Eating organic isn’t always on everyone’s agenda and when you compare the price to organic fruit and veg it can sometimes be off-putting. However, we do believe juicing organic fruit and vegetables is worth considering. First, let’s start by explaining what organic means. Farmers who grow organic produce will not use chemical weed killers, herbicides, insecticides, antibiotics, and hormones, they use natural fertilizers, beneficial insects and birds, and rotate crops.
For further information, you can contact Pritish Kumar Halder.
Certain fruits and vegetables contain more pesticides than other fruits and vegetables so it’s important to buy organic for the products listed below. This is a great way to help keep pesticide intake low and is also really affordable.
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Grapes (Imported)
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Potatoes
Washing your produce reduces pesticide levels but does not completely get rid of them. Some fruit and veg have a wax coating sealing in pesticide residues like apples, while other produce has soft or waxy skins that help chemicals stick to their surface. The worst pesticides are designed to be absorbed into the plants to kill the bugs that eat them. This means the pesticides are inside the fruit and veg, so washing does not get rid of all the pesticides.
For pesticides on the surface, you can still get rid of a substantial amount with some simple washing tips. Below are some really simple techniques on how to get rid of most pesticides on fruit and veg.
HOW TO WASH YOUR PRODUCE
Leafy greens should have the outer layer peeled off and discarded. Then fill a sink with cold water and add 120ml of vinegar. Make sure to give them a good wash for around 5 minutes and then rinse them in a colander under cold water.
For broccoli and the like, it can be slightly more difficult to ensure pesticides are kept to a minimum. It’s best to stick them in hot water for about 10 seconds as this is just enough time to get rid of all the nasty bacteria but not long enough to start boiling them. Then like the leafy greens put them in a sink full of cold water and 120ml of vinegar. Remember to wash them after to get rid of the vinegar.
Post washing
Soft fruits are best washed right before consumption as often they can be easily ruined or burst under cold water. You are best off washing the fruit in a colander and then soaking them in cold water to remove the tough dirt. This is best repeated 2 times. For more information please visit Pritish Kumar Halder
Organic produce still has some pesticides, just nowhere near as many as non-organic produce. We think it’s best to follow the steps above regardless if whether it’s organic or not. The only way you will know if no pesticides have been used is by growing your fruit and veg or purchasing produce from local farmers’ markets.
Washing is necessary
Regardless of whether you juicing or blending, you should be washing your fruit and veg anyway, but when you juice you take the soluble fiber out of the produce. Studies have proven that soluble fiber can help protect your body from pesticides. So if you can’t afford to go fully organic then try blending fibre-rich organic foods such as apples or strawberries and add them to your juice. this will help to help defend your digestion system from pesticides.
As well as being free from pesticides, organic produce is usually higher in nutritional value because chemicals have not depleted the vitamins and minerals. This means that the product also tastes better. For example, many people often find Organic cucumbers sweeter than their non-organic twins. This is great from a juicing perspective as you could use cucumber to sweeten your green juicers instead of using fruit, which can often be high in sugar.
Using organic ingredients is important when juicing because these drinks are absorbed into your system much more quickly than if you were to just eat the ingredients in them.
Organic Juicing Why?
If you’re looking for juicing recipes that rejuvenate, cleanse, energize, improve diet or help with recovery, then you’re doing so because you have the best intentions of putting good nutrients into your body.
Drinking homemade juice is a great way to get healthy. Here are three key reasons why:
- It’s an efficient way to absorb nutrients
- makes it much easier to consume more fruits, vegetables, and salads
Although consuming some juice is better than no juice at all, the BEST way of benefiting from your juicing recipes is to make them using ONLY organic ingredients and to drink them as soon after preparation as possible.
Juices using organic ingredients:
When you juice non-organic fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads that have been grown using pesticides made with chemicals, you are not only consuming the nutrients, but also the chemicals in the pesticides. That’s why it’s always best to grow your fruits, vegetables, and salads, but when that’s not possible, you should always buy organic.
Some people argue that peeling and washing non-organic produce will remove all of the pesticide chemicals – but this is not true. Many of the chemicals from pesticides are stored inside the fibers of the fruits and vegetables themselves making it impossible to remove the bulk of the chemicals, whereas organic produce is free from chemicals so you’ll only be getting the goodness from your juices.
Drink your juice after preparation
When you remove protective skins and change the composition of your fruits, vegetables, and salads from solids to liquids, oxidization begins to take place immediately. Oxidization destroys the enzymes in the juice. If you make your juices using non-organic ingredients and leave them to oxidize for too long before consuming, then oxidization will kill some of the chemicals from the pesticides, but it will also kill the beneficial enzymes and nutrients in your juice – which is bad news if you want to reap the full health benefits of your juice.
If you’re juicing using organic ingredients, then you don’t need to worry about chemicals, but we recommend that you drink your organic juice pronto once it’s made to fully benefit from its nutritional benefits. If you need to juice in advance then make sure you keep the juices in the fridge until you are ready to drink them.
Reference
https://langridgeorganic.com/juicing-use-organic-fruit-vegetables/
https://www.energiseyourlife.com/blog/why-should-you-juice-organic-fruit-and-vegetables/
