Juicing is one of the best kept secrets when it comes to attaining better overall physical and mental health.  Raw juices contain all the beneficial nutrients found in raw produce, but at an extremely concentrated level.  Juicers have made it possible to drink large amounts of fruits and vegetables and individuals can easily attain their RDA of fruits and vegetables in a single juice recipe.

Juicing is extremely healing to the body, as well as the digestive tract.  There are many accounts of individuals healing themselves from severe sickness and disease by juicing large amounts of vegetables and small amounts of fruits.  This is because juicing gives the digestive system rest from constantly breaking down hard to digest foods and provides the body with amazing nourishment.

Also, juicing is much more hydrating to the body when compared to water.  Depending on what you juice, many raw juices will contain an abundance of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and antioxidants which help hydrate the body on the cellular level.  It’s for this reason that many who begin incorporating juicing into their life notice that their hydration improves, their skin becomes more supple, their mood enhances, and inflammation in the body disappears.

However, there is so much more that needs to be known about consuming raw juices and its many positive effects on the body.  Below is all the information you need to know about juicing and why it’s so beneficial for enhancing health and promoting longevity in the body.

Raw Enzymes and Juicing

One of the biggest upsides of juicing daily is the amount of live enzymes that will be introduced into the body in a short amount of time.  The enzymes found in raw foods are extremely powerful and healing towards the human body.  Unfortunately, the majority of the population is extremely deficient in enzymes, and as result, poor health is a consequence.

Simply juicing a mixture of fruits and vegetables will give the body an amazing boost of enzymes which can begin to assist the body in healing and repair.  These enzymes help improve digestion and assist in the breakdown of food.  This leads to better nutrient absorption and reduced stress on the digestive system such as inflammation.

More and more research is beginning to show that inflammation in the gut is linked to several mood disorders such as depression and anxiety (1).  By juicing, you are helping to reduce this inflammation in the gut which can lead to several health improvements.

Does not Irritate the Gut

The problem with most vegetables, as well as some fruits, is that they can be extremely irritating to the gut.  This is because vegetables are loaded full of hard to digest fiber which can contribute to intestinal permeability.  When the gut becomes permeable, various health issues such food allergies, mood disorders, and inflammation typically occur.

There are various ways in which this hard to digest fiber can be reduced.  One way is to cook the vegetable or fruit so that the cellulose is broken down.  This can lead to better easier digestion.  However, cooking destroys all the raw enzymes as well as many of the vitamins and minerals.

With that being said, juicing is unique in that it can effectively remove all of the hard to digest fiber but leaves all the raw enzymes, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants intact.  It’s for this reason that consuming the same amount of cooked vegetables and fruits will not have the same beneficial effect on the body as it would if they were juiced.

It should be noted that fiber is indeed healthy for the gut flora and that positive health benefits have been shown when fiber is consumed (2).  However, juicing, in combination with a healthy whole foods diet, can have amazing health benefits on the body that can’t be achieved with regular cooked vegetables and fruits.

Provides High amounts of Chlorophyll

One of the biggest advantages of juicing daily is the high amount of raw chlorophyll which can be obtained in a single juice recipe.  Chlorophyll is extremely beneficial for the human body since it’s almost identical to human blood.  Many experts believe that chlorophyll can help build the blood and increase the amount of oxygen in the body.

Also, all Chlorophyll is bound to magnesium.  Magnesium is needed for over 300 enzymatic processes in the body and plays a significant role in mood regulation.  Unfortunately, it was estimated that close to have of the population is deficient in this key mineral.  We can now only speculate that this number will continue to grow as time goes on.

Below is a small list symptoms associated with a magnesium deficiency in the body.

• Muscle twitching
• Hyperactivity
• Poor digestion
• Anxiety / Depression
• Sleep problems
• Restless legs
• Irregular heartbeat

It should be noted that green vegetables contain the most chlorophyll.  It’ for this reason that all your juice recipes should be green vegetable based and then fruit and herbs can be added as desired.  Simply, consuming one green juice a day can help raise magnesium levels in the body and provides immense amounts of nourishment.

For Those Interested, our Juice Me Better Juicing Recipe Book contains several different recipes that are extremely chlorophyll and magnesium rich.

Green Juices vs. “Sweet Juices”

Those who first begin to incorporate juicing into their life make the mistake of adding too many sweet fruits and not enough green vegetables.  This becomes problematic for several reasons.  For one, this is going to dramatically raise blood sugar levels in the body which is extremely counterproductive towards health.

This is why low glycemic vegetables should make up the base of all your juicing recipes.  Sweet fruit should only be added for taste, but just know that the majority of the health benefits are coming from the green vegetables.

Furthermore, the sugar found in fruit may be problematic for those dealing with small intestinal bacteria overgrowth in the gut.  As a rule of thumb, remember the following when creating Juice recipes

• 70% Dark Green Vegetables
• 20% Fruit (preferable seasonal)
• 10% Herbs (cilantro, ginger, turmeric, parsley, etc.)

We have found that this ratio of vegetables, fruits and herbs has the most powerful effect in the body.  Also, although herbs should only make up 10% of the drink, they’re extremely beneficial for ridding the gut of pathogenic overgrowths such as candida which can contribute to altered gut function.

Juicing and Essential Nutrients

Although juicing is great, it should be made clear that juicing vegetables, fruits, and herbs DOES NOT provide the body with all the essential nutrients needed for survival and health.  With that said, juicing can make an excellent addition to anyone’s diet, but trying to live on only raw juices is dangerous and serious health consequences could result.

There are several nutrients that vegetables and fruits do not contain which are required by the human body daily.  Below is a small list of nutrients that are essential for human health, but are not found in fruits and vegetables

• Omega 3’s DHA and EPA
• Vitamin B12
• Cholesterol
• Vitamin D
• Preformed Vitamin A (not beta-carotene)

The nutrients listed above are only found in animal foods.  It’s for this reason that vegan or vegetarian diets are not recommended.  Research shows that Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause fatigue, numbness, breathlessness, psychosis, and even death (3).

In order to avoid such problems, juicing should be accompanied with a healthy whole foods diet based around traditional foods.  Although, immediate health benefits may result from consuming only fruits, vegetables, and raw juices, it’s not recommended that this type of diet be performed long term in order to avoid nutrient deficiencies.

However, juicing DOES provides the body with essential trace minerals which are almost deficient in everyone’s diet.  These trace minerals act as electrolytes in the body and allow the body to function at peak performance.

Juicing Hydrates the Body

Have you ever drank a whole glass of water only to find yourself thirsty again soon after?  This is not uncommon and is a big sign of dehydration.  Despite popular belief, water alone does not hydrate the body on the cellular level.  In order for the body to hydrate properly, essential trace minerals are needed in combination with water.

Trace minerals such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium help hydrate the body’s cells by allowing water to enter the cells more effectively.  This is why juicing is so beneficial when trying to hydrate the body properly.  In fact, this is most likely why juicing offers such immense health benefits.

Dehydration is a huge issue among the general population and many are unaware that they even suffer from it.  In fact, drinking large amounts of plain water can actually lead to dehydration since it causes mineral salt depletion in the body through urination.

Celery is one of the best vegetables to juice for hydration since it contains a unique balance of sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium which is extremely effective at hydrating the body. Those who incorporate raw juices into their diet daily will notice that they become naturally less thirsty.  This is a clear sign that the body is better hydrated on the cellular level.

The Best time to Consume Raw Juices

There really is no wrong time to consume a raw juice.  However, it’s essential that upon waking you consume a fresh raw juice. This jump starts your body after not receiving nourishment for several hours and helps replace any minerals that may have been lost through sweat and simply breathing while sleeping.

This also helps energize the body for the day to come.  In fact, it’s highly advised that if you drink coffee in the morning that you attempt to remove it from the diet.  Coffee contains caffeine which is extremely dehydrating to the body and counterproductive towards health.  The energizing effects of raw juices are more than enough for an energy boost.

Also, it’s recommended that raw juices are not consumed with meals and that they be consumed alone.  This allows the body to properly assimilate the nutrients found within raw juices and leads to better absorption.  Overburdening the body with too many types of foods and juices at once will hinder digestion and do more harm than good.

The Best Produce to Juice

Although practically any type of fruit and vegetable can be juiced, there are some things you should be looking for when choosing the best produce to juice.  For one, you want to make sure you are choosing vegetables with high water content.  Again, the higher the water content, the more hydrating it will be towards the body.

Also, fruits and vegetables high in potassium are extremely beneficial. All green vegetables will naturally be high in potassium which is why they’re highly recommended when creating your juice recipe.

However, there really isn’t anything that you cannot juice.  Be sure to experiment with different recipes in order to gauge how each one makes you feel.  Once you find one that you like, stick with it until your body naturally craves something else.

Rotating between different recipes can be extremely beneficial since it allows for more trace minerals to enter the body which will naturally lead to better health.

Juicing removes many Anti-Nutrients

One of the biggest problems experienced by those who begin to consume more fibrous vegetables and fruits is digestive distress.  This is because vegetables contain anti-nutrients which can cause intestinal permeability and digestive disorders.  Furthermore, these anti-nutrients bind to minerals in the gut which can cause a depletion of trace minerals in the body (4).

With that being said, although fruits and vegetables contain an abundance of trace minerals, the majority of these minerals will not be absorbed due to the anti-nutrients found within the structure of the vegetables and fruits.  Cooking is an effective way at removing the anti-nutrient load and making the trace minerals more bioavailable to the body.  However, this destroys many of the enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Chewing extremely well is another way of breaking the cell wall of raw vegetables and fruits and effectively releasing most of the minerals that are bound to the anti-nutrients.  Yet, an even easier way would be to juice all your vegetables and fruits.  Juicing effectively breaks down the cell wall, removes all the hard to digest fiber, and releases all the trace minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants in their raw form.

This allows for better absorption of the nutrients than you would receive from cooking or even chewing.  It’s for this reason that juicing is an extremely powerful tool if utilized correctly.  It can quickly refill depleted mineral reserves in the body and is crucial for restoring optimal health and reducing inflammation in the intestines.

Chew Your Juice

One downfall of juicing is that many do not “chew” their juice.  This is problematic because chewing is essential for the digestive process.  In fact, when we chew, an enzyme called amylase found in salvia attaches to the food and aids in the breakdown of the food.   Amylase and the body’s stomach acid work together as a team to break down food completely.  However, if amylase is missing, the body’s stomach acid must work harder and depletion of stomach acid and undigested food could result.  This is why it’s extremely important to always chew your food extremely well.

Juicing raises a problem in that many will simply chug the juice back.  Although this probably isn’t going to cause any serious problems, you may be missing out on key nutrients within in the juice due to lower absorption.

One way to combat this problem is two simply take small sips of the juice and “swish” in your mouth before swallowing to ensure the amylase enzyme becomes attached to the nutrients within the juice.  Not only will this lead to better absorption, but it will allow you to be mindful of the juice you’re consuming and help you focus on the good it’s doing for the body.

Always use Glass

One thing you will want to invest in when you begin to juice is glass mason jars.  Never put or store your juice in plastic cups.  Plastics are a main source of xenoestrogens and have been shown to cause serious hormonal disruption in the body (5).  When you put juice in plastic, you are essentially allowing the plastic to leach into your juice.  This is extremely counterproductive towards overall health and should be avoided.

Glass contains no xenoestrogens and does not leach.  It’s for this reason that all raw juices should be put into glass when finished.  There are many types of glass mason jars available on the market; some even have a protective cover so that they won’t break when dropped.  That being said, there is absolutely no excuse for using plastic over glass.  Mason jars can be found in any major super market, are extremely cheap, and will last a lifetime unlike plastic.

By doing this, you are also contributing to a greener lifestyle and cutting down on the amount of plastic being used.  Our oceans have become overwhelmed by plastic pollution.  Every time you choose glass over plastic you are cutting down on this pollution.  So please, enjoy your juice in glass! Not only will you be helping your own health, but you will be helping the health of the environment as well!