Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Juicing!

Hi all! I'm very excited to talk to you today about juicing! According to Dr. Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live, juicing green vegetables in particular, is a great way to maximize micronutrient absorption  and lessen the stress of digestion on your body. You could also get the benefit of increased micronutrient absorption by blending fruits and vegetables. However, I would much rather drink a V-8 style juice than smoothie. Juicing to ease digestion is mostly directed toward people with bowel issues or possibly other autoimmune diseases.  In the past year, I struggled with some bowel issues and looked to Dr. Furhman's inflammatory bowel disease newsletter and protocol for guidance (I would post the link but you would have to be a member of his website to read it). Through this newsletter and also the documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead (also on Netflix!), I learned much about the benefits of juicing. For those with bowel issues, allowing your body to rest as much as possible and consuming plenty of leafy green vegetable juices is key to recovery (according to Dr. Furhman). When your bowel is injured or diseased, it needs rest in order to heal. By juicing fruits and vegetables and eating lightly cooked vegetables, the bowel still gets the nutrients it needs to heal and does not have to spend time breaking down the fibrous fruits and vegetables.

The more obvious benefits of juicing are 1) Fresher than store-bought juice  2) Tastier, at least Brant, Munchkie, and I think so 3) Healthier. Store-bought juices are usually pasteurized and/or made from concentrate. Check out this website for information on the concentration process: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/understanding-concentrate-juice.html. Basically, the natural water that is found in fresh squeezed juice evaporates during the heating portion of the juice concentration process so all that is left is the most flavorful part. Also, additives are added to the juice so it will have a longer shelf life.

I actually got into juicing about a year ago because I wanted to juice carrots and celery to use as soup broth. Brant and I also loved creating different delicious fruit and vegetable juices. Since then, I've gone through phases where I juice every day to not juicing at all for a few months. When I was having my bowel issues, I was juicing multiple times a day and got kind of sick of it! Just recently, I have gotten back into it and love it! The juice I made today was apple, celery, and carrot- both Claire and I loved it! Two of our favorite combos are apple, pear, and grape, and also apple, lemon, and beet- it sounds weird, but it is delicious!!




We have a Jack Lalanne power juicer that we got at Costco. We've had it for over a year now and haven't had any problems. I highly recommend it! A juice recipe book comes with it too! However, you could also find juice recipes online.

Before signing out, I will leave you with a picture of Munchkie. Since I didn't get a picture of her drinking her juice, I'll post one of her reading her favorite book after dinner tonight. Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. Em, your posts are SO fantastic! Informative, easy to understand, fun to read, educational... I could go on and on.

    Oh, and of course, whenever you include a pic of little Munchkie, it's awesome! I want to EAT HER UP!

    Thanks for such a nice blog. Entertaining and informative. Love you guys!

    Matt/Dad/Pappy

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  2. Awww thanks, Matt! I appreciate that. As for Claire-bear, I see every day and I still can't get over how dang cute she is!

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