Juicers

Which One Should I Get?
The first juicer I bought was a Juiceman. They are typically available at health or department stores. I highly recommend the Champion and Vitamix juicers as well [see table below] and urge that the smaller, less-expensive juicers be left for those who have no intention on using them for any length of time. I also like the Jack Lalane juicer because of its quality and large intake chute (it takes whole apples). With the Juiceman and Champion juicers, you have the cut the vegetables and fruits down to fit their much smaller chutes.

Do Juice Extractors Remove Vital Nutrients?
It is easy to draw strong conclusions based on information provided by expertly contrived and marketed special reports, flyers, and infomercials which is basically what I have done with my avid convictions concerning the benefits of ingesting RAW (extracted) juices. However in 1996, a remarkably appealing young woman named Susan from Toledo, Ohio (she always looks like she’s up to something good) provided me some interesting information concerning RAW fruit and vegetable drinks that I must include here.

According to Dr. John Heinerman, Director of the Anthropological Research Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, “Juice gurus have falsely claimed that the pulp which juice extractors discard is nutritionally worthless. … Removing the pulp from carrots reduces calcium intake by 91%, potassium by 50%, and magnesium by 69%. The negative effects of those mineral deficiencies … should be motivation enough to eat the whole carrot!” (1996).

Whole Food Juice
Heinermans’ answer is drinking a substance called “whole food juice.” This “total” juice can be made in an appliance called the Vita-Mix which rends fruits or vegetables into a puree to which small amounts of water can be added to produce a juice consistency. After reading the Vita-Mix Magazine I was impressed with the apparent quality and ease of use of this machine. It makes complete sense to consume the entire food (as a juice) as opposed to extracting the pulp, especially for the added fiber it would provide the diet. Nonetheless, I have no intentions on discounting the value of freshly “extracted” juices. I will however, readily recommend the Vita-Mix. The Super Total Nutrition Center model of the appliance includes a Dry/Grains container for making cereals, flour, mixing batters, and kneading bread dough. They can be reached at (800)848-2649 or www.vita-mix.com.

When it comes down to which one I’d buy for the everyday long haul and price, it’s the Champion. It’s a masticating juicer as opposed to a centrifugal one. My brother has had one for many years and we put every leafy green, root, and tuber you could imagine through it and it didn’t cough once.