Juicing is recognized as a suitable way to provide a super nutrient boost to your diet and the health benefits of juicing are becoming more widely recognized. However, juicing leafy greens for health is probably not quite as well known and this article seeks to address that. If you are going to start juicing greens, you will need to have the correct type of juicer so we can also point you in the right direction with this as well.
Benefits of Juicing Leafy Green Vegetables
The leafy greens most commonly used are spinach and kale, although both of these are best used in recipes that include other fruits and vegetables. Spinach and kale are packed with nutrients that can help to counter some of the primary health concerns that seem to plague the 21st century so let’s look at both of them in a little more detail.
Spinach
Spinach is a leafy green that is best known for its high concentration of iron, which is of course essential for red blood cells to do their job properly in ensuring oxygen is distributed throughout your body. It is excellent for treating anemia caused by a deficiency of iron, as well as aiding hypertension and circulatory weaknesses. Spinach is also very high in fiber so is useful as a constipation aid.
Kale
Kale is a superfood that has become known for its antioxidant properties, having a high concentration of carotenoids and flavonoids, which have become known as a way of preventing cancer. This in itself has been responsible for a rise in its popularity but it has other health benefits as well. It also assists in reducing cholesterol.
Kale is also high in vitamin K which assists to retain calcium in your bones so that it is useful in preventing osteoporosis and the calcium that can be found in kale is easier for the body to absorb as well. The other benefits of calcium include maintaining acid-alkaline balance as well as assisting the body to maintain its immune system.
By juicing leafy greens, you are essentially maximizing the ability of your body to benefit from chlorophyll, improving red blood cell production and cell respiration. They are potent with mineral nutrients and far too strong to consume as juice on their own. Because of this, leafy greens should be added to other vegetables and fruits, to produce a juice that is boosted by the special properties of spinach and kale.
Types of Juicers
There are a few different types of juicers available and in brief, they are the centrifugal juicer, the masticating juicer and the citrus-juicer. Centrifugal juicers slice and spin the fruits and vegetables to extract their juice. A masticating juicer literally chews and grinds the produce via an auger, to extract juice. A citrus juicer is designed for citrus fruits only and presses juice from citrus produce. Dedicated juicing aficionados will often have one each of these, so as to create an individually tailored juicing experience. The best juicer for greens is the masticating juicer because they do the best job in terms of juice extraction, especially for leafy greens.
The Best Masticating Juicers for Juicing Greens
There are several masticating juicers currently on the market and the best juicer for greens are the Omega 8006, the Super Angel Deluxe, the Green Star GS1000 and the Champion G5-PG710. While these masticating juicers all basically do the same thing, there are differences between them in terms of functionality, performance and price.
For example, the Champion G5-PG710 is less expensive than the Green Star GS1000 but doesn’t handle large chunky pieces of produce very well, nor does it juice wheatgrass very well. whereas the Green Star GS1000 does. The Super Angel 5500 is a top of the range model and has two augers for premium juice extraction while the Omega 8006 falls into the medium price range for masticating juicers. The Omega 8006 and Champion G5-PG710 have small feed chutes too, so you will need to put more time into preparing your produce.
All these masticating juicers can be used to produce nut butters as well, so there is an element of versatility across all the models. When it comes to juicing greens though, they are all good for juicing leafy greens, although if you like to juice a lot of wheatgrass, the Champion G5-PG710 is likely not the best choice you could make.
When it comes to juicing greens, opt for a centrifugal juicer at your peril. You are far better off choosing a masticating juicer and there are plenty of happy juicers out there who will readily vouch for a masticating juicer as being the best juicer for greens. While the actual juicing process takes a little longer, a masticating juicer will extract more juice and provide you with more value for your money over the short and long term life of the juicer.
