Although he passed away at the start of 2011, Jack LaLanne lived a full life of 96 years and was strong and vibrant until the very end. What was his secret? Well, according to him, he was a juicer — a person who drinks concoctions made up of fresh fruits and veggies. Anyway, learn about some of the tips in the article below.

Make sure you drink your juice as soon as you make it, or at least as soon as you can. Fresh-squeezed juice will start to lose some of its nutritional value as soon as you make it. The best way to get all the nutrients from your juice is to drink it immediately, rather than saving it for a later meal.

Put all your fruit on one shelf in your refrigerator, preferably the top shelf. This way, nutrition and juicing will be the first thing on your mind when you open your refrigerator every day. You’ll also be able to keep an eye on how fresh the fruit is, and remind yourself to use it before it decays.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on fresh juicing produce as long as you shop in season. Berries are great in the summer, but will cost you an arm and a leg to buy in the winter, so skip them until the prices drop again. Apples last all winter, so feel free to buy a few bushels and keep them in the garage.

If you can’t afford to juice with organic fruit and vegetables, don’t worry about it. It’s nice to have pesticide-free items, but you can only work with what you have available. Wash your produce in a mixture of 8 cups of water with 3 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide and 3 tablespoons of baking soda to get all the nasty stuff off. Rinse your produce well before using.

The best time to fire up your juicer is a half hour before any meal. Drink the fresh juice on an empty stomach. Drinking juice on an empty stomach is helpful to absorb the most nutrients quickly and effectively. Fruit juices should be consumed in the mornings because digestive energy is the lowest in the mornings.

When juicing for your health you should drink the juice as soon as it’s made. Refrigerating the juice or leaving it on the counter will allow it to lose nutrients as they break down within the juice. Drinking it immediately will be just like eating all those fresh ingredients whole!

Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables will be a delight to your taste-buds. Juicing is a great way to try vegetables or fruits that you have never tried. If you are concerned that you might not like vegetable juice or prefer something sweeter, put in some apple or other fruit.

Studies have shown that the optimal intake of fruit and vegetables in a day is 8 or 9 servings per day. Most people are lucky to even get 2 to 3, but by juicing you can meet your minimums easily and tastily! Make sure that the bulk of the servings, preferably 5 to 6, are vegetables.

Sugar cane juice can help build your immune system, but chewing on the actual sugar cane can cause tooth decay. Instead, juice your sugar cane along with fruit, vegetables, and other healthy additives to get the most nutritious juices possible every single day. Juicing can taste great and help you stay healthy!

When it comes to juicing, one thing that you want to keep in mind is the different benefits that specific types of juice extracts will bring you. One such benefit is the fact that the juice from cabbage is a great natural way to heal stomach ulcers. This is not meant to replace other methods, but it may work great for you in addition to what you are already doing.

If you’d like to add protein supplements to your juice, wait a few days before you start. Your system will be getting used to the juice (which is easy as it’s half-way digested by the time it gets to your stomach!) and flushing out toxins, so give it a chance to catch up first.

While carrots are indeed a high glycemic vegetable, studies have shown that carrot juice can actually help keep blood sugar levels stable. Including it in your juice, can sweeten up bitter vegetables like dark leafy greens, plus, it adds a smooth texture to the drink. Even a diabetic can appreciate that!

You may have seen Mr. LaLanne on a late-night infomercial and wondered if he was really serious about juicing or if he was just trying to sell a product. Well, juicing is most certainly a legitimate thing, and these tips have just shed some light on how you can borrow some of Jack’s passion to lead a healthier lifestyle.

The Best Juicing Tips, Pointers And Ideas was originally published on Spring