I have discovered the power of freshly made juice. I may be a late comer to juicing but I am happy to have learned what people have known for many years. Juice and juice fasting is a powerful way to detox your system of accumulated toxins and to deliver a easy to digest, nutrient dense fuel for your body. 

We have a champion juicer that has been around quite a while. It is a work horse and can juice hard veggies, make nut butters, and has been our recommendation for those who were looking to buy a juicer.

Recently, however, we purchased an Omega juicer and it has changed my juicing experience. The champion is large, heavy, slow (it has a small feed tube), and I only used it when we were fasting. Then I packed that bad boy up and put it away till the next. The Omega on the other hand is smaller, faster (it has a giant feed tube), and I leave it on my counter and use it regularly to create delicious juices that I drink once or twice a week instead of our usual smoothies. It makes it easier to make juice for recipes too. 

There are three types of juicers. masticating, centrifugal and triturating (twin gear). According to BestJuicers.com:

The Masticating machine operates at a slower speed. It chews the fibers and breaks up the cells of vegetables and fruits. This gives you more fiber, enzymes, vitamins and trace minerals. The Champion is a masticating juicer. It also is more versatile because in addition to extracting juices, the unit homogenizes making baby foods, sauces, nut butters, banana ice creams and fruit sorbets. An optional grain mill attachment is available for grinding grains into flour.

The Centrifugal machine first grinds the fruit and vegetables then pushes them through the strainer by spinning at a very high rpm (similar to your washing machine on the spin cycle). This method usually yields a little more volume of juice. The Omega Juicer (we have a Big Mouth or BMJ 390) and Breville are centrifugal machines. Most juicers sold on the market are centrifugal. 

The Triturating (twin gear)machine, which turns at a slower rpm, has a two step process. The first step crushes the fruits and vegetables, while the second step presses the juice. This process gives you more fiber, enzymes, vitamins and trace minerals. These juicers also have magnetic and bio-ceramic technology that slows down the oxidation process, which is good if you want to make and store your juice. These juicers are excellent for juicing leafy greens, wheatgrass, sprouts, root vegetables like beets and carrots and most water dense (non-pulpy) fruits. Juicing time is longer with twin gear juicers due to the slower juicing process which gives you a higher quality juice.

Deciding which one is right for you will depend on your goals, time commitment, and budget. Choose the type of juicer you will be most likely to use regularly. Then get the best model you can afford. Several brands offer long warranties which is a great feature (that helped us choose the Omega.) Discount Juicers has great videos showing how different models work.