When you are trying to improve your diet, one of the easiest and best ways to start is by making fresh juice. It is not always easy to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and by turning these foods into a delicious and easy to consume beverage, anybody can easily double or triple their intake of fresh foods daily.
When you are looking for a juicer machine, you will be amazed at how many different models are available. Although it is easily possible to find a juicer for a round $100 from a local department store, it is sometimes worthwhile spending extra money on buying what is known as a masticating juicer. Masticating juicers have several distinct advantages, as we will see below.
First of all though, what is a masticating juicer? Basically the term masticating describes how these juicers extract juice, and the word itself is the scientific term for chewing. Instead of using a spinning blade to shred the ingredients (as conventional juicers do), masticating juicers use a slowly turning auger, or a system of gears, to physically crush all the ingredients that you want to juice.
Why is this better? The beneficial constituents of juice, such as living enzymes, nutrients, and vitamins, are very sensitive to 2 things – heat, and contact with oxygen. Conventional juicers can make a lot of juice in a short time, but the high-speed processing both creates heat and aeration. As a result, the juice made with conventional juicers can be of lower quality.
A masticating juicer, however, does not generate heat or cause any frothing, since the extraction is performed at a slower rate. Overall juice production can be slightly slower, but the slow speed system lends itself to various other functions also.
Many popular masticating juicers such as the Angel juicer can be used to do things like cold press seeds such as linseed and flax, to make your own seed oil. Another function is to make nut Butters from peanuts or cashews, and even make your own soy milk.
Although masticating juicers are more expensive than conventional juicers, they can be great if you are into making all your own foods at home. If you consider that you will be buying fewer processed foods and making more of your own, the higher purchase cost can be justified and the additional expense recovered over a period of a few months.