This is part 2 0f my tips to start juicing for healthy living (including plenty of advice on juicing IBD) . You can check out part 1 here.
About a year and half ago, I wrote a blog post about my juicing experiences and it ended up being insanely popular. I still get about 30-50 hits on my blog a day from Pinterest users clicking on the link (which considering how long I wrote it is pretty impressive). Juicing is even more popular than it was back then and it is still a question I get asked a lot. So today I’m going to share even more tips that I’ve learnt along my journey.
1.Less fruit, more veg. Many people ask me if juicing is a waste of time because of the higher sugar content. Yes, fruit does have high sugar content but it’s slowed down when released into the body by the amount of fibre it has. Juicing removes this fibre so you do get a quicker sugar hit. However if you stick to a veg based juice and minimise your fruit (try 1/2 apple or a small kiwi) you have none of the sugar stress and all of the goodness! If you’re brave, try an all veg juice with just a squeeze of lemon or lime (that squeeze makes all the difference!)
2. Cold Pressed Is Better for Those On the Go. Once you’ve juiced, you pretty much need to drink it straight away if you’re using a regular juicer. After 10 minutes the nutrients start to disappear and fruits like apple start to oxidise quickly ( turning it a lovely shade of manky brown). If you are looking to prepare in bulk you’re better off with a cold-pressed juicer. This uses much less heat and the juicers can last much longer-around 24-48 hours. The one I use is JR 600 from juicyretreats. This cost me £99 but that’s actually quite reasonable for a coldpressed juicer. If you are looking to start juicing I’d recommend the Cookworks centrifugal model from Argos (£29): Cheap and cheerful but a good first juicer that lasted me a couple of years.
Cold Pressed Juicer: Juicy Retreats
3. Try a veg box.  Although pricey, the sheer amount of veg you go through with juicing makes a box an excellent buy. I use Abel and Cole because I love the variety of fruit and veg you get: I’ve tried everything from golden beetroot to kale to blood orange. You can often get introduction offers so keep checking the site. I think it’s 50% off the first box at the moment.
5. Use a mini-sieve like the Poundland one in my February favourites post. This can be used if you notice your juice isn’t completely smooth since some extract more than others. Cold pressed juicers tend to have tiny bits of fibre in them so to be on the safe side I sieve them out.
6. Protect your teeth from stains. There’s a few things I do to protect my teeth. One I use is a straw to juice. Secondly (I’ve only just heard about this next tip) I swill my mouth out with water afterwards. I also use a stain-remover toothpaste (Pearl Drops Smoker’s toothpaste is great). I do think juicing can cause staining but if you use a straw you can reduce this by a lot.
7. Juicing is not smoothies and is not Nutribulleting! I mentioned this in my last post but I see it all the time so I wanted to address it again. Juicing squeezes the juice and extracts 99.9% of the fibre. It’s better for those with any chronic condition because your cells get the nutrients quicker (because there’s no fibre and thus no digestion required) and those who want to rest their gut (as again there’s nothing to break down). So it’s an easier more readily absorbable form for your body to digest. Smoothies are great too but they do keep all the fibre so it depends on how sensitive you are to that. For example many people find they can juice spinach but can’t blend it. Nutribulleting is not juicing but a Nutribullet does blend very finely, so you may find you’re able to tolerate the fibre.
8.  If it’s a new fruit/veg, start in small amounts. Some fruit/veggies can cause an upset stomach if juiced in large amounts, namely: pineapple, cabbage, spinach and beetroot. Start with a quarter size portion and build up if there’s no problems.
9. Don’t listen to the headlines. There’s lots of negative reports about juicing but like lots of things they’re exaggerated; I even read a story saying that juicing made someone fat! Like all things, it’s being sensible. Stick to one juice a day and keep the ratio about 1:4 in terms of fruit:veg. See my chopping board examples for inspo!
10. Do you really need to fast? Fasting could probably be a whole other topic but it seems appropriate to mention here since there are so many juice cleanses being sold lately. People find they sometimes either feel really terrible or really amazing during a juice fast; but this can be many things- such as not eating food they’re intolerant to; the gut having a break from digestion; people drinking more fluids etc. If you’ve been eating poorly, a juice fast can be a massive shock and as a result you can get a whole host of symptoms. I’d advise starting off with one juice alongside your regular meals. If you are trying to rest your gut, then adding in some simple to digest smoothies (such as almond milk, banana and nut butter) and clear bone broths since a lot of juice at once can be quite irritating.
Learn more about my IBD Nutrition consultations. here.
Facebook group: Healthy Living with IBD
Subscribe for free to my weekly IBD newsletter and get a FREE Juicing ebook here.
Info on my book ‘Managing IBD’ stockists here
I love juicing – theres nothing quite as nice as a fresh squeezed juice!
I didn’t know about only using small amounts if it’s a new fruit/ veg. I don’t do a lot of juicing because of the sugars in fruits x
i’d stick to veggies if you can and then no need to worry re sugar!
Hi Jenna, I’m all for cold press juicers as well. They are more efficient and more versatile than standard centrifugal juicers. Anyways, thanks for sharing those tips 🙂
Hi there!
Would you ever recommend adding protein powder to your juice to make you feeling full for longer? I have IBS and it was recommended by my dietician to eat only once every 3-4 hours. I’ve never juiced before so am wondering if it will keep me full for that long or if I should invest in a protein powder.
Thanks!
I wouldn’t recommend juicing instead of a meal’ especially it first it might be a bit too irritating to a touchy stomach. If you want to make a meal of it I’d juice first then blend with some gluten free oats, banana and small amount of nut butter. I can recommend some protein powders if you’d like? I avoid whey ones.
Juicing is new for me. Just bought a juicer today to get started. It’s actually for my mother. She has IDS, and I feel I need to get more fruit and vegetables into her diet.
Few days ago I read this article and it helps to start juicing. Thanks a lot for sharing this article.
Thanks a lot for sharing these 10 great juicing tips. But it wastes of my time for higher sugar content. Thanks again.