Getting Juicy

Another day, another round of nagging guilt. Yet again, you’ve failed to consume even close to the seven to 10 servings of fresh fruits and veggies recommended by Canada’s Food Guide. The question is, just how does one go about adding these healthy foods into an already busy lifestyle?

Here’s one terrific way: fresh juices. If you happen to have a juicer packed away, think about starting up a relationship with it again. Don’t have a juicer? Take heart. There is now a new concept in juicing that doesn’t even involve owning a juicer.

Jump into juicing

Juicing is a method that extracts the juice from fruits and vegetables, leaving the pulp behind. This allows you to consume large amounts of nutrients and digest and assimilate them quickly. It is a lot easier to drink 8 oz of liquid than to consume 3 lb of food! Plus, juicing gives your digestion, assimilation, and elimination systems a much-needed rest from the constant work they do, allowing your body to cleanse efficiently and obtain maximum nourishment.

Concentrated cleansing

A juice-only fast of several days can be an amazingly healing and cleansing experience. But juicing on a daily basis can also be a strategy to get concentrated nutrition in a short amount of time. With juicing, you can start your day with a refreshing drink that contains four vegetable servings and two fruit servings, all before 8 am. In case you’re counting, that leaves you only one more fruit or veggie to consume during the day to meet the minimum requirement, more than easily done.

It’s now easier to do than ever before, simply by using your high-powered blender instead of a juicer. Just add the fruits and vegetables to your blender with a cup or so of water (depending on which fruits or vegetables you are using), blend, and strain through a mesh bag (often called a nut milk bag).

Most alternative health experts advise consuming way more fresh raw fruits and vegetables than listed in government guidelines. But with the power of juicing—whether juicing at home or buying at your favourite health food store or juice bar—your days of nagging guilt over not eating right are over.

Recipes

• Immune System Booster Juice
• Energy Enhancement Juice
• Weight Loss Booster
• Ambrosia

Combining juices

Don’t worry about mixing fruits and vegetables in the same drink. You may have read so-called rules somewhere about food combining, but those rules don’t really apply to juices. Juices are quickly and easily assimilated by the body.

What to do with the leftover pulp?

This is a common concern, as people do not like to waste food. However, the very concept of juicing is to remove the pulp so that digestion and assimilation of the nutrients will be rapid, so the pulp often goes into the compost pile.

Over the years useful and clever ways have been devised to use the pulp. If Fido needs to lose weight, add some pulp to your dog’s food for roughage so he will feel full on fewer calories (check first with your vet to make sure which fruits and veggies are safe for him to consume and which are not). Mix some pulp in with your salad, sneak some into soup, blend into smoothies, or use it in baking.

Nutrients and cleansing: health benefits of popular juices

Juice	Nutrients and cleansing health benefits
Apple	vitamins A and C; phytochemicals, pectin, and boron digestive, diuretic, antiseptic, and cleansing
Beet	vitamin A, potassium aids liver and gallbladder
Cabbage	thiamine; calcium; iron; magnesium; phosphorus; potassium; vitamins C, K, and B6; folate; and manganese antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-ulcer, aids memory, detoxifying, restorative, boosts immunity, and promotes healing
Carrot	vitamins A, B, and C; iron; beta carotene; calcium; potassium; and sodium cleansing effect on the liver and digestive system; antioxidant
Celery	vitamins A, C, K, and B6; pantothenic acid; calcium; magnesium; riboflavin; phosphorus; folate; potassium; and manganese neutralizes acidity in the body; natural diuretic and laxative
Cranberry	vitamins A and C; iodine and calcium; flavonoids; enzymes; malic, citric, and quinic acids antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, emulsify fats
Cucumber	vitamin A, iron, and potassium high water content; a good vegetable for juicing also contains sterols, which may help reduce cholesterol
Grape	flavonoids, resveratrol, boron, and potassium antioxidant and antiviral
Kale	vitamins A and C, chlorophyll, calcium, iron, folic acid, potassium, and sulforaphane boosts the body’s detoxification enzymes
Orange /citrus	vitamin C, limonene, and flavonoids anti-inflammatory; supports immune system
Pineapple	vitamin C, potassium, bromelain, and iron digestive aid

Some final notes on juicing: remember the old saying, “Variety is the spice of life”? Rather than repeating the same recipe day after day, juice an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables taken from all the colours of the rainbow: white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, and green. This will ensure that you are obtaining a rich variety of nutrients. Happy juicing!