Today everyone looks for convenience and juicing is being resorted to as it can give you the benefits of fruits and vegetables in one power dose.  Again while there are many who believe juices are not healthy when they are strained and sugar is added so the solution lies in cold pressed juices.

The Concept

Cold pressed juice uses a hydraulic press to extract juice from fruit and vegetables. There is no additional heat or oxygen (oxidation process) used in the process, meaning that no nutrients are lost in the heat of traditional juice making. The pulp is removed from the juice hence it allows digestive system to recuperate. “The key to making healthy vegetable juices is to make green vegetables the bulk of every serving. Green juices are packed with awesome nutrients. True to the nature of green vegetables, they produce chlorophyll, which when you consume it helps oxygenate your body. This helps to detox and cleanse your body,” Ashvini Kumar, Executive Chef, Four Points by Sheraton Navi Mumbai. What really makes cold pressed juices stand apart from the rest is the method of juice extraction. “In regular juicing, the fresh produce comes in contact with rotating metal blades and is churned and juice is extracted. The major drawback here is that rotating blades generate heat due to friction which is good enough to destroy the heat-sensitive vitamins and minerals, most importantly Vitamin C. The metal also oxidises the nutrients to some degree thereby nullifying its anti-oxidant potential. Cold pressing on the other hand, works by pressing the produce between two plates under high pressure using a hydraulic press. The resulting juice is allowed to drip in a tray with the fibre,” explains Luke Coutinho, M.D – Alternative Medicine and Holistic Nutritionist.

Advantage Cold Press

Jeevika Tyagi, CEO, AllAyurveda adds, “according to the FDA, the High Pressure Processing (HPP) method is the best way to preserve freshness and boost shelf life without the need for any preservations or subjecting the produce to high heat. By far, the biggest advantage of cold pressed juices is that the trump on taste. Stored correctly, cold pressed juices can taste just as great even after 2 weeks. Cold pressing lengthens the shelf life of hard-to-preserve produce.” Making cold pressed juice is a 100% natural process without the use of any added preservatives, flavours and ingredients. “Our cold-pressed juices are unpasteurized, use no preservatives or additives, just the fruit. Our gentle extraction process also preserves all the natural vital nutrients to maximize nutrition. No additional heat or oxygen is used in the process; this means no nutrients are lost in the heat of traditional pasteurization or blending/ masticating the juice in a household blender,” says Smritika Sharma, Marketing Head, RAW Pressery. Cells need concentrated nutrition. It is a fact that most people don’t eat like they should and don’t get enough fruits and vegetables in a day. “Cold press juice fills this gap and makes it possible for those, not eating a good diet to get much needed nutrition. It is a powerful nutrition punch. Cold pressing technique destroys bacteria on a structural level, preserves the taste and quality that heat and chemical pasteurization destroy. Cold press juice has a good consistency as it contain and retain more pulp and fibre, so juice is a bit thicker,” avers Tanu Arora, Head of Department, Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Aakash Healthcare.

Health Matters

The health quotient of cold pressed juices depends on ingredients and the time it is extracted. It is important to opt for a vegetable based, fresh drink with no added sugars or preservatives to  benefit from the live enzymes and nutrients. However while it is not a great idea to only rely on packaged cold pressed juices they are still a better choice over canned juices, aerated beverages and vitamin water. Munmun Ganeriwal, Nutritionist & Fitness Consultant, Founder – Yuktahaar says, “the ‘real’ cold pressed juices with ‘real’ health benefits do not come in fancy bottles. They are made at home, consumed fresh, available locally, made with local and seasonal raw produce and is the kind of juice that your great grandmother recognizes as food. They have made a variety of these cold pressed sherbets and juices by squeezing it with their hands, sometimes also wrapping the fruit in a cloth. Case in point is nimbu paani, mango juice (aamras), phalsa juice and bael sherbet.” Chef Rakhee, Owner, Palate Culinary Studio and Academy avers, “what I absolutely love about cold pressed juices is that not only does this process give you a healthy boost via the extracts that increase the nutrient content but it also boosts your immune system. I love how hassle free and tasty it is. The best part is also how as no heat is used in the process, no nutrients are lost.”

Do It Yourself

In fact you can easily make it at home if you have a cold pressed juicer. The juice prepared from the centrifugal juicer must be consumed within 24 hours. Cold pressed juicing machines aka Masticating Juicers are portable and you can make juices almost without the need for pasteurization and packaging. Again in terms of access to these kinds of juices you can also look at sugarcane juice a native, raw, cold pressed juice. “The cane stalks are pressed against each other using zero heat to give a beautiful, green coloured juice that has “detox” properties and is rich in polyphenols and antioxidants,” says Munmun. Dr. Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, KENT RO Systems Ltd explains, “whilst, cold pressed juicers operates using technology that first crushes and then presses the fruits or vegetables for maximum yield. The juice extraction technique works on low RPM (revolutions per minute), speed less than 100. It does not produce as much heat as produced by the conventional juicers. Hence it retains nutrients and fibres’ and gives more juice.” Arvind Rai, Executive Chef, The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi advices, “when juicing at home, aim for nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables. Take the juice from leafy greens and root veggies as your base, then add citrus or fruit to sweeten the taste. The process is the hydraulic press; this exposes the shredded produce to extreme pressures between two plates. The pressure causes the juice / water content from the produce to drip into a collection tray.” So the next time make the right choice with your juice – the cold pressed way!

Juice it Up

Saumya Shatakshi, Senior Nutritionist & Wellness Consultant, Healthians suggests some ideas:

Pineapple Pear Ginger Mint- This combination of ginger and mint with fruits provides a cooling sensation to the skin and can help to treat minor burns, itching and skin irritations and also soothes digestive tract.

Apple Cinnamon- Apples are full of fiber, especially pectin, a soluble fiber which can help promote good digestive health and a sense of full belly which helps in weight loss.

Green Alkalizer- Green juice is a natural mineral and vitamin supplement that can be a powerful influence to a malnourished system.

Citrus Juice- Fresh citrus provides both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which may help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Tips

• Do plan on doing a juice cleanse when you have time to relax, ideally with little physical, emotional, social or mental demands.
• Do “chew” your juices – juices are not meant to be guzzled.
• Do not try to make juice your only meal.
• Adding a bit of good fats would be essential in better absorption of nutrients (example carrot juice with handful of almonds)
• Check labels for added sugar / preservatives if packaged.

This story appeared in the August 2017 issue of Smartlife Magazine here: