Raw vegetables are the storehouses of all types of nutrients like vitamins, minerals phytonutrients (plant nutrients) and enzymes. But during the process of cooking some of these nutrients are destroyed.
That is why raw vegetable juices are so important to boost one’s energy in no time. You get all the vegetable nutrients intact. One most important thing that you get from raw vegetables is the chlorophyll which is the energy stored by the plants in the form of green pigments made from the sunlight.
Commercially prepared raw juices are available which claim to be 100% natural. But it is not. These might have undergone a heating treatment, thus depleting some of the nutrients. Most of them will have some preservatives and added sugar, which again are not good for your health.
So if you have decided to have raw juices, go for freshly made juice. Taken just three days a week, these juices will clean your entire digestive system, detoxify the large intestine and improve your digestion. As a result your energy level and immune system will improve. Also the health of your nails and hair will be better.
Now, you are convinced, the next step is to choose the juicer. There are centrifugal electrical juicers which have blades that will cut the vegetables very fast extracting the juices. But in the process some heat may be generated which may destroy some of the nutrients.
Another type of juicers, the manual masticating juicer squeezes the vegetables and extracts the juice from them. This is a more effective means of extracting juice, where all the juices are extracted without destroying any nutrients. So if you want to get the full nutrients go for the manual masticating juicers.
While making the juice you should carefully select the vegetables so that have you get the balanced nutrition and the juices are easily extractable. Green leafy vegetables like spinach are excellent source of chlorophyll, carrot are juicy and sweet, cucumbers are good cleanser for the colon.
Spinach, broccoli, red cabbage, and watercress are also excellent juicy vegetables. But to make the best juice for the entire family, take spinach, broccoli, red cabbage, and watercress. Add equal quantity of water to get the right concentration of your juice.
Just to make your juice a little different, add some fruits like apple, but carefully keep the fruit proportion low, as they are naturally very high in sugar content. You can also add any one of these – half onion, a clove of garlic, ginger, limes, lemons, mint, parsley- they will give a unique taste to your juice.
Before you start making the juice, first wash your hands with warm soap water. The vegetables should be washed thoroughly to clean all the dirts and pesticides from the surface.
Next cut the vegetables into small pieces. If you are using an electrical juicer, put the soft vegetables first and then the hard ones. This will help in proper blending of the hard and the soft vegetables. Now dilute the juice with water to get a 50:50 proportion of juice and water.
If you are using manual masticating juicer go on adding small amounts of water slowly as you go on putting the vegetable pieces while rotating the handle. Once your juice is ready, consume it immediately. Because, the nutrients from fresh vegetable juices get depleted rapidly.
The juicer also should be cleaned immediately as if the pulp dries with time it will harden and become difficult to remove. While vegetable juices are very good for your health, do not replace all other foods by the vegetable juices.
Because every food has different nutrients and calories, which are necessary for maintaining good health. Raw vegetables also should be a part of your diet, which will supply the insoluble fibres – the roughages. These roughages help maintaining a healthy gut and digestive system.
As you can see, there are many advantages to drinking fresh vegetable juice. One of the benefits is having clear and healthy skin without any sign of acne, pimple or blemishes.