We have all heard the “facts” about juicing, but in this day and age, no one really knows which facts to believe, because these “facts” have been chopped and screwed by word of mouth, like a game of telephone. I have been doing my research on the matter and have found some very interesting articles and studies by doctors, home stead survivalists, and natural healers.
I have often heard that you should “drink veggie juices, instead of fruit” and that “you should use a mixer and not a juicer so that fiber doesn’t escape from the veggies.” It has also been said that you shouldn’t strain juice. Instead, consume it with the pulp so you are consuming almost 100% of the veggie/fruit. I have always been a stickler for wasting as little as possible, when in the kitchen. When I first started my site, one of my first recipes was “juicing muffins”. This is a prime example of not wasting the amazing fiber that is left over after you juice. You are still getting the fiber, except it is now baked into a delicious muffin of loaf.
After doing such research, I wanted to focus on the area of “green juices”. These have become more popular, in recent years, and for good reason. Why, you ask? Due to the fact that without the fiber that is provided in green veggies, your fruit juice is basically just sugar, which will only add to your weight. I prefer to juice my fruit as sort of “treat” and usually try to just eat my fruit whole. Fresh juice delivers a powerful array of vitamins, enzymes and minerals that are absorbed immediately into the body. Another little known fact is that you should avoid combining veggie with fruit juices, as they require different enzymes for digestion; with the exception of apple, which has a very neutral effect.
Now, onto the BENEFITS OF GREEN JUICES:
Green juices are PACKED with nutrients. Green veggies are able to transform the sunshine into the food that we consume. Greens also produce chlorophyll, which will bring oxygen to your body. This enables the body to release the stored toxins it has packed away into the deepest crevices of our bodies. Hemoglobin also gets elevated, which, in turn, improves the blood circulation as a result, and will give your body a great boost of energy. A green juice will cleanse your digestive system, lungs, liver and uterus. This will give your body a kick start ability to help you lose weight, as well! Green juices are particularly great for smokers, as nothing will clear out the toxins from your body like some lean, mean and green juice.
FACT: Magnesium is essential for efficient calcium utilisation. The chlorophyll molecule has magnesium at its centre and its impact on the body’s magnesium levels is highly significant. When you include green juices in your daily diet, it helps them absorb calcium better. All green plants have Vitamins A and C, which are important co-factors for calcium absorption. Chlorophyll foods also act as a form of ‘stored sunshine’, to regulate calcium and Vitamin D deficiency. So if you get no sunshine, then increase the greens in your diet.
Scientists, Doctors, and people much smarter than I am, have suggested that the following steps be followed, when “Green Juicing”:
– Always rotate your greens, don’t use one green all the time. Plants carry a trace of alkaloids (which in small doses is okay) and you don’t want the same alkaloids to build up in your system.
– If you have a strong digestive system, blend greens in a mixer and if not, juice them.
– Even though you eat a green vegetable everyday, your body will assimilate many more nutrients from blended greens rather than the ones chewed. It’s always beneficial to add spirulina and wheat grass powder, as it increases the chlorophyll quotient in the juice.
– If taste is important to you, mix dates in your juice. However, watch out if you have yeast, candida, diabetes or hypoglycemia.
– The juices are best consumed fresh, but you can keep them only for a day at the most in the fridge. Add some lime to preserve them.
– Green juices should be ingested on an empty stomach, so have it first thing in the morning or in between meals.
This morning, I started my day out with a simple green juice:
– 1 large broccoli stem
– 2 large cucumbers
– 3 green apples
– 1/4 inch ginger
– 1 small bunch of Bok Choy
