Cold pressed juice is all the rage. From a yogi to a gym buff, everyone seems to be looking out for it either for a detox or for a juice cleanse or simply for antioxidants.

First things first – what is “cold-pressed” juice, anyway?

Unlike juices that are obtained from blenders & mixers using centrifugal force, cold pressed juices are made by pressing the fruits & vegetables using the force of compression.

What makes it healthier?

While the fast-spinning juicer generates heat, the crushing & pressing does not produce as much heat. Since nutrients and vitamins are heat sensitive, cold pressed juice retains most of the enzymes & nutrients which otherwise gets oxidised & destroyed in a conventional blender

Is it a new trend?

Cold pressed juices have always existed since centuries but it only gained popularity in the late 2000s after few celebrities endorsed it for “detox” and “juice cleanse” diets

Since old times, grand moms in different regions in India have been making a variety of these cold pressed sherbets & juices by squeezing & pressing it with their hands, sometimes also wrapping the fruit in a cloth.

India’s native cold pressed juices

Sugarcane juice is India’s native AND raw cold pressed juice. The cane stalks are pressed against each other using no heat to give a beautiful, green coloured juice that has “detox” properties and is rich in polyphenols & antioxidants.

Since the juice producer is extracting the juice and selling it directly to you, it is fresh containing live enzymes & nutrients that are easily absorbed by the body

But neither we think of sugarcane juice nor the Nimbu paani, Aamras, Phalsa sherbet or the Bael sherbet as cold pressed. Not only these are tasty, each of them also has its own unique therapeutic property.

The fancy juice bottles, on the other hand, that are flown from a far land with labels & health claims are put through a preservation process called the HIGH PRESSURE PRESERVATION (HPP) by the juice manufacturing companies to extend the shelf life of their product. These processes kill the live enzymes, probiotics, nutrients & minerals in the juice, and offers inferior quality for its heavy price range.

Take away points

The ‘real’ cold pressed juices with ‘real’ health benefits do not come in fancy bottles with exotic ingredients. They are made at home, consumed fresh, made with local & seasonal raw produce to equip you with seasonal changes and is the kind of juice that your great grandmother recognizes as food. It is the closest you can get to a cold pressed juice that is ‘fresh’, ‘real’, and ‘handcrafted’

Unsure about the right diet for you? Are you torn between what you’d love to eat and what you hear is unhealthy for you? Sign up for a one-on-one nutrition & diet consultation with leading Mumbai dietitian Munmun Ganeriwal

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