Juicing Power

For many months I have been DREAMING OF JUICING CELERY. (Weird, I know). But last week I finally got a juicer! Oh wow it was so worth it! I got the Breville BJE200XL juicer from Amazon and so far it has been performing wonderfully. Plus, clean up is not hard at all!

WHY JUICE?

• Juices from raw vegetables is great, because when vegetables are cooked, some of the nutrients are lost, and some of the proteins become denatured, making them undigestable! (Meyerowitz, 14)
• Fresh juices are predigested, in that they are more easily digested, because they lack the fiber. This gives your body easier access to nutrients, improves your body's assimilation of nutrients, and conserves your body's energy, giving you more energy, and increasing your ability to fight disease! (Meyerowitz, 14-15)
• Fruits and vegetables have numerous phytochemicals, which help prevent against disease!
• The complex vitamins and minerals that are in plants cannot be replicated or reproduced with nutrition supplements (Meyerowitz, 16). Juices come from whole foods, while nutritional supplements are anything but!
• Juicing can concentrate pounds of produce and their nutrients in just a few glasses!
• In one study, scientistists analyzed the antiviral activity of fresh apple juice to apple cider, apple wine, and apple juice from concentrate. The most antiviral activity was seen in the fresh apple juice. Why? Because pasteurization in commercial juices destroys protective enzymes, and thus, decreases antiviral activity (Murray, 9). So drink some fresh, raw, unpasteurized juice!
• If you have digestive problems, juicing could be your answer!
• Juicing has helped some people with weight loss.

BUT- What about the lack of fiber?! The big juicing controversy.

• Fiber is indigestible. It is actually the juice that provides nourishment. (Murray, 8)
• Juicing is not meant to replace eating. Eating has its own role, and so does juicing. (And I'm sure that supplementation has its own role, too).
• Plus, you can still use the pulp (which has lots of fiber) that is left behind! Use some leftover carrot pulp to make carrot cake, replace a little bit of the flour in your recipe with leftover pulp, or use the pulp in some baked goods or dehydrated breads! (If none of these options appeal to you and if you're up for it, the pulp would also make some great compost!)
• If you are looking for some fiber, beans pack a punch! (Sorry, this is a somewhat unrelated side note!) :)

My first concoction:











Salad in a glass! I actually used a third of the ginger that's in the picture, and the drink was a little strong on the kale. But it was still delicious and nutritious, and you can see a bit of orange foam on the top of the drink from the carrots!

Some good things about:

• Kale- rich in calcium, chlorophyll, vitamins: C, E, B6, K, & folic acid, high in minerals: iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, and zinc; possesses cancer protective compounds, oxygenates the blood, improves red blood cell counts, the list goes on! (Meyerowitz 337-338)
• Carrots- great source of beta-carotenes (pre-vitamin A), contains B-vitamins & coenzyme Q10, good for dry skin problems, protects the respiratory system...(Meyerowitz, 313-314). They are also super sweet and great for juicing!
• Celery- used as a diuretic and laxative, helps to break up gallstones and heal wounds, rich in potassium, one of the best sources of coumarins, which help to inhibit various forms of cancer (Meyerowitz, 315-316)
• Ginger- stimulates digestion, releavies abdominal bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea, has anti-inflammatory properties, supports a healthy cardiovascular system, etc. (Meyerowitz 327-328)

I am going to be consuming so many vegetables with my lovely juicer! Juicing is DELICIOUS, it's EASY, and it makes it easy to consume LOTS OF VEGGIES! What more could you want? (You can juice fruit, too!)

Sources:

1. Meyerowitz, Steve. Power Juices Super Drinks. New York, NY: Keningston Publishing Corp., 2000.
2. Murray, Michael T. The Complete Book of Juicing. Rocklin, CA: Prima Publishing, 1992.