In her book, “The Raw Food Detox Diet,” certified clinical nutritionist Natalia Rose states that “nothing is richer in live enzymes than freshly extracted vegetable juice. Ounce for ounce it is the most enzyme-laden form of nutrition.” and easily absorbable available on the planet today. (Raw Food Detox Diet, 2005) Ms. Rose is not referring to the type of vegetable juice that is available in prepackaged form in grocery stores. She is talking about freshly extracted, pure vegetable juice available only through a juicer.
Many people want to believe that they are getting the kind of essential nutrients their bodies need in a quick 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 the 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 eating fresh vegetables, as there are nutrients trapped deep within the fiber of these vegetables that our bodies cannot access and therefore absorb. These nutrients are released when the juice is extracted from the pulp of the plant.
It’s important to remember that if your grocery store, health food store, or co-op sells fresh-squeezed juices, these juices are great for you and have not been pasteurized. These juices will be packed with all the vitamins and minerals found in the juice you would make at home. Juice bars are also popping up everywhere. Many of these places are good and can be trusted to have quality juice if there is fresh, pure juice on the menu. However, many of these places actually sell smoothies that are loaded with frozen fruit, sugary frozen yogurt, and other syrup-laden fruit additives. These should not be confused with an alternative to freshly extracted juice.
Lastly, keep in mind that there are many products on the market that are sold to supplement your juicing efforts. Organic products that increase the nutritional value of your juices, powders intended to add missing ingredients such as brewer’s yeast or flax seed oil. All of these supplements have benefits, to be sure, but the pure fresh juice you are extracting is the most natural way to provide essential live enzymes and pure vitamins and minerals. Supplements have their place, but always remember that they are just that, supplements. In its most basic and natural form, pure fruit and vegetable juices provide all the beneficial ingredients needed to help create the healthiest, most energy-producing foods possible.
Creating new juices can become a game, a continual means of trying to outwit any disease-causing pathogens in your body. There are so many homeopathic remedies available today and within each one lie the secrets to a healthier mind and body. Discovering which vegetables and fruits are naturally designed to stimulate and strengthen can become a natural means of building the immune system and preventing disease. There are an endless number of delicious combinations of fruits and vegetables that, in addition to providing a delicious snack, can also provide a daily dose of vitamins and nutrients to help support health. Juicing is simply the most natural and direct way to get all the healthy ingredients needed to ensure proper daily nutrition is met. Finding a high-quality juicer that extracts fruit and vegetable juices completely, and without heat to kill enzymes, is the key to making juicing a daily practice. When juicing becomes a daily practice, the immune system will be strengthened, energy will increase, and daily nutritional needs will be met.
