Vegetable juices to boost your new dieting strategy .....extract from Sunday Nation
•A number of vegetables with two distinct features: minimal calorie content and nutrient-rich, have been labelled as ‘superfoods’ and are recommended for juicing. These include wheatgrass, barley grass, sprouts, broccoli, and pretty much all green, leafy vegetables
In health food circles, a juicing lifestyle is regarded as a gateway to health and vitality. This is mainly because a number of nutrients derived from vegetables are heat-sensitive and, therefore, destroyed during the cooking process.
And Dr Norman Walker, pioneer of the cold-press juicing movement, recommends that one should eat their fruit and juice their vegetables.
It is said that one’s quality of life will increase from following a juicing lifestyle as maximum nutrients are absorbed, the digestion process is enhanced and energy levels are boosted.
In addition, selective juicing of specific vegetables is reported to target two steps to health — prevention and cure of disease.
Juicing is promoted to treat minor ailments, as well as prevent chronic diseases such as cancer, through the ingestion of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients and fibre. Some dieticians recommend a juice fast (as opposed to a water fast) as there are benefits of cleaning out of the system while absorbing nutrients.
A litre of vegetable juice is recommended throughout the day, and fruit such as apples and grapes may be added as a natural sweetener to make the ‘green juice’ more palatable. This is with the exception of high fructose (fruit sugar)-containing vegetables such as carrots and beetroots.
Restrictions on the amount of fruit juice or high fructose-containing vegetables consumed are necessary as drinking large quantities of fruit sugars will cause spikes in blood sugar levels, whose regular occurrence is detrimental and thought to be a precursor of diabetes as it affects insulin production.
This is a classic example of how over-doing a good thing for your health can, in effect, make it a bad thing.
Other juicing tips to maximise the benefits include juicing a variety of vegetables from day to day and diluting the juice with clean water.
Wheat grass
A number of vegetables with two distinct features: minimal calorie content and nutrient-rich, have been labelled as ‘superfoods’ and are recommended for juicing. These include wheatgrass, barley grass, sprouts, broccoli, and pretty much all green leafy vegetables.
Wheat grass is the sprouted grass of a wheat seed. Unlike the whole grain, it does not contain gluten, which causes irritable bowel syndrome. Its less well known counterpart, barley grass, is reported to have up to ten times more calcium than cows’ milk, more iron than spinach and more Vitamin C than orange juice!
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale are reported to contain sulforaphane, an antioxidant which eliminates toxic-free radicals from cells, and is associated with the prevention of cancer.
Spirulina, which is a cultivated micro-algae, is reported to have high protein levels and, therefore, particularly recommended for vegetarians.
Vegetable juices may be supplemented with a view to creating a balanced diet. Supplements include essential oils, specifically the omega 3 and omega 6 containing oils that occur in flaxseeds or flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and evening primrose oil. These unsaturated fatty acids are renown for a range of health benefits, including immune, brain and heart function.
For those new to a juicing lifestyle — note that maximum benefits are reaped from incorporating it into your lifestyle — it is recommended to start with small quantities and gradually build up to a litre per day.
This also gives one’s taste buds time to become progressively accustomed to what may be initially perceived as a strong taste, seeing as we are used to eating cooked vegetables.
Rachel Oppitz, ND, recommends starting with an easy-to-digest recipe of two stalks celery, two stalks fennel and one cucumber, before adding a variety of lettuce leaves, and eventually a few leaves of dark green, leafy vegetables which are more nutrient-rich. Oppitz also recommends adding herbs such as coriander and parsley.
Note that vegetable juice is perishable, but it may stay fresh for up to 24 hours when refrigerated in an air-tight container.
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