Juicing

 Like many people I was wondering the benefits of juicing versus just eating vegetables and fruit.  Also, I have always wondered how beneficial those "naked" juices are or "bolthouse farms" juices.  The prices attached to both brands are very expensive!  Well, if you have wondered the same about juicing or the price for organic juice versus how beneficial that prepackaged juice is, keep reading.

If I go into some place local for a fresh juice, I will pay anywhere from $2.99 for 1 oz. shot of wheat grass, to $3.99 for a 12 oz. carrot(or other veggies) juice.  But what is the importance of drinking 1-2 ounces of fresh wheat grass or 12 oz. of fresh carrot juice versus the prepackaged juices?  Read the nutritional facts about the amount of sugar that is in the prepackaged bottles.  Fresh juice doesn't contain the sugar like a prepackaged juice does.

Why would I or anyone else want or benefit from buying fresh juice or juicing fresh at home?  Not only do I/you get nutrients from fruit, but I/you also get enzymes.  Enzymes are our body's work force.  They act as catalysts in hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that take place throughout the body.  Enzymes are essential for digestion and absorption of food, conversion of food into body tissue, production of energy at the cellular level.  Enzymes are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in your body every second of every day.  Fresh juices are a tremendous source of enzymes!  Remember I was wondering about "freshness" with juicing...enzymes are destroyed by heat.  When you heat grains, fruit or vegetables above 114 degrees, the enzymes are destroyed!  Since fruit and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice.  Juicing removes the indigestible fiber so the nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the fruit or vegetable would be eaten whole.  ie: many 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.  But when a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated.  So when juicing fresh veggies or fruit, our bodies can absorb all the nutrients (the plants have to offer) faster than eating the plant.

The National Cancer Institute recommends for everyone to eat 3 servings of fruit a day and 5 servings of vegetables a day.  A diet high in fruits and vegetables will help cure and prevent a wide variety of ailments. The phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered, are changing the way we think about food!  Especially fruits and vegetables.  Broccoli, for example, contains a substance that may prevent, even cure, breast cancer! Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens, which then decrease the chance of contracting cancer. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells' DNA from damage (hello anti-oxidant)! A number of green vegetables contain phytochemicals that appear to offer protection against cancer causing substances. Bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabega, turnip greens, red beets, peppers, garlic, onions, leeks and chives all are a few vegetables that appear to have cancer preventing phytochemicals!

I encourage you to do some research for yourself.