Jury still out on the benefits of slow juicers
Slow juicing is becoming more popular amid claims that high-speed processing destroys nutrients in the food. But some health experts aren't swallowing it, writes Nan-Hie In
Freshly squeezed juice is no doubt healthier than store-bought varieties with added sugar. But some health foodies claim that putting juicing in the slow lane is even more nutritious.
This is done by picking the right machine: masticating juicers that virtually "chew" fruits and vegetables at low speeds to tease out the nectar.
Slow juicing is becoming more popular, and an increasing number of juicer models with lower revolutions per minute (rpm) are appearing on the market. The bottles of liquid from juice detox companies Be-juiced Hong Kong and The Genie Concept, for example, have been extracted this way.
If drinking juice is so healthy, why are they in my clinic with high blood sugar?
Traditional juicers, or the centrifugal kind, use fast-spinning grinding blades to tear apart produce. Compared to slow juicers, which operate at about 80 to 200 rpm, traditional juicers operate from about 3,500 rpm to more than 10,000 rpm. This generates heat and exposes ingredients to the air, both of which are said to kill nutrients and neutralise temperature-sensitive enzymes.
Juice from a masticating model is said to be "cold-pressed", since it's produced without added heat. Green leafy vegetables and wheatgrass tend to do better using these juicers, and some models even process nuts and soy, doubling up as a machine to make all-natural nut butters, baby food, soy and almond milk, and other healthy snacks.