Juicing for health is growing in popularity for good reason. Not only can you find juicing advocates on any natural living website (like this one, of course) but even leading hospitals are advocating the benefits of juicing for health.
Juicing for Health with Fresh Fruits and Veggies
Adding fresh juices to your diet can be one of the best everyday things you can do for your health. This is the case because with juicing you can take in far more nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables than you ever could just by eating them straight. And these nutrients both protect us from disease and boost our health and vitality.
For example, it’s easy to consume the nutrients of a couple of pounds of carrots in a day if you juice them. And while carrots are well known to be rich in vitamin A and help with our night vision, carrot juice is also a great juice to detoxify the liver. Vitamin A is also a key nutrient for skin health.
Detoxifying your liver when juicing for health then means that your body can process out more of the chemicals that most people are regularly exposed to – because the liver’s detoxification capacity then becomes available. Because your liver is also your prime fat burning organ, detoxifying your liver will also mean it’s easier to lose excess weight.
If you add some beets to your carrot juice, you can also take in hearty doses of betalains, which raises your body’s detoxification enzymes. This helps your body process out even more manmade chemicals which -without detoxification methods -can be hard to remove. Beet juice in large quantities has also been known to break down cancers and tumors, a true testament to juicing for health.
Cabbage is another vegetable you can pack in with carrot juice – and it’s been found that folks consuming regular cabbage have far less cancer than folks who don’t. Cabbage also boosts our body’s detoxification enzymes and helps us remove environmental estrogens. Environmental estrogens are chemicals which are often found in plastics. Theyfill up the estrogen sites in both male and female bodies and then our natural estrogen isn’t used, which creates an abundance of estrogen in the body and subsequently causes a variety of hormonal problems. Excess estrogen is also connected to stubborn belly fat.
Ingredients Incorporated in Juicing for Health
So what ingredients will make the best super juice? We recommend taking a look at kale. It has become increasingly polar over the past couple of years. Here’s why:
Like other members of the Brassica family — including broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage and collards — kale is a nutritional powerhouse that boasts an abundance of antioxidants and other disease-fighting agents. And with just 35 calories per cup, this particular concoction cements the meaning of ‘juicing for health’.
Juicing for Health Benefits:
• Just one cup of kale includes more than 1000 percent of your daily recommended vitamin K, an antioxidant that promotes bone growth and regulates blood clotting. In fact, kale’s vitamin K content surpasses that of broccoli, spinach and collard greens. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating a diet rich in vitamin K can reduce the overall risk of developing cancer.
• That same cup of kale also contains more than 180 percent of your daily recommended vitamin A, which aids vision, growth, bone formation, tissue repair and red blood cell production.
• A cup of kale also contains 200 percent of your daily recommended vitamin C and 5 grams of fiber, which is important for digestion and regularity.
• This leafy green also delivers significant quantities of vitamin B6 (maintains healthy nervous and immune systems), as well as iron and calcium.
• Finally, kale is rich in the eye-health promoting carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.
Convinced of the many health benefits of kale? Below are some tips for selection and use.
Juicing for health? Kale adds a fresh flavor (and beautiful green color) to any juice! We have included one of our favorite recipes below. This sweet and smooth carrot apple kale ginger combo is great for beginners and experienced juicers alike!
Carrot Apple Kale Ginger Juice
Ingredients:
• 10 carrots
• 2 small apples, cored
• 4 large kale leaves, de-stemmed
• 2 quarter-sized chunks fresh ginger root, or to taste
Directions:
1. Wash and prepare ingredients (core, de-stem, etc.)
2. Feed ingredients into your juicer in 3 or 4 batches, starting with harder vegetables and ginger and finishing with kale.
3. Enjoy!
Yield: about 16 ounces of juice
Although juicing for health is an excellent way to incorporate vital daily nutrients into your diet, always consult a physician before embarking on a long-term weight loss plan.
