VEGETABLE JUICING
THE NUTRITION BOOST MOST AMERICANS NEED!
There is nothing as rejuvenating and as easily digested as freshly made juice. We recommend juicing primarily vegetables: carrots, celery, swiss chard, lettuce, and cucumber. We usually add an apple or two to each pound of vegetables and sometimes some fresh herbs such as parsley or mint. Some favorite combinations are carrot/apple, lettuce/chard/apple, carrot/celery/apple, carrot/celery/apple/parsley, carrot/chard/lettuce/apple, carrot/celery/apple/fresh mint, and celery/cucumber/apple. Only use organic produce otherwise you are consuming concentrated pesticides, etc.
For those people who have diabetes or low blood sugar or yeast/fungal infections, apple and carrot may need to be reduced or eliminated and the amount of juice limited to ½ to 1 cup per serving. Trial and error by watching your body’s response—especially your blood glucose levels– is very important for these folks.
We do not recommend juicing the cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, collards, etc.) because of their strong flavor and their potential to suppress thyroid function. Also, citrus fruits should not be juiced by a vegetable juicer—use an electric citrus juicer for these and limit your consumption to a half cup per serving (and dilute with water and sweeten to taste with stevia), because of the sugar (fructose) content. As for other fruits, they are better eaten fresh and not juiced because most people do not need the high amounts of fructose they contain.
One other point is that you need to eat just as many vegetables (both fresh in salads and lightly cooked in other dishes) when you juice. Juicing does not reduce this requirement and you do need the fiber they provide. Juicing adds lots of readily-available vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fluid that no other food provides. There may be times, such as when you can not chew (from oral surgery) or when you are on a liquid diet, then juicing proves invaluable because it provides fresh vegetables that you would not otherwise be able to eat. For this reason, we recommend everyone try to acquire a good juicer.
As for juicers, we recommend the grinding/pressing type, namely, the Champion, the Green Power, or the Norwalk. We have access to a distributor providing discounted pricing so please ask us for more details. Do not use a centrifugal juicer.
Carrot/Celery/Apple/Parsley Juice
8 large organic carrots, cut in half lengthwise to ease pushing through juicer
2-3 organic tart apples (not delicious or soft-type apples), quartered to fit into juicer
4 stalks of celery, cut in 6 inch lengths
1 bunch of parsley
Wash and chop vegetables that are too large to fit or too large to easily push through the juicer, and quarter the apples. Press produce through the juicer in an alternating fashion—1 carrot, then 1 celery, then 1 piece of apple, etc. Catch juice into a large glass pyrex measuring cup or glass bowl. Drink immediately as nutrients oxidize within minutes. Wash juicer parts as soon as possible.