Why I Juice?

Why I Juice?

When my Dr. told me she wanted 70% of my diet to be raw (see my post Trust Your Gut: Diagnosed with Candida) I thought to myself...I got to get a juicer.
Juicing is a popular fad right now and you will find endless blogs and websites on the subject but I have followed Jack Lalanne for years, practically grown up watching him and I have to admit that he was my inspiration to juice. As soon as I was able I went out and bought a Jack Lalanne juicer. I really wanted to buy a Vitamix but just couldn't afford one (that is still on my wish list).

I knew that eating 70% raw vegetables would be good for me but I also knew that eating that much raw, enough to reap the benefits, would be hard for me, which is where a juicer would benefit. I could definitely drink more than I could eat. My choices were limited only by my taste buds. I could create all different combinations of fruits and vegetables: wheat grass, kale, dandelion, cucumber, cabbage, celery, beet, lettuce, parsley, mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cranberry, grapefruit, and apple etc.

I read recently that The National Cancer Institutes's campaign for good health recommends one simple thing - EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. The recommendation is to eat five servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables a day. Researchers are finding that the chemicals in plants will prevent and cure a wide range of ailments. Phytochemicals (plant chemicals) are the newest movement in nutritional research which I have read really holds the keys to preventing some of our most deadly diseases. Fresh juices are a great source of enzymes. In fact, the "freshness" of juice is one of their key features, because enzymes are ruined by heat. When you eat cooked foods, whether its meal, grains, fruits, or vegetables, if the food is cooked at temperatures above 114 degrees, the enzymes have been destroyed. Since fruits and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still a live when you drink the juice.

There have been many studies done in third-world nation populations, and elsewhere, that have shown that in cultures where the diet consists mainly of fruits and vegetables the number of diseases that afflict North Americans simply don't exist.  These kinds of studies were brought to life by a documentary titled Beautiful Truth, which I highly recommend.  The question is consistently being raised…is it their diets or their unpolluted environments that have had an impact on their health.  That remains to be seen but I can testify that the change in my diet has made a huge improvement in my health. 

 The following is a list of benefits:

• fruit and vegetable juices are good sources of the traditional nutrients
• citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, etc.) provide healthy portions of vitamin C
• carrot juice contains large quantities of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene
• green juices are a good source of vitamin E
• fruit juices are a good source of essential minerals like iron, copper, potassium, sodium, iodine, and magnesium, (which by the way are bound by the plant in a form that is most easily digested)
• juicing removes the indigestible fiber (these nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the piece of fruit or vegetable was eaten whole. For example, because many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber, when you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to assimilate about 1% of the available beta carotene. When a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated)
• fruits and vegetables provide one more substance that is absolutely essential for good health – water (more than 65% of most of the cells in the human body are made of water, and in some tissues, for example the brain, the cells can be made up of as much as 80% water. Water is absolutely essential for good health, yet most people don't consume enough water each day)

I can't speak as an expert but I can speak as an individual and once again state..."I can testify that the change in my diet has made a huge improvement in my health."





Why I Juice?

When my Dr. told me she wanted 70% of my diet to be raw (see my post Trust Your Gut: Diagnosed with Candida) I thought to myself...I got to get a juicer.
Juicing is a popular fad right now and you will find endless blogs and websites on the subject but I have followed Jack Lalanne for years, practically grown up watching him and I have to admit that he was my inspiration to juice. As soon as I was able I went out and bought a Jack Lalanne juicer. I really wanted to buy a Vitamix but just couldn't afford one (that is still on my wish list).

I knew that eating 70% raw vegetables would be good for me but I also knew that eating that much raw, enough to reap the benefits, would be hard for me, which is where a juicer would benefit. I could definitely drink more than I could eat. My choices were limited only by my taste buds. I could create all different combinations of fruits and vegetables: wheat grass, kale, dandelion, cucumber, cabbage, celery, beet, lettuce, parsley, mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, cranberry, grapefruit, and apple etc.

I read recently that The National Cancer Institutes's campaign for good health recommends one simple thing - EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. The recommendation is to eat five servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables a day. Researchers are finding that the chemicals in plants will prevent and cure a wide range of ailments. Phytochemicals (plant chemicals) are the newest movement in nutritional research which I have read really holds the keys to preventing some of our most deadly diseases. Fresh juices are a great source of enzymes. In fact, the "freshness" of juice is one of their key features, because enzymes are ruined by heat. When you eat cooked foods, whether its meal, grains, fruits, or vegetables, if the food is cooked at temperatures above 114 degrees, the enzymes have been destroyed. Since fruits and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still a live when you drink the juice.

There have been many studies done in third-world nation populations, and elsewhere, that have shown that in cultures where the diet consists mainly of fruits and vegetables the number of diseases that afflict North Americans simply don't exist.  These kinds of studies were brought to life by a documentary titled Beautiful Truth, which I highly recommend.  The question is consistently being raised…is it their diets or their unpolluted environments that have had an impact on their health.  That remains to be seen but I can testify that the change in my diet has made a huge improvement in my health. 

 The following is a list of benefits:

• fruit and vegetable juices are good sources of the traditional nutrients
• citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, etc.) provide healthy portions of vitamin C
• carrot juice contains large quantities of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene
• green juices are a good source of vitamin E
• fruit juices are a good source of essential minerals like iron, copper, potassium, sodium, iodine, and magnesium, (which by the way are bound by the plant in a form that is most easily digested)
• juicing removes the indigestible fiber (these nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the piece of fruit or vegetable was eaten whole. For example, because many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber, when you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to assimilate about 1% of the available beta carotene. When a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated)
• fruits and vegetables provide one more substance that is absolutely essential for good health – water (more than 65% of most of the cells in the human body are made of water, and in some tissues, for example the brain, the cells can be made up of as much as 80% water. Water is absolutely essential for good health, yet most people don't consume enough water each day)

I can't speak as an expert but I can speak as an individual and once again state..."I can testify that the change in my diet has made a huge improvement in my health."