Your mother always told you, "Eat your veggies". Well this was very good advice. Actually eat or drink, at least five servings of fruit and three servings of veggies a day. The reasoning is simple; a diet high in fruits and vegetables will prevent or cure a wide range of ailments. Unfortunately the average American only eats 1.5 serving of vegetables and on average, no fruit on any given day.
Plant chemicals, known as phytochemicals, hold the keys to preventing some of the most deadly diseases, such as cancer and heart disease as well as asthma, arthritis and allergies. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, Department of Agriculture have been looking for specific substances in foods that could provide protection against disease. They have found quite a few. For example broccoli contains substances that may prevent breast cancer. Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells' DNA from damage. Bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, turnip greens, red beets, peppers, garlic, onions, leeks and chives are but a few of the vegetables that appear to have cancer preventing phytochemicals and are among some of the vegetables that are most commonly juiced.
More and more smoothie and juice bars are popping up in local neighborhoods, grocery stores nationwide are now selling pints, quarts and half gallons of fresh squeezed orange juice or carrot juice and in some places you can have fresh carrot juice delivered to your door every morning. Machines to make your own fresh juice are selling everywhere from QVC to hardware stores.
Fresh juices are also a tremendous source of enzymes. In fact the freshness of juice is one of its key features. Enzymes are destroyed by heat, but since fruits and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice. Enzymes are your body's work force and are essential for digestion and absorption of food, for conversion of food stuffs into body tissue and for the production of energy at the cellular level.
Another benefit is that juicing removes the indigestible fiber, thus the nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the fruit or vegetable was eaten whole. Many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber of the food. When you eat a carrot raw, you are only able to assimilate about 1% of the available beta carotene, but when the carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene is assimilated.
Lastly, fruits and vegetables provide another substance that is critical for good health and that is water. More than 65% of most cells in the body are made of water. Again, most people don't consume enough water each day and many of the beverages we do consume (coffee, tea, soda, alcohol and artificially flavored drinks) contain substances that require extra water for your body to eliminate. Fruit and veggie juices are full of pure, clean water.
So, raise your glass, listen to mom's advice and toast to your good health with a glass of freshly, juiced, carrot/beet/apple juice or just squeezed orange juice. Ahhhhhh, delicious!
