We’ve come a long way since the blender, which was what most people were using to blend their juices back then. These days you have many types of juicers such as a wheatgrass juicer, slow juicer etc, thanks to the juice cleanse trend. Now, we have cold-pressed juices which claims to be better than the usual freshly squeezed juice. Let’s investigate this further!
What is a cold-pressed juice?
A juice that has been “pressed” in an upright masticating juicer aka slow juicer or cold-press juicer. The fruits and vegetables are chopped into small pieces then, inserted through the tube. After that, it will be crushed and squeezed through a metal mesh by an auger, a rotating device. Depending on metal mesh used, your juice will either have a fine texture or a slightly thicker texture with more pulp. Once the juices have been squeezed out, the dried pulp will be ejected at behind the machine and into a container.
Some cold-pressed juice companies would bottle, seal and put their freshly pressed juices in a large chamber for the next process. The chamber will be filled with water first, then a crushing amount of pressure (equal to 5 times the pressure found at the deepest part of the ocean) is applied to inactivate pathogens from spoiling the juice [1]. Another word for that process is High Pressure Processing (HPP). Now that we know what cold-pressed juice is, here’s what you should know about it:
1. You can’t keep fresh cold-pressed juice for long
Yes, even if you’re using a slow juicer. One of the claims from juice fans is that juices made from fast juicers (aka centrifugal juicers) such as blenders and juice extractors, will lose its vitamins and minerals quickly because of the fast blades [2]. But according an experiment done by Australia’s National Measurement Institute, it shows that even juices from slow juicers will lose a bit of its nutrients during and after you leave it on the table for a few hours [3].
The only difference is you won’t lose too much of the nutrients while it’s being processed in the slow juicer compared to using a blender and juice extractor. What if you want to retain the nutrients in the juice to last longer than 3 days? You have to put the juices through the HPP which is a pasteurization process. Which is kind of impossible for home owners unless they have the budget or they are running a big juice business. Juices who go through HPP will have a longer shelf-life which will help make distribution easier and the juice to remain fresh until it’s opened .
2. It uses more produce
More amount of fruits and vegetables are used to make a bottle of cold-pressed juice compared to the normal juice [3]. That’s one of the reasons it’s more expensive! Also, if the produce are from organic origins then, it would affect the price per bottle too.
3. You won’t be losing weight just from the juices itself
Juice cleanses are all the rage but putting your body through the whole process is not advisable. We’ve shared why science said detoxes are actually unnecessary over here. Relying just on your cold-pressed juices to lose weight might give you the opposite effect because some juices have a high amount of sugar [5]. That will make you gain more calories instead of losing it.
It also won’t make a difference if you go back to your normal eating habits after it. But if you’re taking your cold-pressed as a way to include more greens in your diet instead of eating whole vegetables and fruits, then, it’s fine. Just be aware that, you should have a balanced meal and a healthy lifestyle to go along with your juice if your aim is to lose weight.
4. Cold-pressed juice might be just as healthy as normal fresh juice
Many juicing companies claim that cold-pressed juices have more vitamins and enzymes hence, it’s healthier than normal juice. But, there are no scientific evidence proving that statement yet [6]. Depending on the fruits and vegetables used, processing it using fast juicers might bring out more of its nutrients and fiber because you can blend the the whole fruit, including the seeds and skin [7].
You can change the size of the metal mesh of your slow juicer to give your cold-press juices a thicker texture and more fiber too! As you can see from the chart below, both fast and slow juicers give out similar amount of nutrients [8].
5. The juicer squeezes your greens better
A great thing about green cold-pressed juices is that you are getting every bit of juice out of your leafy greens! Think kale, wheatgrass and romaine lettuce! A slow juicer performs better in juicing leafy greens compared to fast juicers [9]. It’s also great for making nut milk and tofu! The only downside is you have to cut your fruits and vegetables into smaller pieces in order for it to fit into the tube. So a longer prep time is needed. If you already have a fast juicer at home already, you don’t have to change it!
What’s best for another person is not necessarily the best for you. Cold-pressed juice is a subjective matter since there are not many scientific proof on its claims yet. But if you’re very into green juices then a slow juicer will help you get more bang for your buck! We have some green smoothie recipes that you could try out too! So will you be grabbing some cold-pressed juice today?
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What’s your favourite cold-pressed juice? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page!