The Juice Thread

[Zero]

Cool! You liked it so much you even put up two threads!

[belleadonna]

I know, that was a boo boo. I don't know how that happened! Thanks to whoever deleted it. I wasn't sure how to.
I must have overdosed on carrot juice!!

[Zero]

I almost got my juicer out the other day, but then realized I did want to bother to clean it afterwards so I gave it a miss. Maybe I will have juice tonight before I go to the gym

[belleadonna]

[cedarblue]

funny

[DancingWillow]

glad i'm not a snowman...i would be scared of belleadonna's crazy carrot juice addiction i love the cartoon!

[Mahk]

I almost got my juicer out the other day, but then realized I did want to bother to clean it afterwards so I gave it a miss.

I love carrot juice and would consider buying a machine but your gripe seems to be universal. Everyone I've ever spoken too always mentions that the machines are a pain to clean, so I stay away.

[veggiemaya]

speaking of juicing...i just got a Vitamix last night and i'm so in awe of it that i have to keep talking about it!!! it is a great alternative to a juicer, which i didnt even realize at the time that i decided to get it. i made about 2 quarts of green smoothie today to bring to work with me, and i even got my totally non-vegan coworkers to try it. (and like it!!)
i also just whipped up a fresh batch of almond butter that is so good i can't believe it. i am such a dork but i love this thing!! i think i will have to try some carrot juice next!

[belleadonna]

I have a Omega juicer and a Vitamix.
My juicer is not hard to clean. It is not a continuous juicer but easy enough to scrap out the pulp and juice another glass right away. The fresher the better. That's why I don't juice a whole bunch of juice at once.
Off to make a glass of juice!!

[Zero]

I love carrot juice and would consider buying a machine but your gripe seems to be universal. Everyone I've ever spoken too always mentions that the machines are a pain to clean, so I stay away.

I make smoothies with my blender a lot instead! Much easier to clean.

Centrifugal juicers like I have are the worst, some of the more expensive ones than crush and squeeze the fruit or vegetable are better but I can't justify the expense as I probably wouldn't use it that much.

[belleadonna]

Mine is a centrifugal and i love it. Really easy to clean. I also have a Champion which is a pain in the kazoo to clean.

[Mahk]

I must have overdosed on carrot juice!!

I know you jest, but I thought to point out that it really can happen. Although considered mostly just a cosmetic condition, too much carrot juice (or certain other vegetables but mainly carrot) causes one's skin to turn orange. Carrot juice OD is possible for people who drink nothing but carrot juice. I don't know the amount that gets one into trouble but the cure is to stop the intake (but the orange skin can take weeks to months to correct)

lookup: carotenemia or carotenoderma



My gut feeling is a glass a day is safe but no more. [purely a guess on my part though, anyone know more about it?] The change is gradual so kinda hard to notice even with people who see you everyday. The people who might notice it are people who haven't seen you for some time.

[veggiemaya]

i just finished making some carrot juice...with a twist...

i used a carrot, an orange, a red delish apple, slice of pineapple, and a handful of baby spinach. and of course water and ice...
it was verrrrry good!
i think i am going to have fun experimenting with carrot juice too!!

[belleadonna]

I know you jest, but I thought to point out that it really can happen. Although considered mostly just a cosmetic condition, too much carrot juice (or certain other vegetables but mainly carrot) causes one's skin to turn orange. Carrot juice OD is possible for people who drink nothing but carrot juice. I don't know the amount that gets one into trouble but the cure is to stop the intake (but the orange skin can take weeks to months to correct)

lookup: carotenemia or carotenoderma



My gut feeling is a glass a day is safe but no more. [purely a guess on my part though, anyone know more about it?] The change is gradual so kinda hard to notice even with people who see you everyday. The people who might notice it are people who haven't seen you for some time.

Thanks for the concern. The orange is not from the carrot juice itself but rather from the liver throwing off toxins. Carrots don't turn your skin orange anymore than spinach would turn it green if you ate a lot of it.
I have had my skin turn orange before and it went away after I detoxed and I still drank the same amount of juice. I am never healthier than when I do carrot juice and barley/wheatgrass powder.

[Mahk]

"Definition of Carotenemia

Carotenemia: Temporary yellowing of the skin due to excessive beta carotene in the diet. The offending substance, beta carotene, is an antioxidant (a substance that protects cells against oxidation damage) and is converted by the body to vitamin A.

Carotenemia is most commonly seen in infants fed too many mashed carrots, or in adults taking in large quantities of carrots or carrot juice."

Source: Medical Dictionary definitions

Actually spinach is very high in beta carotene also, so it potentially could turn your skin orange/yellow also (not green), but the most common cause of carotenemia is indeed carrots.

[belleadonna]

You may have heard of people "turning orange" from drinking carrot juice. It is not the carrot juice that is showing through the skin but is an overflow of materials which have been clogging the liver and are being eliminated with the consumption of carrot juice. This shows how effective carrot juice is at cleansing, a good sign that the system is getting a good clean-up.

http://www.juicing-for-health.com/carrot-nutrition.html

[Mahk]

It is not the carrot juice that is showing through the skin but is an overflow of materials which have been clogging the liver and are being eliminated with the consumption of carrot juice. This shows how effective carrot juice is at cleansing, a good sign that the system is getting a good clean-up.

http://www.juicing-for-health.com/carrot-nutrition.html

I make it a personal rule not to take any medical advice from infomercials written by kitchen appliance merchants.

Carrots and people with carotenemia are orange in color for the same reason; carotene, an orange colored pigment:

"Carotene is an orange photosynthetic pigment important for photosynthesis. It is responsible for the orange colour of the carrot and many other fruits and vegetables."

"Carotenemia or hypercarotenemia is excess carotene, but unlike excess vitamin A, carotene is non-toxic. Although hypercarotenemia is not particularly dangerous, it can lead to a yellowing of the skin (carotenodermia). It is most commonly associated with consumption of an abundance of carrots..."

The orange is not from the carrot juice itself but rather from the liver throwing off toxins.

Carotene is not a "toxin"; it is quite the opposite: a pro-vitamin.

From Clinical Pediatrics:

"Ingestion of excessive amounts of carrots is the usual cause of carotenemia..."

The condition is purely cosmetic and no reason for alarm but I personally don't want it to happen to me. I do love carrot juice though and just had some.


"Carotenemia is a common finding in children, mainly due to the excessive intake of carrots, but it can also be associated with the ingestion of many other yellow and green vegetables and citrus fruits."

source: emedicine.com

Interestingly carrots are orange thanks to Dutch patriotism. They are a GMO ; that is to say an organism that has had its genetic makeup artificially manipulated by humans, in this case by cross breeding using a mutant yellow strain:

"The Orange Carrot Arrives ! The noble carrot has long been known as an orange vegetable thanks to patriotic Dutch growers who bred the vegetable to make it less bitter than the yellow varieties, and then it was adopted it as the Royal vegetable in honour of the House of Orange. The King at the time was William of Orange (1533–84), also known as William the Silent.

Carrots were originally purple or red, with a thin root. The species did not turn orange until the 1500's when Dutch agricultural scientists and growers used a mutant yellow carrot seed from North Africa to develop a carrot in the colour of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. In an attempt to "nationalize" the country's favourite vegetable they began experiments on improving the pale yellow versions by cross breeding them with red varieties. These varieties contain beta carotene to produce orange-coloured roots This was developed to become the dominant species across the world - wonderful, sweet orange"

Source: The Carrot Museum

I still can't find any information on how much is safe to consume per day but I did find out that in 1974 a British health food enthusiast named Basil Brown drank only carrot juice for ten days and died on the last day (liver poisoning). He drank about a gallon a day it has been reported. I can't find good info on this event but here's an example:

"A coroner's inquest here has found that the death of a 48-year-old health-food enthusiast was caused by "carrot-juiceaddiction."

Source: The New York Times

[belleadonna]

[belleadonna]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

[Aradia]

I'm growing several varieties of carrots this year... one is extra sweet, purely for juicing - can't wait! Imagine carrot juice from carrots just lifted, can't wait, can't wait!

[cedarblue]

Centrifugal juicers like I have are the worst, some of the more expensive ones that crush and squeeze the fruit or vegetable are better but I can't justify the expense as I probably wouldn't use it that much.

yes, i have a centrifugal one too - and i would like a crushing/masticating one but i don't get as much use out of my juicer as i do my blender and hand blender so it would be a pointless outlay right now.

it's the pulp wastage which annoys me in the centrifugal juicer - there seems to be much more of it and it tends to be very lumpy with large bits of unjuiced veg getting through - and i don't use the pulp in crackers etc as i haven't got a dehydrator. i currently throw the pulp on the compost

a hand churning one would be best for me, although it's more work, no electricity being used.

[belleadonna]

I think that some people have raw recipes where you can use the pulp. If it's as wet as you say and has chunks in it, it will be good for a filler perhaps.

My Omega does a good job of getting the juice out of the carrots.

MMMM, growing your own carrots. What a treat!!

[Muppet]

Mmm, I love carrot, apple & celery. I make a litre a day and I love it.

I have an old green life twin gear juicer, its not too bad to clean so long as you do it straight away!

[belleadonna]

Have you tried carrot and gingerroot? Awesome. Spicy and I can feel it cleaning my sinuses out.

[Roxy]

My favourite type of carrot juice is carrot, apple and ginger. It's really warming, and I especially like it if I'm ever feeling like I'm coming down with a cold.

[belleadonna]

Me too. Oh no, I am salivating all over myself again.

[Haniska]

I make smoothies with carrot juice and frozen mangoes

[veggiemaya]

hmm, that sounds like a great idea. i just picked up a bag of frozen mangos the other day.
wonder if carrot, mango, and pineapple would be tasty..
i'll have to give that combo a whirl...

[Roxy]

It sounds like it would be a nice combo Maya. Let us know how it turns out!

[Aradia]

I like to mix carrot juice with some soaked almonds, a bit a garlic and lemon juice and one or two other things, blend it all together for a lively raw soup.

[Zero]

yes, i have a centrifugal one too - and i would like a crushing/masticating one but i don't get as much use out of my juicer as i do my blender and hand blender so it would be a pointless outlay right now.

it's the pulp wastage which annoys me in the centrifugal juicer - there seems to be much more of it and it tends to be very lumpy with large bits of unjuiced veg getting through - and i don't use the pulp in crackers etc as i haven't got a dehydrator. i currently throw the pulp on the compost

a hand churning one would be best for me, although it's more work, no electricity being used.

Yeah, I do feel a bit wasteful when I use mine too, also because of the action of a cenfrugal juice in causes the juice to oxidize quickly so you should drink it straight after juicing it.

[cedarblue]

yes indeed, i always do, before it separates too!