In her book, "The Raw Food Detox Diet," certified clinical nutritionist Natalia Rose states that, "nothing is more live-enzyme rich than freshly extracted vegetable juice. Ounce for ounce it is the most enzyme-loaded, easily absorbable form of nutrition available on the planet today." (Raw Food Detox Diet, 2005) Ms. Rose is not talking about the kind of vegetable juice that is available in pre-packaged form in your grocery stores. She is speaking of freshly extracted pure vegetable juice available only by means of a juicer.
Many people want to believe they are taking in the kind of essential nutrients their bodies need in a fast and easy form of store bought juice. This is far from the case. Even the labels that claim they are the "freshest" are pasteurized juices, which means that all of the beneficial live enzymes available in fresh juice have been heated and destroyed.
By investing in a quality juicer the ability to make endless concoctions of fresh fruit and vegetable juices becomes an everyday possibility. Juicing is even more nutritious than simply ingesting fresh vegetables, as there are nutrients trapped deep inside the fiber of these vegetables that our bodies are not able to access and therefore absorb. These nutrients are released when the juice is extracted from the pulp of the plant.
It is important to remember that if your grocer, health food store or co-op sell fresh squeezed juices, these juices are great for you and have not been pasteurized. These juices will be full of all the vitamins and minerals found in the juice you would make at home. Juice bars are also popping up all over the place.
Many of these places are good and can be trusted to have quality juice if fresh, pure juice is on the menu. However, many of these places are really selling smoothies that are loaded with frozen fruit, sugary frozen yogurt and other syrup-laden fruit additives. These are not to be mistaken as an alternative to freshly extracted juice.
Finally, keep in mind that there are many products on the market that are sold to supplement your juicing efforts. Green products that boost the nutritive value of your juices, powders that are meant to add missing ingredients like Brewer's Yeast or Flax Seed Oil. All of these supplements have benefits, certainly, but the pure fresh juice you are extracting is the most natural form of providing essential living enzymes and pure vitamins and minerals.
Supplements have their place, but always remember they are just that, supplements. In its most basic and natural form, pure fruit and vegetable juice provide all of the beneficial ingredients necessary to help create the healthiest, most energy producing food possible.
Creating new juices can become a game, an ongoing means of attempting to outsmart any disease producing pathogens in your body. There are so many homeopathic resources available today and within each lies the secrets to a healthier mind and body.
Discovering what vegetables and fruits are naturally designed to boost and strengthen can become a natural means of immune system building and disease prevention. There are an endless amount of delicious fruit and vegetable combinations that while providing a delicious snack, can also provide a daily dose of vitamins and nutrients to help support one's health.
Juicing is simply the most natural and direct way to get all of the healthful ingredients necessary to ensure that proper daily nutrition is met. Finding a high quality juicer that will extract the fruit and vegetable juices completely, and without heat to kill the enzymes is the key to making juicing a daily practice. When juicing becomes a daily practice, the immune system will get stronger, energy will increase, and daily nutritional needs will be met.
