Juicing

Juicing

By John and Kim Mann

We wrote this article to provide some information to those who are considering juicing or who are interested in knowing more about the reasons behind using homemade juices for ASD children. Hopefully, others can learn from our experiences.

Our path down this road started in March 2004 when we received a lab report for our son showing high levels of arsenic and lead in his blood. Like most parents, we were aware of the dangers of lead and more recently, arsenic, so we have tried to keep our children from sources of these substances. So it was a shock to us to discover that our son had levels in the 90^th percentile range for lead and arsenic. It is especially alarming when we began researching arsenic and discovered that it is known to cause various types of cancer and can also cause symptoms such as diarrhea, anemia and heart problems.

Figure 1 Lab report showing high arsenic and lead

According to our doctor, arsenic has a short half life in the bloodstream (about 7 days), so we knew his levels had to be from a recent exposure. We began looking for the arsenic in the most common sources - water, pressure treated wood and pesticides. Since our son had not been near a playground or any other source of pressure treated wood recently, we ruled that out. He had not had any exposure to pesticides either and his water source was solely distilled water. The next place we decided to look was his juice, since he consumes about 1 quart of pear juice a day.

We discovered that the juice he had been drinking, which was purchased from a local organic grocery store, was NOT organic. Once again reminded that it is critical to read every label and assume nothing, we searched again and found a USDA organic pear juice to replace the one he had been drinking. We still were not certain that this was the source of arsenic, so after contacting the juice distributor and not getting a satisfactory answer, we decided to test both juices – the non-organic and the organic at a cost of $300.

The first lab is for the non-organic juice (Figure 2). Note that a small amount of lead was found and a small amount of arsenic as well. The units are ppm, so converting to parts per billion (ppb), the arsenic level was 11 ppb. This is below current EPA standards of water of 50 ppb which have been in place for over 50 years. In 2006 though, the arsenic levels for water will drop to 10 ppb. So although not high, the number is significant. The organic pear juice arsenic levels are even higher at 15 ppb. The most likely source of the arsenic in the organic juice was the soil where the pear trees were planted.

Figure 2 Non-organic Pear Juice

Figure 3 Organic Pear Juice

For most people, the amount of arsenic found in these juices is low enough so as not to be an issue. For our son though, it became an issue for a couple of reasons. First, he drinks much more of this juice than an average person because he is very limited in what he can drink due to dietary restrictions and food intolerances. Second, he has trouble eliminating toxins from his body as we have discovered from numerous labs he has had over the past several months.

Juicing Process

In light of our problems with arsenic in juice, we felt the best solution was to start juicing the pears ourselves. We would at least know where the pears originated and we would deal with a couple of other issues we had encountered: juice that had fermented before the jar was opened and the loss of some nutrients due to the pasteurization process. Pasteurization is necessary to kill bacteria in the juice and increase shelf life, however, it can also degrade its nutritional value. Fortunately there are alternatives.

We have listed the most important steps in the juicing process here.

1. Purchase a high quality durable juicer. Try your local health store. One juicer we can recommend is the Champion Juicer.

2. Purchase organic fruit by the case at a co-op or local organic grocery. We purchase pears in a 40 lb case. For pears, it takes about 6 medium to large pears to make 1 quart. At 1 quart per day, a case lasts us about 2 weeks if slightly diluted with water.

3. You must soak the fruit in food grade hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to eliminate the parasites and bacteria from the fruit. IMPORTANT: Do not try to substitute with regular peroxide purchased in a pharmacy or with another fruit/vegetable cleaning solution! There are two concentrations of food grade hydrogen peroxide – 8% and 35%. The 35% is not very stable and is hazardous to handle, so we recommend purchasing the 8%. Family Health News sells 8% bottles for about $7.95 plus shipping. Search on “Food grade H2O2” at Amazon.com to find them. For the 8%, fill your sink with about 2 gallons of water (half full) and add ¼ cup.

4. To preserve the juice and kill mold, add ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to each quart. We use Kirkman Lab’s 250 mg hypoallergenic Vitamin C capsules and break one open in each quart.

5. If the juice is too thick (need to taste it to see), dilute with distilled water. Distilled water has been processed to remove impurities, so it is even better than simply using filtered water. You may also want to strain the juice with a fine strainer after juicing to remove the pulp. One advantage to keeping the juice thicker is that it’s easier to hide your child’s supplements.

6. Freeze in quart containers. We searched for a long time to find freezable glass containers. We are currently using 2 quart glass jars from Bottlestore.com. These jars are shaped like a mayonnaise jar with a wide neck which guards against breakage during freezing. Fill the jar to a point just before it tapers off to give the jar enough head room for expansion. We have been freezing them for months and have yet to have one break.

It takes about 2 hours to juice 40 lbs of pears, so this is something you have to be committed to. You can make about 10-12 quarts from one 40 lb box of pears. Also, note that pears are only in season for a short time at the end of the summer, so you will get the best prices around August and prices go up the rest of the year. For us, it wasn’t really an option because our son was not able to clear his system of the arsenic naturally and the juice is an important part of his diet. We hope that this information is helpful. If you have questions on juicing, send us an email at jmann@biasd.net or leave a message in the forums.

Happy juicing!