Article derived from www.deliciousorganics.com
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We're not talking about buying juice in a bottle, even so called "vegetable juices." Juicing whole foods, vegetables in particular, and drinking it as soon as you juice it instead of letting it sit in a glass or buying it off the shelf, brings vital nutrients into our body. There is so much information out there about Juicing and the benefits to our health. We hear stories (or may even know someone personally that tells us) about how juicing saved (their) life. Juicing has been linked to healing people of cancer and other disease. Basically, it's important for our bodies to get the nutrients from fruits and vegetables each day to maintain health, energy, and to protect our health and boost our immunity. Juicing allows us to do this more easily. Most juicers do it because it's good for them and because it tastes good.
Juicing is healthy because we can eat so many more vegetables in a day this way. It's clear that eating more fruits and vegetables is important for our health; and it's an easy way to include them raw. Vegetables and fruits contain powerful antioxidants and other nutrients that keep us healthy and can help fight cancers. We lose some of the value in cooking so adding more raw foods to our diet is important. Juicing allows us to easily add more raw foods. Plus, more of these important nutrients are more easily released and therefore more readily absorbed by the body when the vegetable is juiced. These nutrients are in our blood stream within a half hour of drinking the juice!
Some people who juice add bits of fruits to their juice for flavor, but it's not wise to juice fruits heavily as they contain a lot of "sugar." Besides, eating fruits are fun and easy; and they travel well. Carrots and beets increase insulin levels like fruit, as do other tuber vegetables, though they contain antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and can be quite beneficial.
I've read that it's important to "chew" your juice to get the enzymes going in your digestive system but most of us just drink it down. Some proponents feel that we should add the pulp (fiber) back to the juice, at least some of it. But fiber does complicate digestion of nutrients so others say to simply keep it out. Fiber is important to prevent constipation and colorectal cancer. Vegetables and fruits contain fiber as do grains and legumes. Juicing remover the pulp and therefore the fiber. By eating fruits and vegetables in our normal diet, we will add it back. Fiber is an important part of our diet and has been associated with a reduced risk of cancer and lower cholesterol.
Therapeutic benefits of juicing go back to the 19th century. Juice is effective medicine, together with a healthy lifestyle.
Juice (vegetables) contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll helps detoxify our bodies. Chlorophyll can help make our bodies strong, can purify our blood (structure is similar to hemoglobin which moves oxygen through our blood), and can help our bodies get healthy. Chlorophyll also helps remove body odor.
Juice, as defined by The Benefits of Juicing, is "water, flavors, pigments, enzymes, vitamins, minerals and anutrients... working synergistically to give your body the materials that promote healing, energy, and protection from disease." But, this book adds, there is a mysterious energy that cannot be defined that is also in juice. That is the magic of juicing.
As for buying a juicer, it's my understanding that one with low RPM is better so as not to "cook" the vegetable and therefore to keep the most nutrients intact. A strong motor will last longer. The Best Juicers and Juicers Direct are a good places to start looking. Cooking.com has great prices on juicers too. Dr. Mercola offer some guidance on qualities of a good juicer. Personally, we use the Samson and are quite pleased with it.
Start with the best organic quality fruits and vegetables. Make sure it is clean and fresh. Cut it up into appropriate size chunks for your machine. Drink the juice fresh.
Most juicers start with breakfast and will juice one to three more times throughout the day in addition to eating meals.
If just starting, do so slowly and listen to your body. Juice as a meal not in addition to other foods. Juicing for breakfast is ideal. Continue to eat your vegetables, cooked and raw, with your Juicing diet.
The grocery shopping cart of a juicer might include things like:
* Red and Green Leaf Lettuce
* Romaine
* Escarole and/or Endive
* Celery
* Carrots
* Herbs like Parsley, Fennel and/or Cilantro
* Kale, Collards and/or Dandelion Greens
* Chard
* Spinach
* Garlic
* Cucumber
* Beets
* Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage or Bok Choy
* Fresh Coconut
* Coconut Oil
* Cranberries, Grapes (antioxidant value)
* Avocados
* Bananas
* Apples
* Lemons
* Fresh Ginger
* Sprouts
Since vegetables don't have much fat or protein, many juicers add protein to their juice. This also adds body and flavor. Add protein to your juice with:
* Seeds
o flax seeds
o pumpkin seeds
o sunflower seeds
o sesame seeds
* Nuts like:
o almonds
o walnuts
* Protein Powder
* Wheat Germ
Other things you can add to your juice include:
* Spirulina
* Chlorella
* Bee Pollen
* Oil (Coconut Oil, Flax Seed Oil, and Cod Liver Oil are popular). Fat is important because it helps the body metabolize some of the nutrients and it can add healthful benefits in and of itself. Many vitamins are fat soluble. Collards, Kale and Broccoli, contain Vitamin K and calcium. Fat allows these to be absorbed by our bodies.
Do not add these parts of the fruit or vegetable in your juicer:
* Orange and Grapefruit Skins - bitter and they are actually toxic in large quantities, but leave on the white pith because it contains vitamin C and bioflavonoids
* Apple Seeds - contain cyanide so remove the seeds before juicing
* All Pits including Peach and Plum pits - may contain cyanide so remove before juicing
* Carrot and Rhubarb Greens - these too are toxic
* Celery Leaves - bitter
* Fruit and vegetables that have been waxed should be peeled first
You can add these parts of the fruit or vegetable:
* Grape Seeds
* Melon Seeds
* Lemon or Lime seeds
* Orange and Grapefruit Pith
* Stems and Leaves (except Celery, Carrot, and Rhubarb)
These need to be added at the end instead of in the juicer because they have little water content:
* Avocadoes
* Bananas
Use a handheld or regular blender to mix these into your juice instead of the juicer.
Recipies
"ROCKET FUEL from the CHLOROPHYLL KID"
Ingredients: Certified organic when available, well rinsed conventional as second choice
avoid conventional cherries, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, raspberries (too much pesticide)
*
1 TBS "Nature's First Food" available from rawfoods.com
*
1/2 cup sprouted mung beans
*
1/2 cup sprouted green lentils
*
1 small avocado or 1 young coconut w/coconut water
*
1 large apple (peeled & cored)
*
1 TBS flaked dulse
*
1 TBS fish oil
6-8 large leafy greens - anything that looks fresh will work (the more bitter the better)
use two or three different kinds in each blend and rotate frequently for nutritional balance
I use all of the following in various combinations:
* Red or Green Chard
* Red or Green Kale
* Lacinto (Dinosaur) Kale
*
Collards
*
Mustard Greens
*
Dandelion Greens
*
Bok Choy
*
Red or Green Leaf Lettuce
*
Romaine Lettuce
*
Spinach
Note: rinse only conventional greens do not rinse organic greens unless they feel gritty
vitamin B-12 is derived from symbiotic microbes which grow in the soil and attach themselves to the green leafy vegetables, when eaten, they colonize the intestinal tract & produce B-12 for you. Cooked vegetables lose this vital feature which results in B-12 deficiency.
Optional Fruit bananas, strawberries, peaches, papayas, mangoes, plums, pineapple, pears, all certified organic berries etc.
experiment with fruit in the mix to see what is compatible with your body chemistry, I add two or three types for extra energy without any problem but food combining advocates say it's better not to mix them with vegetables. I say do what feels right for you.
6 - 8 cups good quality water - solar distilled, steam distilled, reverse osmosis, carbon filtered to Certified NSF 53 standards not NSF 42. Penta water is ok but a little on the pricey side.
I use a VITA-MIX turbo blend 4500 on low speed to blend everything together, but any good quality blender will work.
place everything (including optional fruit if desired) except the greens & the cod liver oil in the vita-mix, add 6 cups of water & 4 or 5 ice cubes (to prevent heat build-up), place top on blender & mix to liquid, with blender running, add greens slowly until everything is blending smoothly. add water to loosen the mix if it gets too thick, finally add the cod liver oil and blend for approximately 10 seconds.
This recipe makes two quarts of living food with a complete balance of nutrients as nature intended w/enzymes & electrolytes in tact. The fruit sugars are released slowly due to the fatty acids in the avocado & cod liver oil for a constant supply of energy... no mid morning or afternoon sleepies. I drink 1 quart for breakfast & the other one for lunch or when I get home from work. It would be a good idea to start gradually with a smaller batch (refrigeration is ok for a day or two but fresher is better) and gradually increase intake as your body adjusts.
A pleasant side effect of this food, among many, is a decrease in body odor due to the chlorophyl, you will find that after a few months or less your blood pressure will be lower, blood tests will have the doctors asking what you are doing differently, you will no longer catch colds & sore throats because your immune system will be super charged.
Drink up in good health
Sprouts
Delicious Organics can get a variety or organic or hydroponically grown sprouts including:
* Alfalfa Sprouts
* Broccoli Sprouts
* Clover Sprouts
* Crunchy Mixed Sprouts
* Onion Sprouts
* Spicy Sprouts
* Wheat Grass
We will get these based on interest so let us know what sprouts you'd like to try.
Note about Alfalfa Sprouts: Pregnant women should avoid alfalfa sprouts because they can harbor e-coli bacteria and listeria. This can be uncomfortable for an adult who will get sick, but can be deadly to an unborn baby. Alfalfa sprouts also contain the amino acid canavanine which is an anti-nutrient that can inhibit the natural immune system. Mature alfalfa does not contain this amino acid.
Broccoli Sprouts may even be more nutritious than Broccoli, which is highly nutritious and is known to decrease many kinds of cancer. Broccoli Sprouts are great at cutting high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Sprouts are high in glucoraphanin which works to boost the powerful antioxidant defense system in our bodies. The latest study showed that broccoli sprouts strengthen the immune system, strengthen the antioxidant system, and decrease inflammation and blood pressure. They improve our cardiovascular health. They have a nice bite to them which is great in sandwiches or salads, but I personally don't like them juiced, and you know you're doing something SOOOO good for you!
Crunchy Mixed Sprouts are great as a snack right out of the box or add them to salads. A mix of lentils, mung beans, adzuki beans, green lentils, red lentils, and green peas, this is colorful, delicious and nutritious.
Links on Sprouts:
* Mumm's Sprouting Seeds and info on Home Sprouting
* Recipes with Sprouts
Please send me your links, book suggestions, and experiences to post here and help others.
©Copyright 2004 Delicious Organics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, with specific permission. This copyright applies to all information written in the www.deliciousorganics.com web site.
Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Delicious Organics, Inc., unless otherwise noted. Articles are synopsis of our opinions based upon research we've done on these issues and we retain copyright to all information and articles contained herein. We've provided links for further research and encourage you to make your own opinions based upon the information we provide as well as any information you find contrary to our opinion. We see this site as an easy summary of the many issues we research and a good starting point for you to use. We encourage each of us to continue researching and learning more about how we can live a better and healthier life in a cleaner and stronger world. We DO it for ourselves, our children, our environment and our future.
©Copyright 2004 Delicious Organics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, with specific permission. This copyright applies to all information written in the www.deliciousorganics.com web site. Delicious Organics, Organic produce and more delivered to your door, trademark and copyright 2004.
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