If you've been following any health-related trends lately, you may have noticed that cold-pressed lemonade has been making an appearance. Many people are wondering if this drink is healthy for them or if it's just another fad. The fact is that juices contain many beneficial antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals which can only be extracted to greater degrees as new juicing methods become commonplace. In this blog post, we'll take a look at what cold-pressed lemonade is and whether or not it's good for you. We'll also provide some tips on how to make your cold pressed lemonade at home so you can enjoy this delicious drink anytime you want!
What is Cold Pressed Lemonade?
Cold pressed lemonade is made with a slightly different process than standard juicers. Standard juicers typically pulverize the vegetable or fruit to extract the juices, while cold juices are pressed to use a hydraulic press to grind up the fibers and nutrients inside the ingredients. The key to defining a ‘cold pressed’ juice is that this process uses no heat whatsoever.
Standard juicers, or centrifugal juicers, create heat naturally by spinning blades and electronics. These juicers yield a higher amount of juice but can kill valuable vitamins, minerals, and fibers that cold pressing preserves. The process of cold juicing typically takes a little longer and produces a higher nutrient content than standard juicing machines!
How is it Different from Regular Lemonade?
Lemonade made using standard or Centrifugal juicers is thought to have less flavor and less nutritional value due to standard juices eliminating natural enzymes and nutrients in the fruit. Cold-pressed juices take longer to make and generally produce less juice overall but yield a much more concentrated, natural, and healthy product. In addition, cold-pressed lemonade has a more robust flavor and is fantastic for mixing drinks or enjoying on its own for a refreshing and healthy treat on those hot days!
Regular lemonade is also generally packed with tons of sugar and preservatives. However, companies making cold-pressed juices are more focused on infusing natural sweeteners and flavors, meaning that any cold-pressed juice you buy is more than likely giving you far less sugar than their standard counterparts.
Is it Healthy?
All naturally made juices have many great health benefits, including antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that help keep our body strong. The problem with centrifugal juicers is that the heat created from the blades sometimes lessens the nutritional content of the fruits by killing some of these nutrients. Some foods respond well to heat and require us to consume them. Others benefit from a heat-free process that extracts more nutrients from the fruit or vegetable.
Because the process yields a smaller but more nutritionally dense product, you probably don’t need as much of it to gain the same nutritional benefits from a normal juice. Ultimately, it depends on your current dietary habits and what vitamins you need more of in your diet. It all comes down to preference, but all in all cold-pressed lemonade is exceptionally healthy!
Can I Make My Own?
Cold pressing is something that anyone can do at home! Cold press juicers are a little pricey but more than worth the value for a dedicated smoothie and juice maker. You can easily make a version of cold-pressed juice using a blender!
Blend your ingredients in a blender with water, and then strain the fruit chunks using a strainer. Keep in mind that when you puree fruits and vegetables, it will create a small amount of heat so that it won’t be a pure cold-pressed juice. For the real thing, check out all of the fantastic brands offering cold-pressed products or look into a cold press juicer for yourself!
The main distinction is that there’s no heat conduction from blades during the process with a cold-pressed juice. This results in higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibers extracted using a hydraulic press to extract these components without any heating or oxidation. If you want to try this for yourself at home, be sure to use organic produce whenever possible so your body can absorb more nutrients from what it ingests. In addition, drink your juices on an empty stomach for maximum benefits! Try cold-pressed lemonade for yourself today!
