The Benefits of Juicing Raw Foods

If human beings only ate raw food they would never experience obesity. The good news is, with the invention of the juicer machine, juicing is not only great fun, but easy to do.

Health programs recommend we eat five servings of vegetables per day and three servings of fruit. Many of us achieve that some of the time, but most people don’t achieve that at all. Juicing offers a tasty snack solution, and we can see that trendy juice bars have popped up in financial districts and shopping centres everywhere we go.

Perhaps they are on to something?

The difference between juicing a fruit or vegetable, and eating it another way, may surprise you. Did you know that when you eat a raw carrot, your body receives 1 percent of the beta-carotine enzyme, but if you juice that same carrot, 100 percent of the goodness of beta-carotine reaches you?

Many people juice foods that you wouldn’t normally reach for in the pantry.

• Dandelion - promoted as a liver health tonic since the eleventh century, with demonstrated healing properties for ailments such as hepatitis, jaundice, indigestion, and bile secretion problems.
• Alfalfa and barley leaf - with your juice, provides a boost of chlorophyll, which is the green pigment that gives plants their colour, and in our body acts as a blood cleanser and detoxifier.
• Kale contains vitamin A, C, E, K as well as calcium, magnesium, B6, potassium, iron, omega 3 fatty acids. It is a known anti-inflammatory and antioxident. This vegetable is credited with cancer prevention properties.

The Daily Mail says ... "after giving up smoking, the most important thing you can do for your health is to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day."
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-95080/The-health-benefits-juicing.html#ixzz2cXJnpDct

If it is in The Daily Mail it must be true!

Parsley is a favourite of the juicing set, and when combined with the sweetness of a carrot, and perhaps some lemon juice, creates a well rounded flavoured juice drink.

• The iron minerals present in raw parsley is taken up by the body much more efficiently than if it is cooked.
• Parsley contains omega 3 oil which is present in the famed Chinese snake oil remedy, and credited with healing and rejuvenation qualities.
• Parsley combines well with lemon juice. The vitamin C present in lemons is in higher concentration that most other fruits.

Juicing is a much better way to consume fruit than say, sugar loaded jams and spreads, and it is possible to combine different fruits for different health benefits. Strawberry, blueberry, and elderberry, combine nicely with oranges, to create a colourful combination packed with Vitamin C, antioxidants, and niacin which is good for cholesterol reduction.

The fact that many juices involve raw green vegetables like broccoli, kale, chives, and cress, boosts Vitamin A, B, C and E intake. Vegetables grow in soil which means that in raw form, the presence of minerals such as potassium, zinc, iodine, copper, iron, and magnesium, can be digested from a freshly juiced vegetable. Take the same vegetable and fry it in a pan, and you lose most of the mineral benefit.

So, next time you feel sluggish and in need of a health fix, make yourself a juice, combining at least three ingredients. Experiment with taste, sensation, and most importantly, your health, and I am sure you will join juicing converts everywhere, in no time at all.