Written by Hanna Inman
Could juicing be one of the easiest ways to guarantee a major boost in your health?
Now, that’s a topic of discussion lately. Should I juice? Why can’t I just eat fruits and vegetables? Are juice cleanses safe? What are the benefits of juicing? And these are just a few of the questions asked. So, we’re going to touch on several of them today.
Everyone knows that we are supposed to eat our fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens. A diet high in fresh raw fruits, vegetables, and greens provides our bodies with much needed vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, good sugars, and even protein. Yes, you can take supplements that provide these for you, but the supplements do not have all of the natural fiber and phytochemicals, or complex nutrients, that natural whole foods have. The biggest benefit to raw fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens is that they are powerful cancer protectors and healers. As a typical American, most of us live a very fast-paced, on-the-go kind of lifestyle. We’re usually eating on the run, maybe including fast food or packaged and processed “convenience food.” These foods do not provide what our living, breathing bodies need to maintain good health.
When we run these fruits, vegetables, and greens through a juicer, we are extracting the nutrients from them and creating a drink that is not only delicious, but is very easy for our bodies to absorb. Many of the nutrients are bound to the fiber, which is later released from our bodies, unused. When we instead drink the juice, we are able to absorb much more that the plants have to offer because the body does not have to expel energy on digestion. You could say that juicing is “the ultimate fast food.”
Weight Loss
Juicing also helps with weight loss because of the enzymes it provides. Enzymes are primarily found in raw plant foods – cooking the food kills the enzymes that help with digestion. When our food does not provide them for us, our bodies have to work overtime to manufacture their own enzymes. Our bodies use these enzymes to convert body tissue into energy. The metabolism also uses enzymes. This tells us that juicing assists in increasing the metabolic rate which aids in weight management.
Live Juice versus Bottled or Canned Juice
Buying pre-packaged or bottled juice in the store is not the same as making your own fresh juice. Many of the juices on the store shelves have added sugars or have been pasteurized which removes or kills most of the nutrients in the original fruit or vegetable. Make your own juice when you can. There are hundreds of juice recipes out there, very easily found online (check out www.jointhereboot.com). Buy organic when you can, but if you can’t get organic all the time, here is the list of “The Dirty Dozen” – the 12 most contaminated produce items: apples, peaches, sweet bell peppers, celery, imported nectarines, strawberries, lettuce, imported grapes, spinach, domestic blueberries, kale/collard greens, and potatoes. So, if you can, buy at least these things organic. A local farmers market is the best place (and probably the cheapest!) to start for the best produce to make your juice!
In Conclusion
These are just a few of the benefits of juicing. It is absolutely safe to make your own juice, though it’s probably best to consult a physician before attempting a juice cleanse. Fresh juice provides our bodies with much needed phytochemicals that are used powerfully in fighting and preventing disease. Juicing provides anti-aging effects, weight management, antioxidants, greater nutrient absorption, and it tastes great! And the best thing is that it’s never too late to start juicing your own fresh fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens. Start juicing now and you’ll begin to see your own health improve almost instantly!
Here are two excellent juice recipes that are sure to boost your health:
MEAN GREEN
5 Kale leaves
½-1 Cucumber
4 Stalks of Celery
2 Apples
½ Lemon (peeled)
1 thumb-sized piece of Ginger
APPLE, CARROT, GINGER
4 Carrots
2 Apples
1 thumb-sized piece of Ginger
