Juicing and Why I’m For It

Juicing has a bad reputation.

When I say juicing, you are probably thinking about some muscle-bound giant of a man, whose veins are bulging from his skin and can crush tomato cans with a flick of his finger.

I will take a stab in the dark and say the first image in your head is probably this:

That is not what I mean when I refer to juicing.

I’m talking about this kind of juicing:

You can breathe a sigh of relief if you were worried I was pro-steroids 🙂

Juicing is a great way of providing nutritional content from a variety of fruits and vegetables in a simple to consume fashion. Particularly for people who are picky eaters, juicing is an alternative way to get those missing nutrients. Also, fresh juices taste amazingly good, which is my favorite reason for making them 🙂

There are three reasons why you will want to consider juicing into your diet:

1. Juicing helps you absorb more nutrients from vegetables. Chewing is more important than most people realize. When you thoroughly chew your vegetables, nutrients are released from the fibrous material of the produce and absorbed by your body. When you juice, the vegetable is “pre-chewed” to 100%, making it guaranteed for your body to absorb all the nutrients.
2. Juicing allows you to consume more vegetables in an efficient manner. Most of us do not eat enough frutis and vegetables throughout our day. Some people may find eating enough fruits and vegetables to be difficult, but it can be easily accomplished with a quick glass of juice.
3. You can add a wider variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Many people eat the same vegetable salads every day. This violates the principle of regular food rotation and means that you are missing out on valuable nutrients that other foods contain. But with juicing, you can juice a wide variety of vegetables that you may not normally enjoy eating whole.

Ready to get started? Here is one recipe I use:

Tools:

• Juicer – You want only pure juice, no pulp or fiber. The best kind of juicer is a masticating juicer, which grinds the fruits or vegetables under low temperatures so that it does not heat the produce. This allows the juice to retain the most nutritional content.

Ingredients:

When possible, get Organic foods – especially for greens that are routinely sprayed with pesticides.

• Strawberries
• Pineapple
• Apple
• Carrots
• Grapes
• Kale
• Tomato
• Beets
• Oranges
• Honeydew

Method:

1. Juice all the fruits and vegetables above (or any of your choice). You should have a good variety of produce. A good guide is to have many different colored fruits and vegetables.
2. Add some ice and enjoy! If it is too sweet, you can dilute with water.

I like to have a Juice after my morning run. It is a great way to start the day and you can definitely feel an energy boost. Give it a try tomorrow morning and feel the difference!