Juicer Recipes Now

Ok deep breath! There are several facets to this. The answer to the question “is fresh fruit juice bad for you?” is not a yes or no answer. If I was asked if processed fruit juice you buy at the store is bad for you? I would be bold enough to say yes – in most cases it is just flavored sugar water. But, fresh fruit juice – it’s a different story…

The Good
The upside to drinking fresh fruit juice is the nutrition it contains. It is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. It is therefore, generally speaking, great for boosting the immune system, great for detox, has anti-inflammatory properties and promotes overall good health. More specifically studies show that pomegranate may help reduce arterial clogging, grape juice helps reduce blood clot formations, apple juice can lower cholesterol and cranberry juice helps prevent the occurrence of urinary tract infections. So far so good.

The Bad
The problem with fresh fruit juice is the sugar it contains. Too much sugar in the diet is a key risk for developing diabetes, is a risk for heart disease too, promotes the growth of unhealthy gut flora, and can increase inflammation in the body. The laundry list for the negative effects of excess sugar consumption doesn’t stop there either. Before that scares you into ever drinking fruit juice again, the emphasis here is on Too Much sugar. Taken in moderation, fresh fruit juice provides the above mentioned benefits for health and more.

The Balance
What is a recommended amount of fruit juice to drink per day? As it stands there are no official guidelines for fruit juice, but there are guidelines for the amount of sugar we should consume. The American Heart Association (AHA) were the first to put out guidelines in 2011:

” Women should consume no more than 100 calories (about 25 grams) of added sugars per day. Most men should consume no more than 150 calories (about 37.5 grams) each day. That’s about six teaspoons of added sugar a day for women and nine for men. “

It is very easy to reach and exceed these sugar-intake guideline if we are not keeping an eye on the processed foods that we are eating. So we really need to be observant about what the rest of our diet looks like when drinking fresh fruit juice because the average 8oz glass contains between 25g to 30g of sugar!

• 8oz of fresh apple juice contains 27g of sugar (110 calories)
• 8oz of fresh orange juice contains 20g of sugar (112 calories)

Our Recommendations
Drink vegetable juice mostly. And mostly green vegetable juice. Most vegetables are considerably lower in sugar content than fruits. Green vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, kale and spinach are extremely low in calories and sugar, but absolutely brimming in antioxidants and other healthy nutrition. Green juice is just all health benefits. Even the more sweet of vegetables, such as carrots are lower in sugar than fruits, with the average 8oz glass providing 15g of sugar.

It is still a great idea to drink fruit juice, but keep the portions controlled. Stick with no more than an a 4oz glass per day, that provide an average of 12g to 15g of sugar a serving. This still leaves some leeway room for a little more sugar from other foods in the day without breaking the AHA guidelines.

Fresh fruit juice provides nutritional diversity to vegetable juice, providing certain nutrients, antioxidants and health benefits that you may not find with vegetables. We just need to be smart about how much we drink, and then we get the benefits and none of the negative effects of excess sugar consumption.

If you have searched the net to find out if you can store fresh juice, then you may have bumped into a few people claiming you must drink the juice right away or otherwise you lose all the nutrition and benefits. This isn’t exactly true. The truth is that drinking the juice as fresh as possible is always best, but storing your juice properly is still an effective way of gaining the benefits of juice, especially if it otherwise means no juice. However, as with all stored foods, there is a time limit.


How long you can store your juice totally depends on the type of juicer you are using, but before we get more into those details lets look at how juice must be stored, regardless of juicer-type.

• It is very important that juice is stored in an air-tight container. Filling the container to the brim is best, this will reduce any excess air in the vessel. Alternatively there are tools that pump the excess air out of containers.
• Keep the juice refrigerated. This keeps the juice cool and in the dark, 2 important factors for preserving fresh-made juice.

Which Juicer – How Long?

If you are not clear on the difference between a centrifugal juice extractor and a masticating juicer, then check out our post explaining this – Best Juicer. For a quick and limited reference – all Breville juice machines and Jack LaLanne juicer machines are centrifugal juicers. The Hurom Slow Juicer, Omega 8005 and 8006 Juicers are all masticating machines.

Centrifugal juice machines are fast-running machines that produce some heat and friction that creates some oxidation. The result of this is that the juice does not store as long as it does with the slower more deliberate juicing mechanism of a masticating juicer. The absolute maximum time for storing a juice made with a centrifugal machine is 24 hours, providing the above mentioned storing methods are adhered to. Even so, 24 hours is a maximum. After about 8 hours the juice will start to taste a little different as it starts to lose its freshness. Personally I aim for drinking a juice from a centrifugal machine within 12 hours provided that I cannot drink it immediately.

Masticating juice extractors create very little heat, and they don’t cause much oxidation as a result, which increases the shelf-life of the juice it produces. Provided the juice is stored as outlined above, then the juice will last for up to 48 hours.


Additional Tips and Advice

• Add some lemon juice or lime juice to a recipe, if it doesn’t already contain some. These two citrus fruits help preserve the juice.
• Cabbage juice does not last long. Any recipe with cabbage juice should not be stored for longer than a few hours. Or else – taste the difference!!!
• If it is practical, consider freezing juice as a Popsicle and eat it later. May not be the tastiest thing for a green juice, but fruit juices can make a tasty healthy treat.