If you are considering juice fasting, it's imperative that you also include a regimen like coffee enemas to help move the toxins out of your body so the nutrients can move in for healing!

I've primarily treated my injuries thus far naturally/holistically so if anyone has any questions about supplements and or natural healing I'm happy to offer input! :)

Jules

Andrew Saul and Company
 

If you're interested in documentaries, I highly recommend Food Matters Welcome to 'Food Matters' - You Are What You Eat | FOODMATTERS�

A great website for orthomolecular and nutritional medicine is Dr. Andrew Saul's DoctorYourself.com - Health, Naturally!

Great post Jules. Glad we are like-minded in nutrition! and thx for the link to the film. I should know about that one, but I didn't. I attended the Gerson Therapy seminar in 2010, so it was neat to see Charlotte Gerson in the video clip. She it truly an amazing woman!

I saw the Norwalks there at the seminar. I may get one some day...

juice fast
 

I'm currently on Day 6 of a 7 or 8 day juice fast.
With my surgery on the horizon I decided to do a pre-surgical juice fast, and then a post-surgical juice fast.
It's been an interesting journey. Being a vegetarian and an already healthy person I don't have too many complaints about things like headaches and feeling ill. I can say that my chronic constant pain has greatly reduced (at least for now), and that the range of motion especially in my neck has increased quite dramatically. Awesome! I don't want it to be too much of a shock to my system being under anesthesia and medications in the hospital so I am trying to give myself enough time in between fasting and surgery (April 12th) to return to regular healthy eating. After surgery for optimal healing and expulsion of all the toxic medicine I'll have in my system I plan to do a longer fast. Go juicers go! :)

Way to go Jules!

What are you doing for juicing these days? For the detox, will you be using more roots, like beets (and leaves), ginger or burdock? Or sticking to the greens?

On a different note, I've been using liquid chlorophyl recently. I'd like to learn more about the copper complex that is part of this formulation.

Increased range of motion and less pain?! Keep going! Before you know it, you'll be back at Muay Thai...

...or Tai Chi. :wiggle:

I hope back to muay thai!!! fingers crossed!

I did 7 days this time around. I juiced all sorts of stuff. Fruits and veggies. lots of combos. celery, carrot, beet, spinach, kale, cucumber, cabbage, cilantro, ginger, mint, fennel, lemon, blood orange, papaya, apple, pineapple, watermelon, tomato, garlic, grapes, grapefruit, onion, pear

My favorite fruit juice combo: papaya, pineapple, (fresh) coconut water

My favorite green juice combo: celery, granny smith apple, parsley or cilantro, spinach, kale, meyer lemon, ginger (and sometimes cucumber)

meyer lemons definitely make a huge difference being less tart.

How's your juicing going?

Jules, sorry for the late reply.

Wow, you are very ambitious with your program. I am down to juicing simple combos 2-4 times weekly. Mostly, carrot-ginger, often add apples. I've been slacking on carrot-beet (including the greens, which are extra nutritious) Always organic.

Last year, I read all the juicing books I could; many said to avoid fruit-veggie combinations, but not one explained why. The Gerson folks teach this in their seminars, while offering the obvious exceptions. That credibility and 50 year legacy of learning/research/healing was good enough for me.

I took this picture late last year of my beet/green-carrot-ginger juice, as I sat in my living room. The reflections from a mirror in the room accentuated the magic and health in healing foods. No touch-ups. Let your food be your medicine!

I look forward to juicing with you some day. Maybe I can be your muay thai punching bag. I may occasionally move to make it remotely interesting...:jacks:

Hi Jules, hope all is well and you are back in to the juicing groove. A question to you and others -- have you looked at or do you own any of the Ninja products? I am looking for a multi-purpose system for food processing and blending.

Ninja� Kitchen Products Blend, Process, Juice & More! | Official Site

I love love love my ninja! although I would like to have a vitamix, sadly it is not in my budget, so I have a very low end juicer which does not work very well.

My ninja on the other hand is great! I use it to make smoothies, chop all sorts of vegetables, and chop nuts. It is a lifesaver when I make soups and other recipes.

Here in Canada it occasionally goes on sale for an extremely reasonable price.

So although it is not a high end system at all, it has served me very well.

Forgot to mention...I have the ninja master prep pro. Have been debating buying one of the others.

Omega juicers are the way to go. Also, Dr. Mercola is a VERY good source about all things health. The guy was ahead of the curve, esp about the benefits of Fish Oil and the dangers of grains

Sorry I missed your posts Rich!
 

I think you sent the first one as I was preparing for surgery and then I totally missed the other. Did u get a ninja? I don't have one, I have a cuisinart food processor, oster blender (amazingly it works great) and a juicer. I like to take up as much space in my kitchen as possible. ;) one day hopefully I'll get a vitamix!

As far as fruit/veggie combos go, from what I know that is true, not to mix, except certain things like green apples work with greens and oranges and carrots are supposedly a good combo, but I've never tried.

I was so inspired by my journey, that I am now on my way to becoming a licensed holistic health practitioner, certified clinical nutritionist and certified master herbalist. I'd like to help educate the masses on natural medicine and detoxing the environment. :)

Let Me know if you have any questions.

Thanks Jules, glad you are doing well!

Hey, is your Oster good for making purees and green drinks? Even though I researched, reviewed and looked at many models, I am still not sure what machine to buy. Every machine seems to have both really good and really bad reviews...just like doctors!?

If I want to liquify veggies, for both soups and drinks -- what machine should I get? Or which Ninja?

On a tangential note, you may have seen this Whole Foods revelation:

Whole Foods knowingly engages in massive GMO deception, says undercover video by 'Organic Spies'

Finally, I got a new system for food processing and liquefying foods. I bought the new Ninja Mega system:

http://www.ninjakitchen.com/mega-kitchen-system/

I found the online coupon on the Ninja facebook site (15% off) too. I look forward to getting more nutrition in my body and making healthy, raw foods!

juicers
 

I used to be a manager at a retail kitchen store chain. I'm definitely spoiled when it comes to kitchen equipment.
It's hard to say that you only need one juicer because really, a juicer isn't meant for citrus.
You can put it in there but a citrus press is really the tool for lemons, limes, orange, & grapefruit. The press will get the most juice out of the citrus.
I have the Breville juicer and also the citrus press and of course, the Vitamix.
Being in Florida is an advantage because I can drive to the groves and buy a huge bag of citrus. I juice a small pitcher of citrus juice on my press. In my juicer, I put everything but citrus and when it's done with various fruits and veggies, I then add some the citrus juice from my pitcher. This is if I want juice. The Vitamix is more for smoothies because you aren't removing pulp which also gives you more fiber. I haven't used the Ninja so I'm not sure if it can make soups but I love this feature with the Vitamix. I can take a raw squash and throw it in the Vitamix with a piece of ginger and some spices and have soup in minutes.
I love being able to make soup this way because it's easy and healthy.
I would say that out of the three (juicer, press and Vitamix), I use the Vitamix more than anything else.
I'm back to making smoothies again. I stopped for awhile because my doctor told me that my sugar was high and the smoothies were giving me too much sugar all at once.
I now add more veggies, less fruit and make sure to add yogurt to everything.
I try to add cinnamon and/or ginger to many things since these two things are so good for you. I get more spinach this way too because I don't taste it in the smoothie which is fine by me..lol

Richard,
post some of your favorite concoctions when you start playing with your Ninja.

May be too late, Vitamix now has 2 models with a shorter container specifically to fit under upper cabinets. They have both models at Williams Sonoma, we just purchased one for a family member as a wedding gift based on the the fact that they said they loved our Vitamix but did not think it would fit on their counter under the cabinets.

A couple times a week a have kale, kiwi, carrot - sometimes add some pear or pineapple(core & skin included).

Zucchini Juicing
 

Excerpt:

Zucchini is an excellent source of potassium and magnesium which are beneficial to those people diuretics for high blood pressure, because the side effect of that medication is that it leaches these minerals from the body.

Zucchini Juice helps strengthens bones and prevents brittleness because the chelated calcium content is so high that it is retained by the body longer than calcium from diary or food supplements. The amounts of Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in Zucchini are equally balanced, combined with the high potassium count, this combination helps bones mend faster. Amazing healer after surgeries.

It’s antioxidant properties are great. It contains the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin which help protect our eyes. It contains nutrients that help stabilize blood sugar, are anti-inflammatory, and fight cancer.

Source: http://rawjuiceguru.com/our-raw-juice/

Note: Only use organic produce!

Not juicing, but we spiralize zucchini and put "sauce" over it instead of using pasta. It is REALLY GOOD!