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Cold-Pressed Juices

by Organic Spa Magazine

Juices can sometimes get a bad rep, as many are full of sugar and additives that give them a nutritional value more like a soft drink than a piece of fruit. 

But cold-pressed juices have been buzzing over the past few years.These trending drinks are everywhere, from new juice bars to local supermarkets. But what is all the fuss about anyway? Here is the run-down on these colorful drinks, so next time you pass that trendy juice bar on the corner you might just walk in and give it a try.

Preserving the good stuff “Cold-pressed” means that the fruits and vegetables go through a unique juicing process called High Pressure Processing, or HPP, which uses pressure instead of slicing to extract juice, keeping far more of the nutrients intact. With cold-pressed juices, fruits and veggies are pressed under extremely high pressure (often close to 2,000 pounds of hydraulic pressure) and are exposed to a limited amount of oxygen.

The process of HPP is not only effective at extracting the maximum amount of juice and nectar from fruits and veggies, but also proves to be a great method of pasteurization. Instead of boiling the juice to eliminate harmful bacteria, which results in a final product stripped of nutrients, HPP pasteurizes while also preserving the natural nutrients. Even homemade juices made using a centrifugal juicer lose large amounts of nutrients through the heat given off by the blades. Cold-pressed juices are raw, fresh and many claim that they’re just about the closest you can get to fresh fruits and vegetables in an easy drinkable form.

Sealing in freshness Even though cold-pressed juices are fundamentally “raw,” they actually stay fresh longer than traditionally squeezed juices. After the juice has been pressurized, the cold juice is immediately bottled and tightly sealed. This quick bottling ensures that the juice has not only avoided heat, but also extended exposure to oxygen as well.

Therefore, cold-pressed juices will taste like they have been juiced this morning even when they have been in the fridge for a few days or even a few weeks. However, the downside of this is that trying to make homemade cold-pressed juices last can be very difficult, as exposing the juice to oxygen for too long can make it’s freshness last only for a few hours, instead of a few days. And with juice bars often charging up to $10 a bottle, the inability to easily juice at home can come at a pretty steep price tag.

Supplementing your diet If you’re a juice novice, like I was not too long ago, you may be wondering why we should even be juicing in the first place. While cold-pressed juices should never be your only source of nutrient intake, they can be great supplements to your diet. Green juices, packed with veggies, can help you reach and even go beyond your daily-recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, sometimes in just one glass!

In a recipe by the healthy eating blog Wholefully.com, a cold-pressed juice called the “Kale Kickstarter” contains one orange, one cup of strawberries, two kale leaves, three carrots and one banana—all in a single 12 oz. glass! Many people who dislike the taste of bitter greens, such as kale, have learned to love them in cold-pressed juices as they complement fruit by making the juice not so sugary sweet. Drinking fruits and veggies can give your body the health kick it’s been craving, and while it’s not for everyone, it’s a great diet supplement to try!


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