Juicing For Health And Healing

Originally published in Issue 3 2005 icon

Click here go to : Rainbow Recipes – The Juicing guide

What do I eat if I have cancer? Preparing a diet for cancer is always hard. Cancer nutrition is not the same as eating when you are well.
Here Barbara Cox, the Nutrichef, gives her personal views for your cancer diet.

More and more of us understand the importance of eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables, but if you’d like to try an alternative way of getting your vitamins and minerals, why not try juicing? Are you aware of the wonders of juicing and the health benefits you can receive from it? There are lots of fantastic recipes and creations that you can put together to suit all tastes, and you can even get the kids involved too! Here are ten very good reasons to try juicing...

Juices are very rich in enzymes that help digest your food. A shortage of enzymes means we cannot convert foods into energy or transform carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals into what we need for healthy tissue such as muscle, bone, skin, and so on.

Vitamins and minerals are essential for good health. Vitamins fall in to two categories, water-soluble (Vitamin B & C) and fat-soluble (Vitamins A, D & E.) Many factors affect our vitamin status including inadequate diet, digestion problems, over-cooking, canned and processed foods, storage and irradiation. Fresh juicing supplies the vitamins and minerals we need in abundance.

Juicing produces a high vitality "food" that’s very nourishing and revitalising to the cells. Dr Max Gerson, founder of the Institute for Cancer Treatments, found that his patients tended to recover from degenerative illnesses more quickly when put on a diet made largely from fresh raw juices.

Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are a must for all detox diets. Some juices have the ability to rid the body of waste and bacteria, and to deep-cleanse the body.

Beauty, like health, comes from within so what we eat plays a vital
role

This can be aided by the antioxidants contained in juices. Beauty, like health, comes from within so what we eat plays a vital role. Antioxidants are thought to be the secret to living longer and looking younger as they mop up harmful molecules known as free-radicals.

These are the building blocks of protein and are vital in the process of digestion and assimilation of food. Fresh raw juices are rich in amino acids and are in an easily digestible form.

Western diets tend to be high in animal protein, refined sugar, artificial additives and drugs. All of these cause acidity in the cells, which, in turn, can lead to disease. It is well documented that cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment.

Juices are filling yet low in calories

Juices are filling yet low in calories. They help curb the appetite and are, therefore, an important part of many weight loss programmes.

Be creative and try some of the recipes below. They all taste great and will awaken your taste-buds...so why not get juicing right now?

Recipes

Here are some fantastic recipes to get you started. Set your taste buds free:

1 carrot (unpeeled, topped & tailed) 1 red apple (Gala or Cox) 1 beetroot (skinned and washed but with the roots & tops on). This juice will be high in Vitamin A, C, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron.

1 wedge lemon (unwaxed) 2-3 golden delicious apples. Juice and serve over crushed ice. This will be a good cleanser and the lemons will have an alkalising effect

1 apple, 1 stick of celery (with the leaves) 3ozs spinach (fresh young leaves) 1 small bunch watercress, 1 small bunch of wheatgrass (if desired) This will be rich in Vitamins A, C, folic acid and Riboflavin (B2)

 4 large tomatoes, 1 carrot (topped & tailed) 1 stick of celery (with the leaves), 1 handful of basil. Add the juice of half a squeezed lemon at the end. This juice will be rich in iron, magnesium & lycopene.

4ozs blueberries, 1 mango (peeled & stoned) 1 pear, 4ozs red grapes. This juice will be high in antioxidants and chase away the blues! So now you know the benefits you will receive from juicing and some ideas of what to put in your juice, but have you thought about which is the best juicer to buy?

So now you know the benefits you will receive from juicing and some ideas of what to put in your juice, but have you thought about which is the best juicer to buy?

At Nutrichef we have tried and tested numerous makes and models and here are the results.

Juciers Tried And Tested

This is a popular centrifungal juicer with a powerful, efficient motor and pulp ejection, great for people just starting to use a juicer. A centrifungal juicer doesn’t give juice a shelf life, which basically means that all juices must be consumed immediately. Juices will also be less nutrient-rich when using this type of juicer.
5/10

This juicer is good for vegetables and wheatgrass and also has many food processing functions. It is a masticating juicer which means that absolutely everything is pulped from the fruit and vegetables you put in it! Juices are therefore richer in nutrients and will have a shelf-life of 24 hours.
9/10

This is a Masticating Juicer and tends to be the most reliable out of those that we tested. This juicer does everything and is good value for money.
10/10

An innovative twin gear juicer with heavy duty stainless steel gears. It is a masticating juicer which is also suitable for wheatgrass.
10/10

A new, top of the range twin gear juicer which is reliable and sturdy and a good all-rounder. This would receive ten out of ten but has been marked down as it is fairly pricey.
9/10

This is a perfectly acceptable budget, manual juicer, which can be transported fairly easily. It can be used for wheatgrass and leafy greens, but it can be fairly time consuming for apples and carrots. 7/10

So, not only will you start to feel great once you start juicing, but another benefit is that you can also dispose of the pulp on the compost.so now there are no excuses - you can start composting too!

Juicers, Sprouters, and wheat- and dairy-free healthy snacks can all be ordered from Nutrichef along with many tips and recipes on healthy eating. You can either visit our website www.nutrichef.co.uk or call us on 01202 748400 for further information.