18 Feb Build Your Own Juice
Here are three main reasons why you will want to consider incorporating vegetable juicing into your optimal health programme:
1) Juicing helps you absorb virtually all phytonutrients and vitamins and minerals from the vegetables and fruit you juice, which you otherwise may not absorb through simple chewing. Juicing breaks down the tough cell walls that contain precious phytonutrients, something our teeth and stomachs cannot break down themselves
2) Juicing allows you to consume large quantities of vegetables that you might not otherwise eat. You should be eating around one pound of vegetables per 50 pounds of body weight per day (and when you think about it, not many people eat even an eighth of this requirement per day)
3) Juicing allows you to add nutrient variety to your diet, because you can juice a wide variety of vegetables. Variety is important when you are eating because each vegetable has its own nutrient profile which is completely different from the next. Variety ensures your body is loaded with all the right vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Here are four easy steps to building a super power juice in under a few minutes:
Step #1: Pick one item from the “Sweeten up” column
This includes vegetables and fruit like apples, pears, beets, carrots and sweet potato. These items are moderately sweet, and combine well with leafy greens and herbs. If you want a sweet hint to your juices, be sure to add one of these items (to your desired sweetness).
Step #2: Pick one item from the “Alkalize” column
Keeping the body in an alkaline state helps ward off disease and illness. Leafy greens and celery and cucumbers are excellent alkalizers. Chlorophyll helps to oxygenate our body, and viruses and bacteria dislike a highly oxygenated body. Red peppers also help keep our body in a state of alkalinity. (note: technically, those items in “healing herbs” and “detox” are also great at achieving alkalinity inside the body)
Step #3: Pick one item from the “Detox” column
Pretty much every fruit and vegetable will help detox the body, but there are a certain few vegetables that I consider to fully detox the body. Dandelion greens help detox the liver, while garlic proves an all-around, full-body detox (it is a powerful anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and antiseptic). Lemons are packed with vitamin C and help pull out toxins from our cells whereas broccoli contains the almighty sulforophane compounds which fight off free radicals and help prevent various forms of cancer. Ginger and turmeric are wonderful at reducing inflammation and like garlic, provide an all over full-body detox.
Step #4: Pick one item from the “Healing Herbs” column
All herbs are incredibly healing, and this list is not limited to those mentioned in the infographic. Cilantro draws out and removes heavy metals from our cells, and parsley and mint are powerful cleansers and deodorizers. Watercress helps keep our skin beautifully radiant and has more vitamin C than oranges, and dill fights off free radicals and proves a wonderful digestive aid.
http://rawedibles.blogspot.ca/