Making fresh vegetable juice is a key part of the Hallelujah Diet. It is easier to absorb nutrients from juice and you can easily consume more vegetables by turning some of them into a beverage. People who drink vegetable juice regularly tend to have lower inflammation and higher levels of carotenoids. So, which juicer to choose?
How To Choose The Best Juicer
Choosing a juicer can be a difficult task. Sorting out the different options and evaluating newer models on the market are time-consuming chores, and it is hard to find head-to-head comparisons that take accurate measurements.
Some people compare the amount of juice you get from different juicers, but how do you evaluate the quality of juice? Who do you trust to give you straight information on juicers? What about the things that go unsaid in the advertisements? Do you have time and the experience to figure out what the manufacturers are hiding from you?
We understand your dilemma in choosing a juicer. We’ve been there ourselves, trying to figure out which models would be the best choices for ourselves and for our customers.
But we have an advantage with more than 20 years of experience with juicers. We’ve seen what works and what doesn’t work well. And we have put them to the test for quantity and quality of juice.
In our upcoming monthly webinar Dr. Michael Donaldson, PhD will guide you through a science-based comparison of 6 juicers, examining each of them head-to-head.
In this webinar you will learn:
- Which juicer is the best one on the market for yield and quality. (You may have never heard of this one.)
- How common juicers compare with the best juicer. Do you have to buy the very best to get good quality juice?
- The optimal method of juicing for yield and quality.
- How to evaluate any new juicer that comes along. (This info alone is worth waiting for.)
Presenter, Dr. Michael Donaldson, PhD: As a chemical engineering graduate of Cornell University, Dr. Donaldson is an invaluable asset to the science behind the Hallelujah Diet. He became the Research Director of the Hallelujah Diet in 1997. His work consists of designing and coordinating epidemiologic and clinical intervention studies based on specific symptoms or diseases, and focuses on the results of The Hallelujah Diet. He is also the author of numerous research studies. Dr. Donaldson’s research is ongoing and he plays a vital role in new product development and innovations.
In this webinar, he shared results from comparing 6 different juicers—the Green Star Elite, the commercial Champion classic, the NuWave vertical auger, the LaLane centrifugal juicer, the Norwalk and the PURE juicer. The Norwalk and PURE juicers are two-stage juicers, with the PURE Juicer being an updated and optimized version of the two-stage process.
Key Takeaways
The juices from carrots, apple, celery, spinach and a combination juice of carrot / spinach / celery / lemon were tested four times each for yield and quality, using enzyme levels as a sensitive marker for heat damage or oxidation. One of the key takeaways from the webinar was that the PURE Juicer is the best juicer on the market for an experienced, committed person who makes a lot of vegetable juice. But the 2-step process can be intimidating when starting out. A solid choice for starting out is the Champion classic. The yield of vegetable juice and quality of juice, judged by enzyme levels in the juice, were very similar to the Green Star Elite juicer.
A second takeaway is that the initial juice from all of the juicers was of high quality. The LaLane centrifugal juice wasn’t quite as high in enzymes, but still it was not significantly different from the other juicers. It turns out that the worse juicer is the one you don’t use. A third takeaway from the webinar is that there is as much variation between different batches of produce as there is between juicers. So, when looking at enzyme levels in juice, using high quality, fresh produce can be more important than using the very best juicer. We all want to know which juicer works best for making juice that stores well. When enzyme levels were examined there was no clear winner in this contest. The Champion juicer did better in head-to-head testing for the combination juice. For carrot juice, only the LaLane centrifugal juicer was significantly lower than the other juices up to 3 days after making the juice.
Finally, if someone is interested in optimizing the whole juicing process, it is important to understand the two stages of juicing. The first stage is grinding the produce. A fine grind is essential to extracting the nutrients from the pulp into the juice. The second stage is pressing the juice out. Every juicer has these two stages in them, usually combined into one continuous operation. Only by optimizing each stage can the whole process be optimized. For example, the Champion juicer has a finely ground mash (stage 1) but it does not press the pulp very hard to extract the juice (stage 2). So, the Champion juicer lacks stage 2 efficiency. The pulp from a Champion juicer will feel wet. On the other hand, the Green Star Elite juicer does not grind the pulp very finely (stage 1), but it does press hard so as to extract most of the available juice from the pulp (stage 2). The pulp from the Green Star Elite will feel dry because the remaining juice is still inside the plant cells that did not get ruptured in the grinding stage.
An optimal way of juicing would be to use a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix or Blendtec blender as the first stage, and then use a hydraulic press as the second stage. No juicer homogenizes as well as a blender, and no extraction is as efficient as the hydraulic press. Testing of this optimized method did show an increase in yield, especially when carrots were included in the juice, as well as an increase in enzyme activity. The use of the blender increased the extraction efficiency of the whole process. In conclusion, we encourage you to buy and use a juicer with confidence. There is no supplement that can replace the nutrition and vitality you receive from regular consumption of freshly made vegetable juice.
