Fresh Juice Benefits
- Article posted by James Thomas
It seems that lately juice bars are giving Starbucks a run for their money, and while they are yet to be found on every corner, their numbers appear to be steadily on the increase.
So what is the driving force behind this growth trend?
Well, other than the fact that it tastes great, freshly made juice is rich in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and amino acids. It is by far the fastest and most effective way to give your body what it needs and to keep it working at its optimum.
You may be wondering whether you can buy natural juice instead of making it. The truth is that commercial or mass-produced juice does not contain anywhere near the high nutrient content that freshly made juice has. Processing destroys most if not all of the nutrients and most of these juices are heavy on preservatives to lengthen their shelf life.
One benefit of juicing is that fresh, organic juice is easy to digest and quickly absorbed and assimilated into your bloodstream, helping to maintain it’s natural healthy alkaline state. Your blood then carries the nutrients to various organs and body tissues to nourish and repair cells.
Another benefit is that you can consume much more live foods through juicing. It takes approximately one pound of carrots to make a glass of juice. Most people cannot eat this many carrots. However, drinking a glass of juice is something that everyone can do.
Another reason to juice is that raw juice contains more than just vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes. Depending on the juice, you can receive other benefits. For example, string beans contain insulin-like properties. Cucumber and onion juice contain hormones needed by the pancreas. In addition, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and radishes contain antibacterial properties.
You can use juices as a supplement to your diet of natural, whole foods or you could do a juicing fast once or twice a month. Juice fasts take place over a day or sometimes several days. You’ll do nothing but drink fresh, natural juice as well as pure water. It’s a great way to kick start your healing and rid your body of all of the junk that you’ve been putting into it.
The great thing is that you don’t need to spend a fortune at a juice bar. It’s easy to make your own fresh, healthy and delicious juices at home.
All you need is a juicer, some fresh fruits and / or vegetables (organic is ideal) and you’re ready to go.
Below are some easy juice recipes to help you get started.
Carrot Juice (this is the base for many juice combinations)
- Thoroughly wash about one pound of carrots
- Do not peel; feed into the juicer one at a time
You can drink straight carrot juice; it has a cleansing effect and builds the blood.
Celery Juice
- Cut a stalk of celery into two or three pieces
- Feed the celery one piece at a time
Celery has diuretic properties and helps to maintain proper sodium levels.
Apple Juice
- Wash and core three or four apples and cut them into sections
- Do not peel
- Feed into the juicer one at a time
Apples are high in phenolics. Phenolics have anti-aging properties, help protect against cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
The great thing about juicing though is how easy it is to combine several ingredients at once and therefore increase the healing properties of your beverage.
One of my all time favourite juice combinations is apple, carrot, pineapple and orange with a little bit of ginger and a squeeze of lime. It is absolutely heaven!
These are just a few examples of juices you can make. There are endless juice combinations so be creative and come up with your own recipes. In future articles, I’ll go into specific juice combinations that are designed to aid in healing specific health conditions.
In the meantime, get busy ’squeezing the juice’ out of your fruit and veges and also out of your life!
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About The Author
James Thomas is quite the healthy living enthusiast having spent many years working in the Health and Wellness industry. He has a depth of knowledge when it comes to diet and nutrition and he is the Founder and Editor for Self Empower Magazine.
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