Juicing has become very popular lately. You don’t need a juicer at home as there are plenty of cafes and restaurants to prepare fresh juices while you wait. Fresh juice is delicious and most people drink it because they enjoy it. But what about the health benefits?
Fruit and vegetable juices have obvious benefits such as the fact that they are full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and live enzymes essential for good health. But can we reap those benefits if we eat the fruit whole? It’s not very accurate. All nutrients are left intact except for the fiber which is removed during the juice extraction process. We all know the importance of fiber for good Health Foods Cafe, so definitely wouldn’t be nice to get rid of it.
What makes the juice easier to digest is the removal of this insoluble fiber. Fresh juices require very little digestion, which greatly increases the bioavailability of nutrients. There are many conditions or diseases where increased bioavailability of nutrients is very important to an individual’s health! Here are some examples:
Celiac disease – Damage to the villi in the small intestine causes malabsorption and often results in nutritional deficiencies. Juicing means more nutrients are absorbed and assimilated into the cells.
Immune conditions, including cancer – Increased absorption of vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals improves a person’s immunity.
Constipation – You are much less likely to suffer from constipation if you regularly consume fresh juice, even if the insoluble fiber has been removed.
Bone Health – Rapid absorption and assimilation of vitamin C (rich in citrus fruits) and bone minerals such as calcium, potassium, and iron contribute to improved bone health.
Anemia – Juicing kale (high in iron, vitamin C, calcium, and vitamin A) can quickly increase iron levels and treat anemia.
Food intolerance – Juicing increases the absorption of important nutrients, as a leaky gut often results in cases of food intolerance and leads to malabsorption of nutrients.
These are just some examples of the types of conditions that can greatly benefit from a fresh, preferably organic, daily juice. Even if you are in very good health, drinking fresh juice can improve your overall health and vitality, and adding spices can further increase the health benefits. Every fruit and vegetable has its unique properties and therefore different effects on our bodies. While it’s impossible to describe every possible juice combination for each condition in this article, our advice is to choose a variety of your favorite fruits and vegetables that will benefit your condition. You really can’t go wrong!
Some fruits and vegetables are better suited to certain conditions. For example, antioxidants against cancer and ginger against inflammation such as arthritis. You can learn more about which foods are best for your condition, and then make sure you have juice every day. If you can’t do it every day, don’t do it in large quantities, and store the juice in the refrigerator as it can lose nutrients. If you want to make large batches of juice, freeze them in small Tupperware and then thaw them naturally on the kitchen counter one at a time to preserve more nutrients. If you make 7 cups at once, it’s a week’s worth!
Unfortunately, due to current farming practices, storage, and other issues, supermarket-bought apples these days contain far fewer nutrients than the apples our grandparents ate, so it’s a good idea to juice them organically.