Juicing has become very popular in recent times. You don’t even need to have your own juicer at home because there is an abundance of cafes and restaurants that will prepare fresh juice while you wait. Fresh juices taste delicious and most people drink them because they enjoy them but what about the health benefits?
Well there are the obvious benefits like the fact that fruit and vegetable juices are packed full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and live enzymes which are all essential to good health. But surely we get those benefits if we eat the fruit as a whole? Not exactly true – all the nutrients remain, apart from the fiber which is removed during the juicing process. We all know the importance of fiber for good health so surely the removal of it isn’t a good thing?
Well actually, it is the removal of this insoluble fiber that makes the juice easier to digest. In fact fresh juices require almost no digestion so the bioavailability of the nutrients is massively increased. There are many conditions or illnesses where this increased bioavailability of nutrients is so important to the health of the individual! Here are just some examples:
- Celiac disease – damage to the villi of the small intestine causes malabsorption and often results in nutritional deficiency. Juicing means that a higher amount of nutrients will be absorbed, and assimilated into our cells.
- Immune conditions including cancer – increased absorption of vitamins, antioxidants and minerals enhances a person’s immunity.
- Constipation – despite the fact that insoluble fiber has been removed your chances of suffering from constipation are far less of you regularly have fresh juices.
- Bone health – rapid absorption and assimilation of vitamin C (high in citrus fruits) and bone minerals such as Calcium, potassium and iron contribute to an improvement in bone health.
- Anemia – by juicing kale (high in iron, vitamin C, calcium and vitamin A) iron levels can quickly increase and anemia can be cured.
- Food intolerance – leaky gut is often present in cases of food intolerance and also leads to malabsorption of nutrients so juicing increases the absorption of crucial nutrients.
These are just some examples of the types of conditions that can benefit hugely from a fresh, preferably organic, daily juice. Even if you are in excellent health your overall health and vitality can still be enhanced by drinking fresh juices, and adding spices can further increase the health benefits. Every fruit and vegetable has distinct properties and therefore has different effects on our bodies. It is impossible to describe all the possible concoctions of juices for each condition in this article, but our advice would be to choose a variety of your favourite fruits and vegetables that will benefit your condition – you really can’t go wrong!
Some fruits and vegetables are better for certain conditions than others. For instance, antioxidants for cancer and ginger for inflammation like arthritis. You can find out more about which foods are best for your condition and then ensure you juice those each day. if you can’t do it every day, don’t do it in bulk and store the juice in the fridge as nutrients will be lost. If you want to make the juices in bulk, freeze the juices in little tuppawares and defrost on the kitchen counter naturally, one at a time, to preserve more of the nutrients. If you make 7 glasses each time, you have a one week supply!
We suggest you try to juice organic products as unfortunately, due to current farming methods, storage and other issues, an apple bought in the supermarket these days, has far fewer nutrients than the apples our grandparents ate.
Disclaimer: The use of this information is not a substitute for health advice. Please consult your doctor, pharmacist or health care provider for specific medical advice.