Now It's Gettin' Juicy!

Even if you're not ready for a full-on juice fast, a great first step for adding more raw and living foods into your life is to start juicing. Supplementing your diet with fresh juice will provide you with enzymes, vitamins and minerals, while at the same time helping to satisfy your appetite. An added bonus is the fact that the body assimilates nutrients from juices easily and without taxing your digestive system. That means you'll have more energy!

Raw juices are concentrated foods that contain chlorophyll, antioxidants, antimicrobials and a variety of other things that promote healing and repair. Several alternative therapy programs for cancer and other severe illnesses include raw vegetable juices as part of their protocol.

While fruit juices by themselves are healthful and certainly yummy, they also contain a high concentration of sugar. When drinking straight orange juice, for example, you might consider diluting it with a bit of purified water. When I work with my clients to add juicing to their daily routine, we direct our attention mainly to vegetable juices, with some fruit juices such as apple or lemon added in for flavor balance.

A few notes about juicing:

• Whenever possible use organic fruits and vegetables. Buying in season will help you maintain your budget, while you get the best-tasting and most nutritious juices.
• Some people find it convenient to wash all their fruits and vegetables at one time in a sink full of cold water after they return from shopping. Be sure to thoroughly dry and refrigerate your produce immediately after washing it.
• Drink your juice immediately. Juices are live foods and will lose some of their enzymatic value due to oxidation. To get the full benefit of fresh juice, it should be consumed within 15-20 minutes.
• If you must transport or "save" your juice, put it into an airtight containersuch as a Thermos®filled to the top to help slow down oxidation. Adding a few drops of lemon juice will also help extend the life of your juice blend.
• Juice is best assimilated when consumed on an empty stomach.
• A large juice makes a good occasional meal replacement. If you have juice in place of dinner, you're likely to find yourself waking up with more energy the next morning.
• Take time to get pleasure from your juice. Pour it into a nice glass and sit down with it. I like to take the juice pitcher I caught my juice inalong with my favorite glassoutdoors to sip and enjoy.
• Try to have at least 16-24 oz. of fresh juice every day!

Examples of some juices and their benefits