How to get the most from juicing

Here are some top tips to help you squeeze every last inch of goodness from your drink.

•Keep your ingredients cool
Keeping your fruit and veg in the fridge will help to keep your drinks cold and more enjoyable. Although certain fruits - like bananas - will not take well to being kept in the fridge - most will taste much better. Always allow your fruit to ripen before you put it in the fridge.

•Remember, you can freeze fruit.
Some fruits are only available at certain times of the year. If you want to enjoy them for longer you can freeze them. Stored in an airtight container or sealed freezer bag, most will keep well for three months. If you are freezing fruit it may be best to prepare it as if you were about to juice it. ie peel, cut and stone it as you would do normally and then freeze it. To get the best flavour from your frozen fruit you should try to defrost it for about half an hour before you use it.

•Don't forget to wash your ingredients

Wash all your fruit and vegetables well before juicing to get rid of any dirt or residual chemicals. Scrubbing with a small nail brush is often the best way to clean root vegetables.

•Make sure your fruit and veg is really fresh.
Don't be tempted to buy fruit that is over-ripe or buy so far in advance

•Don't automatically reach for your peeler

Not all vegetables should be peeled before you juice them as their nutrients tend to be concentrated in their skin. Organic carrots, beetroots and apples should be juiced whole. When using ginger in a juice, there's no need to peel it either - just cut it into cubes of about a centimetre.

•Drink your juice as soon as you make it.
The nutrients in raw juice are highly volatile and will begin to deteriorate as soon as they are in contact with fresh air.

•Use organic carrots
Try to use organic carrots because of the risk of pesticides on their skin and always top and tail them before use as this is where any chemicals will tend to gather.

•Stay pithy

When juicing citrus fruits, remove the peel but leave as much of the white pith as you like to get the full benefit of the bioflavonoids within - powerful plant-based anti-oxidants - which help the body to absorb vitamin C. They also help strengthen the capillaries in the body, leading to better circulation and smoother, more beautiful skin.

•Don't be afaid to dilute
The juices of beetroot and broccoli and all leafy, dark green vegetables must be diluted by at least four times the quantity of much milder juices, like carrot and apple, to be palatable. It is also best to dilute fruit juices for children with an equal amount of water to protect their teeth.

•Take it slowly
Drink raw juices slowly so that all their goodness is absorbed and they mix well with salivary enzymes.