Choosing A Quality Juicer
When it you make that decision to enter the world of juicing, you will notice a wide selection of juicers varying in quality, price, and performance. Since price is the most easily distinguishable aspect of the different juicers, it's easy to fall into the trap of buying an inexpensive juicer that doesn't work so well.
Not only that, you may never know without experience but the resulting juice you drink could very well be of inferior quality because of your inferior juicer. It is important that your juicer operates at a low speed, not at a high speed like blenders might. Some juicers and blenders run anywhere from 1,000 to 24,000 RPM and at such high speeds a lot of heat is generated.
We want our juices to be a raw as possible and the heat is like cooking the ingredients which breaks down or alters the structures of enzymes and nutrients. This defeats the purpose of juicing in the first place, which is to feed your body high concentrations of nutrients in its most natural form. A good blender will operate at about 80 RPM's to minimize the effect of heating the elements in your juice.
High speed chopping blades in blenders can also cause impact shock which also damages nutrients. There is also oxidation when you juice, but slower blades will significantly reduce the degree of oxidation. You want your nutrients in its most natural state which is best for your body. Lower speeds also reduce the amount of foaming in your juice.
A lesser consideration for getting a higher quality blender is the amount of noise the machine generates. For under a hundred dollars difference can mean the difference from scaring your cats away to being able to juice while still talking on the phone.
When you pay a little extra for a better model, you are also getting the ingenuity of design. In general, juicers can be tough to clean but a well designed model takes the cleaning process into consideration and could make a big difference when you are deciding whether or not to juice today. Pulp collecting compartments that are easily removable makes cleaning breeze. Some brands are so well designed in this area it can be rinsed and cleaned in five minutes.
The final thing about juicers is their hardiness. Some juicers, such as centrifugals, are not designed for harder ingredients like leafy greens and wheat grass. They are built only for citrus fruits and other soft ingredients. Since everyone should juice vegetables as well as fruits, it best to go with one that can handle just about anything you throw into it.