{"id":378,"date":"2019-10-24T09:45:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T04:45:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthylifestyletips365.com\/?p=378"},"modified":"2019-10-25T15:10:37","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T10:10:37","slug":"the-ultimate-guide-to-juicing-advice-and-recipes-to-energize-feel-great-and-lose-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthylifestyletips365.com\/the-ultimate-guide-to-juicing-advice-and-recipes-to-energize-feel-great-and-lose-weight\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Juicing: Advice and Recipes to Energize, Feel Great and Lose Weight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The-Ultimate-Guide-to-Juicing-02\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curious about juicing? It\u2019s no secret these days that a well-balanced diet should contain a good range of fruits and vegetables. Think about all those vitamins and minerals, how they can benefit your health and give you bundles of energy at the same time. In fact, there are some quite interesting and compelling studies that highlight the benefits of high fruit and vegetable consumption. In a study conducted by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the findings indicated that participants \u201c\u2026eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily had a 28% lower risk of cardiovascular disease than participants eating fewer than 1.5 servings per day, probably due to higher intake of multiple nutrients, including folic acid, potassium, and possibly glucosinolates, diallyl sulfides, and flavonoids.\u201d1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some people can still find it difficult to get at least five whole servings of fruit and vegetables in their diets each day without eating large portions that leave them full and put off fruit and vegetables\u2026 Enter juicing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Juicing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, juicing is a method of extracting all the health-promoting vitamins and minerals from raw fruits and vegetables; squeezing them all into a damn tasty, health packed drink!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process is performed using a Juicer machine and strips out the bulk of the fruit and vegetables, leaving you with a nutrient packed drink that will boost your energy levels and provide you with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds equal to what you would get if you consumed three or four servings of fruits\/vegetables. Clever right!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Is Juicing Different From Blending?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is a common question asked by those new to juicing, and there are a lot of people out there who think they are juicing when in reality they aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difference here is that when you juice fruits and vegetables you are literally just extracting the juices within the fruit. You leave behind the pulp and insoluble fiber of the fruits, which gives you a highly concentrated drink, full of vitamins and minerals. When you blend fruits and vegetables, all the pulp and fiber is left intact, and while fiber is great, it makes your final drink thicker and more filling, which can result in you not being able to finish the drink, therefore not ingesting all of those healthy compounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Should You Juice?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Why<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

With the growing popularity and hype surrounding juicing, chances are you have probably had a friend or family member recommend you jump on the \u201cjuicers\u201d wagon and grab yourself a crate of fruit. But when asked why you should juice, I\u2019m sure the majority you got some kind of response like \u201cIt\u2019s really healthy\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s good for weight loss.\u201d You\u2019ve also probably heard some damming claims against juicing such as \u201cit will rot your teeth\u201d. So the question still remains, \u201cShould I juice? And why?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, YES, if you have the resources to juice you absolutely should in my opinion. Secondly, as for why, there are a number of reasons why you should juice, not just for the blanket statement that \u201cit is healthy\u201d. Let\u2019s take a look at some of those reasons\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convenience<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, juicing is super easy. Sometimes there are fruits or vegetables that you simply don\u2019t know how to prepare or cook, so you avoid them altogether. Fortunately, with juicing it becomes easy to consume all those fruits and veggies you have been missing out on, and the only real preparation you may need to do is peeling and chopping. It also allows you to combine fruits and vegetables together that you wouldn\u2019t typically eat together, like apples and cucumbers or carrots and kale, opening up a whole new world of veggie and fruit delights!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, but probably the most important reason as to why you should juice, are the health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are lots of health benefits that juicing has to offer, for example, as I have already mentioned, juicing can reduce a person\u2019s risk of cardiovascular disease by as much as 28% \u2013 <\/strong>quite astounding when you think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at some of the other health benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nutrient Absorption and Digestion<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Juicing your fruits and vegetables can take a load off the digestive system and make it extra easy to absorb all the nutrients you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These days, many people suffer from various digestive disorders or slow digestion and it can be a challenge to absorb vitamins and minerals from the foods we consume. In fact, an estimated 60-70 million US citizens are affected by some kind of GI disease yearly. Whether it be caused by aging, medications or dehydration, it is obviously clear that our digestive systems are sensitive and something that should be looked after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By removing all the pulp and body of the fruits and veggies, you are able to consume a larger quantity than you could typically eat, meaning a larger quantity of essential vitamins. You also make it a doddle for your body to absorb these essential nutrients into your bloodstream as there is hardly any digestion needed whatsoever. What\u2019s even better is that along with getting a huge dosage of vitamins and minerals, you will also get a large dose of digestive enzymes locked away in fruits and veggies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are about 22 digestive enzymes essential for healthy digestion, and all are present in various fresh fruits and vegetables. Once cooked however, the majority of the enzymes are destroyed, and you are reliant on your body to manufacture said enzymes. Over time, if you are solely reliant on your body to manufacture these digestive enzymes, stress accumulates within the body and your immune system and digestion can be affected, thus leading to more risk of illness and protection from disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cardiovascular Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), <\/em>Heart Disease is the number one killer in the United States, accountable for a staggering 610,000 deaths each year. That is equivalent to a scary one in four deaths.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s seems that our number one priority these days should be to look after the old ticker, and luckily juicing can help by lowering blood pressure, fending off free radicals and lowering cholesterol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegetables such as beetroot, lettuce and cabbage contain a large quantity of the compound inorganic nitrate. When consumed, the body converts inorganic nitrate in to nitric oxide that helps your blood vessels relax and dilate, encouraging a nice flow of blood around the body and lowering blood pressure. It also helps maintain the elasticity in your blood vessels, allowing them to contract and dilate without any problems. An interesting study conducted by the Queen Mary University of London<\/em> (QMUL) in the UK, concluded that \u201cThese findings suggest a role for dietary nitrate as an affordable, readily-available, adjunctive treatment in the management of patients with hypertension,\u201d3 and that the results were achievable by consuming just one cup of beetroot juice each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, fruits such as blueberries and cranberries contain high amounts of anti-oxidants that are essential in order to deal with those nasty free radicals in the body that can cause damage to your artery walls by clotting and lowering triglyceride levels. Free radicals usually travel around the body, causing cellular damage and creating new free radicals, however; anti-oxidants will donate one of their electrons without becoming unstable themselves, therefore eradicating the damaging free radicals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potassium rich vegetables such as spinach and carrots are also a great thing to get in the juicer as the potassium is essential for heart function; preventing artery thickening oxidative damage. It has been noted over the years that the modern day diet has become rich in sodium and lacking in potassium\u2014a recipe made for hypertensive disaster. Juicing potassium rich produce can help balance this out. Be careful however, as too much potassium can be just as bad for you as too little. It is recommended that you should get roughly 4,500 mg each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Healthy Hair, Nails and Skin<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If the reasons mentioned so far aren\u2019t enough to convince you that juicing is anything but beneficial, perhaps that it can improve your complexion and strengthen your hair and nails will add even more credence to the benefits of juicing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned earlier, anti-oxidants are important in order to get rid of free radicals; and those pesky little radicals can be responsible for some of our unwanted aging characteristics. UV exposure, for example, can cause free radical formation in the skin, and without dealing with them they can cause us skin damage that can present itself in forms such as unwanted wrinkles. Just think of that heavily tanned woman on the beach, riddled with wrinkles all over her face and body\u2014we\u2019ve all seen her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One group of antioxidants in particular that can produce substantial benefits, are carotenoids. \u201cPeople consuming diets rich in carotenoids from natural foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are healthier and have lower mortality from a number of chronic illnesses.\u201d4<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carotenoids are responsible for the red color you find in some fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and plums. They are organic pigments that absorb light from the sun for the purpose of photosynthesis. However; when ingested by humans, carotenoids are stored within the fat under the skin, and over time they form a serum and secrete themselves into the skin, giving it a nice golden appearance. Some carotenoids also help to protect your eyes, absorbing eye-damaging near-ultraviolet light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The formation of Keratin is essential for strong, smooth hair and nails. Keratin is a protein that plays a key role in the structural strength of your hair and nails. A deficiency in this protein can cause you to have weakened nails and hair that is prone to breaking and even falling out. The building blocks of keratin are vegetable proteins, so making sure you eat consume your vegetables is important. Also, vitamin C can play a key role in the development of keratin, so fruits such as grapefruit, pineapple and other citruses are beneficial for keeping your hair strong and skin glowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Liver Function<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your liver is one of the most important organs in your body, and in this modern day and age it has a tough job to do. Everywhere we go we are exposed to harmful toxins. Whether it be through smog and pollution from manufacturing or motors, or consumption of processed foods and alcohol, any toxins that we ingest have to be processed and eradicated from the body through the liver. It is also responsible for a whole plethora of functions such as nutrient storage and conversion, cholesterol production and the regulation of blood composition. Quite simply, we could not survive without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scarily, most of the time stress on the liver can go unnoticed, and so unless you went for some medical testing, you would be none the wiser. With that in mind, it seems stupid not to pay some well needed attention to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One key way that you can help detoxify your liver and have it functioning efficiently, is to increase your sulfur intake. These days, the human diet is pretty deficient in sulfur, however it is essential for one of the detoxification pathways of the liver known as the cytochrome P450 detoxification pathway. Cytochrome P450 is the name given to a family of some 50 enzymes that are responsible for stage I liver detoxification. This is responsible for eradicating alcohols, chemicals and carcinogens and processing them into water and oxygen. The enzymes also play key roles in bile production (key to digestion), and the synthesis of vitamin D (healthy bones), so you can see why it would be important to support their functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of sulfur needed for this detoxification process, non-protein-bound sulfur, and protein-bound sulfur. Protein-bound sulfur can be acquired by consuming cooked meats and semi-soft egg yolks. Non-protein bound sulfur can be found in vegetables, more so in vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and Kale, so drinking a juice rich in these vegetables can prove to have positive effects on your liver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Juicing can also benefit your liver by the increasing amount of flavonoids in your diet\u2014which can fight inflammatory disease and aid in bile production\u2014and the polyphenols found in berries such as blueberries and raspberries\u2014shown to reduce the risk of cancer in the liver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Argument Against Juicing<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Like with most things diet or health related, you will find cases for and against a topic. Juicing is no different. The problem seems to be the way people interpret the subject, for example: eating a high fat, low carbohydrate diet for weight loss. This doesn\u2019t mean you should go out there and start munching on burger patties and deep fried wings, however some people will see it that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same can be said for juicing. While there are tons of benefits with juicing as we\u2019ve seen, it can be a bit of a double edged sword at times, and the way you proceed to juice will determine your final thoughts and health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, let\u2019s take a look at some of the common arguments against juicing and how you SHOULD go about them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n