Most people who get into juicing recognize that fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy and would like to get more daily servings in their diet. However, they may not be aware of the specific health benefits that juicing can provide, as well as the ability of fresh juices to combat existing diseases or health conditions and prevent chronic disease.
Fresh fruits and vegetables contain several key nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients. Most people understand that vitamins and minerals are essential for life and many take daily supplements to ensure they are getting enough, but the critical roles of enzymes and phytonutrients are less well understood.
Enzymes are necessary for a variety of important chemical reactions in your body, including digestion, absorption, and conversion of food into energy. Therefore, an enzyme deficiency can lead to digestion problems, elimination problems, malnutrition, and low energy levels due to low metabolism. Juicing not only replenishes these enzymes, but actually prevents the body from depleting its enzyme supply by breaking down the fiber and cell walls of fruits and vegetables, making the nutrients more bioavailable to the body’s cells. Juicing raw vegetables is also preferable to cooking, since the enzymes are denatured (destroyed) by heat. Enzymes will improve many aspects of health, but for those looking for ways to boost their metabolism to shed unwanted pounds, raw fruit and vegetable juices are particularly beneficial.
Phytonutrients are a more recent discovery and more are being discovered all the time. Phytonutrients may have a variety of effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. For example, sulforaphane, found in broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and other vegetables, is thought to inhibit tumor growth and may also have antimicrobial effects. Lycopene, found in tomatoes, is a powerful antioxidant and may also have anti-cancer properties. Lutein and zeaxanthin are primarily found in dark green leafy vegetables and have been shown to inhibit age-related macular degeneration. Considering that the most common causes of death and chronic diseases today are believed to stem from inflammation (cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, etc.) or unregulated cell growth (cancer), increase your intake of fresh fruits and especially vegetables is a great idea. Juicing promotes the consumption of these extraordinary nutrients by facilitating a higher daily intake of fruits and vegetables and by making certain vegetables more palatable in raw form.
An additional nutrient, found only in plants, deserves mention. Chlorophyll, the green pigment in plants that is responsible for photosynthesis, or the process of obtaining energy from sunlight, is another often overlooked nutrient. Chlorophyll is known for its beneficial effects on the blood and circulation, in particular by increasing red blood cell count and hemoglobin formation (and thus oxygen delivery to tissues) and by dilating blood vessels, which which lowers blood pressure. Interestingly, the chlorophyll molecule is identical to the hemoglobin molecule attached to red blood cells, which binds and carries oxygen throughout the body, with the exception that its central atom is magnesium instead of iron (giving it a green color instead of red). This similarity is almost certainly responsible for the beneficial circulatory effects of chlorophyll. Since many green leafy vegetables are difficult to eat on their own, juicing provides an easy way to consume them with other fruits and vegetables that neutralize or soften their flavor.
While all fruits and vegetables benefit health in some way, people who are focused on curing or preventing certain diseases and conditions should focus on the ones that contain the critical nutrients. Listed below are several common health problems and some fruits and vegetables that can be juiced to overcome these conditions:
Alzheimer’s: grapes (including seeds)
Arthritis: yams, asparagus
Asthma: apples, bell peppers
Cancer: broccoli, kale, collard greens, blueberries (colon cancer)
Diabetes: artichokes, sweet potatoes, artichokes
eczema: carrots
Kidney stones: blueberries, green beans
Stomach ulcers: cabbage
Urinary tract infections: watermelon, blueberries
Before deciding whether or not to use juice to improve your health and fight disease, it’s worth noting some important differences between freshly squeezed fruits and vegetables and the commercial juices available in most supermarkets (and even many health food stores). First of all, many of these juices, even organic ones, contain added sugar and preservatives. These are things to avoid. Second, these juices are often made from concentrate, which means you don’t get the full range of nutrients found in whole fruits or vegetables, and the water used to reconstitute them is likely to come from tap water or industrial zone property well. . If you don’t like getting pharmaceutical drugs, chemical resins, and other harmful impurities in your juice, then these are options to avoid. Finally, commercial juices must be pasteurized before they are sold, which kills any microorganisms, but also damages and destroys the essential nutrients discussed earlier in the article. Considering that the extraordinary health benefits of these nutrients are the main reason for drinking juices in the first place, doesn’t it make sense to make your own fresh, unpasteurized juices?
