There has been lots of interest in juicing in recent years and deservedly so. Many people now replace several of their daily meals with these nutritional power-houses and are reaping the benefits of such a change. Juicing remains one of the quickest ways to supercharge your health and vitality that is available to date. The following is a short guide on juicing that I hope will help clear up any questions that you might have had but were afraid to ask.
Fresh Versus Pasteurised
The first thing you need to know is that there is a difference between pasteurised and un-pasteurised juice. Fresh juice has active enzymes and the pasteurised version does not. These active components of fresh juice are the main reason why juiced fruit and veg only last a short time after being prepared. Typically this is around 24 hours, after that, the juice will have oxidised quite considerably. Oxidation is the process where the active enzymes comes into contact with oxygen and as a result, begins to degrade over time. If you’ve ever cut an apple and left it exposed to the air, you will see it turning brown. This is the same oxidative process that happens to a fresh juice. There is a considerable reduction in the quality and enzymatic content once the juice has been extracted, which is why it is better to drink it soon after it has been made.
Juice Contains No Fibre
This is true. The juice is almost like the blood of the plants. Once it is passed through a juicer, the fibre is removed leaving only the liquid element behind. You body can easily absorb the nutrients from this liquid without having to go through the lengthy digestive process that eating the whole plant involves. This makes light work on the digestive tract, and is an excellent way to up your nutritional intake, particularly if your digestive system is functioning below par. Have you ever felt the need to sleep after a big meal? Not exactly the result eating a meal is meant to achieve, but shows the power of the digestive process, particularly when it is under siege, well, juicing is an incredible way to give your body a break, while feeding it at the same time.
However, even though juice does not contain any fibre, we do still need to eat it and in fact, we need a lot more than we would imagine, so I would not recommend you staying on only juice for a long time, unless you are treating a serious health condition. Fibre is like a magic sponge that mops up all the toxins that are stored in our colon. The lack of fibre in our western diet is a major cause for concern and is seriously damaging people’s health. Victoria Butenkyo (one of my secret nutritional heroes) in “Green for Life” recommends people take in at least 30 to 50 grams per day. It is sad, but most of us are falling way short of this figure, with most people closer to 15 grams per day. I most certainly do not want to “dis” juicing, or its increcible role in reversing many illness and nutritional deficiencies, but feel that people need to be made aware of its lack of fibre. I will be covering more on fibre in another post over the coming weeks so watch out for it.
Best Time to Juice
Morning is definitely the best time to juice. This is because the body has several different cycles and it is in the morning when the juice will be of most benefit to you. The body goes into its cleansing and detox cycle at 3am and does not leave this cycle until noon the following day. During this time, the inner organs are cleansing and expelling the body of unwanted toxins. It is more supportive to your body to drink fresh juice and have foods with a high water content during this time, which means a nice, fresh veggie juice is an excellent way to start the day. Examples of veggies that have a high water content are cucumber and celery. Fruit too also has a high water (and sugar content too) and don’t forget your leafy greens. You may have heard that having your biggest meal in the middle of the day really is better for you but now you know why, it’s because your can digest it easier. The later the hour in the day that you eat, the more taxing it will be on your digestive system. If you are going to have a large meal and it is a late hour and you find your digestive system is not what it used to be, then I suggest you try taking some digestive enzymes before you eat. I find these little things a Godsend!
Juicing is Alkalising to the Body
Our body’s blood has a natural acid/alkaline balance. It is measured on a PH scale that ranges from zero, with zero being the most acidic to 14, being the most alkaline. Good health is somewhere between 6.8 and 7.6. Most of the refined foods we eat, i.e. all processed and packaged food, wheat based products, dairy and animal products are acid forming to our bodies. When our PH is too acidic it is Disneyland for bad bacteria and yeast to survive and thrive. Ideally we are better off refusing entry to these little nasties and juicing, particularly green juices are an excellent way to redress this balance to more alkaline surroundings. The reason I mention green juices is that many people are under the illusion that having mango, pineapple, pear a carrot is a good nutritious juice. It is certainly better than the shop bought version, but for maximum nutrition, low GL (glycaemia load) and truly healthy juices, you need to get juicing those leaves and veggies with a smaller amount of fruit. I will be putting up a Useful Links Index shortly so, do please keep checking back to see if I’ve been organised enough to get write and jog my memory if I haven't.
Different Veggies You Can Juice
- All Leafy Greens – including kale, spinach, pak choi, parsley, coriander, mint – high in vitamins A,C and E, watercress, rocket, all types of lettuce, chock full of chlorophyll (see separate entry on chlorophyll) and phyto-nutrients. Great for alkalising the body.
- Cucumber and Celery are incredible for flushing out toxins from the kidneys. Great for building hair, skin and nails. Anti-inflammatory qualities. Celery is high in the coumarins, a phyto-chemical that may help lower blood pressure and increase white blood cell count.
- Beetroot – great for building strong blood and heart. They add a lovely earthy flavour to your juice. Don’t forget to juice the leafy tops too as they contain beta-carotene, calcium and iron.
- Apples- are lovely and sweet and bring a lovely taste to your juice. They are a great system cleanser and like most fruit, have plenty of anti-oxidant properties because they have high Vit A and C content. They are also more alkalising to the body than other fruits.
- Pears – similar to apples, but are the more alkalising than most other fruit.
- Ginger – Incredible for your digestion and brings such a unique taste to your drink. I love this and add it to almost all of my drinks and smoothies.
- Lemons and Lime - Full of Vitamin c, but their real benefit is in the alkalising effect they have on the blood. This makes them excellent for taking the edge off some of the more bitter leafy greens and a great combination with lots of other fruit.
Enjoy getting to know what works for you and I look forward to hearing all about your amazing, healthy, juicy concoctions.
To you good health!
Ruth.
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