This week my topic is a passion of mine, Juicing.
I have been juicing for about 30 years. Not the banana, strawberry soy based juicing that so many call juicing, but the real Jack Lalane, Kordish (Juiceman) juicing. My juice usually consists of: carrots, kale, chard, collards, cabbage, beets and lettuce. That is the base. When available I might get celery, beet greens, bok choy, or what ever I see that looks good. No fruit. Veggies and fruit are foods that do not ‘combine’ well (that is another topic for another week). Everything I use is organic and other than the carrots, often home grown.
What is a juicer? Why not a blender? I hear this all the time. A juicer masticates the veggie and separates the fiber from the juice. Yes the fiber is good. Yes it would be nice to eat it. Go ahead! The extracted juice is very quickly processed by your body and is quite easily digested. Your blender makes everything moosh together. It looks unpleasant and it is hard to get it down. 100% of doubters that have debated me about the juicer/blender thing have never kept it up.
We hear about weight loss with juicing. Remember that the juice is not a meal. It doesn’t take the place of a meal. The freshly made juice supplies so much of the goodness you need for the day, that your cravings just don’t happen. We have food cravings because we NEED the nutrition, don’t get it with the poor quality food we eat. We eat, still are not satisfied and keep eating. If your cravings are met, that primal need for nutrition is satisfied. It is that simple. Juicing fills that void.
Freshly made juice is most nutritious the first 1/2 hour after it’s made. It loses 50% of it’s value. It oxidizes. It settles. Make it, drink it slowly and mix it with saliva as you would your food. Digestion (of any food) begins in the mouth.
Juicing does take time. I do it first thing in the morning. Can’t think of a better way to start the day. Yes it is time consuming. Yes there is clean up and planning ahead. Certainly it is expensive. Use it as your supplement. I do no vitamins or minerals. I use no sunscreen (carrots = beta carotene, see report from May 6). I have more energy than anyone I know, especially for a 56 year old woman. Everyone tells me how lucky I am that my skin looks really good and I have so much energy (how do you do it?) my eyes are bright and I have very few age lines and spots. My hair is shiny and grows very fast. Menopause was a snap.
Lucky? You bet! I ran into some of the best healers in the world when I was young that put me onto this lifestyle. I am of perfect weight, don’t look like the emaciated vegetarians that don’t do it right. I have energy to burn. I am fit and flexible. I get my annual cold or ‘bug’ just to cleanse. I embrace that time. I think I do it right. I have a good attitude and share with others my good fortune. I am lucky.
Ask me about juicing. I thrive from juicing. It is a bit costly. It does take time. Anything that is worthwhile is. Sickness is expensive. I will take good health at what
ever the perceived cost. 30 years and the results tell the story.
