From: Nancy Desjardins R.N.C.P.
What really is Juice?
The juice of a living plant, or one freshly harvested, is its lifeblood. It is what makes a vegetable thrive and grow. Consider for a moment the human body without any blood in it: unthinkable! Just as human blood contains vital nutrients and enzymes, so does the “blood” of a plant. This is why its juice is the optimum source of nutrition for humans. No other source of nutrition delivers valuable nutrients as quickly as the natural juice of fruits and vegetables.
Your body benefits from fresh vegetable juices in at least three areas:
1. Acid-alkaline balance Science tells us that the ideal balance for the human body is an 80% alkaline and 20% acid level. Our bodies confirm this by showing up with health and vitality within these ranges. Long ago, when everyone ate fresh vegetables on a daily basis, it was easy to maintain these levels. In today’s fast-paced environment, most of us do not get enough alkaline-containing nutrition, and the result is acid-imbalanced conditions like obesity, arthritis, gout, stomach and digestion problems. Vegetables are an important factor in achieving the desired balance, and vegetable juices are the fast-track method to optimal health.
2. Enzymes The relationship between our bodies and our food is a “live” one. For the human body to digest and make use of a food, enzymes are necessary. The best foods are those that already come with their own enzymes: such as vegetable juices.
3. Vitamins and Minerals Vitamins are highly sensitive to heat. Without this sensitivity, we could not assimilate them into our bodies. Cooking virtually destroys most valuable nutrients. Minerals are a bit more resilient but often get lost in the cooking process as they leach out into the water. Moreover, all nutrients of the plant come as a “whole” and are dependent on each other. Raw juices are the only way to preserve the holistic goodness of your vegetable.
Mental Health Benefits
How can good nutrition affect mental health? Let us first consider what thoughts really are and how they work:
Using a computer as a model, after all, computers were built upon concepts that use human thought processes, hardware and software must both function in a computer in order for it to be effective and healthy.
In keeping with this simile, the hardware in the human body would be the integrity of each individual cell, whereas the software would be the learning processes each individual has experienced.
For optimal mental health in a human, both sets of cell health and experiential health are required. Again, leaning on the same principle of the computer, the best software will fail if the hardware is lacking.
It does not matter how many books you read, how many seminars you attend, how hard you try to think, if your body cells receive insufficient support through good nutrition.
Think of your brain/body entity as an organic computer. How well would your laptop function if it was not plugged into an adequate power source?
Your body’s power source is your nutrition. All the energy your organic computer needs comes from the foods you eat, the air you breathe, and the water you drink.
Emotional Health Benefits
I'm saying that vegetable juices can actually help the way you feel.
Consider for a moment that the way we feel depends a lot on the way we think. In other words, if I THINK that I am going to be tired, I will FEEL tired as well. If I THINK I am going to lose, I will feel like loser. Yes, emotions do depend a bit upon thinking. To keep with the hardware software analogy of the last paragraph, let us call this software. You can see how your mental health affects your emotional health.
Now, let us look at the emotional hardware: the way we really FEEL depends on how our body feels. If we have slept well, eaten well, and eliminated well, that would make us FEEL well.
When we FEEL well, we respond well to emotional challenges. A well-founded emotional body can weather storms in relationships and business with a calm attitude.
What does it take to have an emotionally well-founded body? You guessed it: good nutrition.
Have you noticed that when you feel hungry or tired your responses to challenges lean towards the negative? This is normal for your body/feeling entity to respond. On the other hand, when you feel energized, rested, and well fed, your responses will come from a safe place of calm and security.
Weight Management Benefits
Weight, oh weight, why won’t you go away?
Complaining about your weight will not make it go away. Taking pills or dieting may scare it into hiding, but it will come back – with a vengeance.
Giving your body the nutrition it wants and needs is the only way to go!
When you take in all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function well, your appetite naturally balances. If you had cravings for sweets, they will diminish. If you felt hungry, this will diminish.
Natural vegetable juices satisfy your body’s cravings for the nutrients it needs. People feel hungry, not because there is not enough quantity of food, but because the quality is lacking. Vegetable juices provide that quality.
They also help detoxify the body. We are miraculous creatures. Our bodies protect us from toxins by encasing them within fat cells. As soon as the body gets an opportunity to eliminate toxins and build healthy cells, it will. This is the body’s natural function.
Feed your body the nutrients it needs, then you'll lose weight.
How to get started:
Get decent equipment. There are many juicers out there, and each has benefits in price, quality, and options. The best one is always the one under your counter gathering lots of dust.
I’ve been promoting the Hippo Juicer now for the last 3 years. I believe in this product. Read more about the juicer
Begin slowly. From average nutrition to a healthy nutritional lifestyle is a stretch. Be patient with yourself, and be prepared for your body to throw off some toxins and perhaps give you symptoms that feel like you are ill. Relax. These are simply steps back into health.
Try out new recipes.You can download my juicing manual from my website for great ideas and recipes.
Notice the difference in how you feel, think, and act.
If you would like to track your progress, you might consider keeping a chart. If you are more into feeling than thinking, just take your pulse along the way, about every few days into the juicing experience. Simply notice how your physical, mental and emotional state is improving.
Get juiced up for health!
Want to use this article on your website or your own ezine? You’re welcome to, however we do require that you include the copyright and the following info:
Nancy Desjardins is a nutritionist specializing in the development of wellness programs tailored to suit personal health concerns. Her individualized approach focuses on detoxifying, rejuvenating, and revitalizing the body. www.womenshealthacademy.com
