Congratulations! You have
made some great changes to your life. The last step will be to implement a
juicing plan. I am firmly convinced that juicing is the final key to giving
you a radiant, energetic life and truly optimal health.
I've said this in the other levels of this
nutrition plan, but it's so important I'll say it again: There are valuable
and sensitive micronutrients that are damaged when you heat foods. Cooking
and processing food destroys these micronutrients by altering their shape and
chemical composition. In this advanced level, you avoid all processed foods
and eat only organic vegetables and fruits unless not otherwise possible.
There are three main reasons why you will
want to consider incorporating vegetable juicing into your health program:
1. You probably have a compromised intestine. Most of us have compromised intestines as a result
of less than optimal food choices over many years. This limits your body's
ability to absorb all the nutrients from the vegetables. Juicing will help to
"pre-digest" them for you so you will receive most of the nutrition
rather than having it go down the toilet.
2. You need to eat one pound of raw vegetables per 50 pounds of body
weight per day. Vegetable juicing
allows you to accomplish this, as you can eat more vegetables than you would
normally. By incorporating the juice into your eating plan you will easily be
able to reach this goal.
3. Nobody wants to eat that many salads. If you eat the vegetables like a salad then you
will be having far too many salads. This violates the principle of regular
food rotation and increases your chance of developing an allergy to a certain
food.
If you are new to juicing, it's best to
start out with an inexpensive juicer. The benefit to this is that if you
decide you do not want to continue you will not be out a large amount of
money. There are some things to watch for, however. Inexpensive centrifugal
juicers produce low quality juice and are very loud, which may contribute to
hearing loss. They are probably fine for short-term use. My favorite juicer
is the Omega 8003.
You can learn how to select a great juicer
with my free report on
juicer recommendations.
Many of my patients felt they would have a
problem with juicing, but they found that it was much better than they
thought it would be. This is partly related to the fact that you should only
start by juicing vegetables that you enjoy eating non-juiced. The juice
should taste pleasant and not make you nauseous.
It is very important to listen to your
body when juicing. Your stomach should be very happy all morning long. If it
is churning or growling or generally making its presence known, you probably
juiced something you should not be eating. Personally, I've noticed that I
can't juice large amounts of cabbage, but if I spread it out, I do fine.
Before we get started, I do want to
mention a great product that helps me stay healthy when I don't have enough
time to juice. This product is called Living Fuel Rx and in
my opinion, is the best meal replacement you can find. This superfood is my
constant companion when I'm on the road.
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The
health benefits of juicing are immense for adults and children.
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Lesson 1: Drink
vegetable juice for breakfast.
Vegetable juice is a great breakfast when
balanced with some essential oils and a bit of chlorella. Please remember
that vegetable juice and fruit juices are two completely different substances
in terms of nutrition. I am confident that fruit juices should be avoided.
Although vegetable juice is processed, it doesn't raise insulin levels like
fruit juice. The only exceptions would be carrot and beet juice (and most
vegetables that grow underground), which function similarly to fruit juice.
Lesson 2: You
can eat the pulp, too!
When you juice, you will produce pulp. What
should you do with it? It's best to mix it in with the juice and consume it.
In my experience when I first started juicing, I would juice every day, and
my stools would frequently become loose. Once I started adding the pulp fiber
back into my juice, this problem went away. There is a benefit to eating the
fiber, as it serves as fertilizer for the good bacteria in the colon.
Eating the pulp increases the time it
takes to consume the juice, but it is healthier. One can gradually add the
pulp back in over time to get used to it. If you add the entire pulp back in,
the mixture becomes almost like a green vegetable porridge that can be eaten
with a spoon.
The method I currently use is to drink
about 75 percent of the juice and then pour the other 25 percent of the juice
back into the pulp. I add some ground seeds into the mixture, stir it up and
eat it like porridge.
Try it both ways. Listen to your body and
see what works best for you.
Lesson 3: Get
ready to juice!
Step 1: Now that you're ready for the benefits of vegetable
juice, you need to know what to juice. I recommend starting out with these
vegetables, as they are the easiest to digest:
- Celery
- Fennel (anise)
- Cucumbers
These aren't as beneficial as the more
nutritionally intense dark green vegetables. Once you get used to these, you
can start adding the more nutritionally valuable, but less palatable,
vegetables into your juice.
Vegetables to avoid include carrots and
beets. Most people who juice usually use carrots. The reason they taste so
good is that they are full of sugar. I would definitely avoid all vegetables
that grow underground to avoid an increase in your insulin levels.
If you are healthy, you can add about one
pound of carrots or beets per week. I do believe that the deep, intense colors
of these foods provide additional benefits for many that are just not
available in the green vegetables listed above.
Step 2: When you've acclimatized yourself to juicing, you
can start adding these vegetables:
- Red leaf lettuce
- Green Leaf lettuce
- Romaine lettuce
- Endive
- Escarole
- Spinach
Step 3: After you're used to these, then go to the next
step:
- Cabbage
- Chinese Cabbage
- Bok Choy
An interesting side note: Cabbage juice is
one of the most healing nutrients for ulcer repair as it is a huge source of
vitamin U. The "Eat Right for Your Type" approach does not support
lectin compatibility for blood type A individuals like myself and so I avoid
it.
Step 4: When you're ready, move on to adding herbs to your
juicing. Herbs also make wonderful combinations, and there are two that work
exceptionally well:
You need to be cautious with cilantro, as
many cannot tolerate it well. If you are new to juicing, hold off. These are
more challenging vegetables to consume, but they are highly beneficial.
Step 5: The last step: Only use one or two of these
leaves, as they are very bitter:
- Kale
- Collard Greens
- Dandelion Greens
- Mustard Greens (bitter)
When purchasing collard greens, find a
store that sells the leaves still attached to the main stalk. If they are cut
off, the vegetable rapidly loses many of its valuable nutrients.
One important note: I prefer to juice my
vegetables at room temperature. I leave my vegetables out overnight, or for
at least one hour in the morning, as I do not enjoy drinking cold fluids,
especially when it is cold outside.
Lesson 4: Make
your juice a balanced meal.
Balance your juice with protein and fat.
Vegetable juice does not have much protein or fat, so it's very important for
you to include these fat and protein sources with your meal.
- Use eggs. Eggs will add a significant amount of beneficial fats and
protein to your meal. An egg has about 8 grams of protein, so you can
add two to four eggs per meal.I suggest that you add the whole eggs,
raw, into the vegetable pulp (not the juicer). The reason I advocate
this is because once
you heat the eggs, many of their nutrients become damaged. If you
are concerned
about salmonella, purchase organic eggs; it's unlikely you'll have
any problems. Additionally, if you are not sensitive to milk, you can
add some raw milk cheese, as it will improve the flavor.
There is a
potential problem with using the entire raw egg if you are pregnant. Biotin
deficiency, a common concern in pregnancy, could be made worse by consuming whole raw eggs.
Please read my
recent article, Raw
Eggs for Your Health -- Major Update, for further information on
consuming raw eggs.
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Incorporate seeds. Raw seeds, freshly ground and alternated
regularly, are another great addition to the pulp. The simplest way to grind
the seeds is to use an inexpensive coffee grinder. The seeds are full of
protein and essential fatty acids that bring a juice into balance
beautifully. I recommend pumpkin and flax seeds. If you use flax seeds,
please note my special
caution.
- Use chlorella. Chlorella is an incredibly powerful nutrient
from the sea and is a form of algae. I use it quite a bit for mercury
detoxification as it binds very strongly to mercury to eliminate it from
the body. The normal dose is one teaspoon in the juice. However, about
30 percent of people cannot tolerate the chlorella, so if it makes you
nauseous you should definitely avoid it.
- Is a useful source of chlorophyll.
- Adds magnesium and protein.
- Binds to heavy metals and pesticides.
If you have high
iron or vitamin D levels you will want to avoid chlorella though as it is
loaded with both of these nutrients.
- Add spirulina. Spirulina is another algae that has many
similar benefits and is a good balance to chlorella. However it does not
bind to heavy metals like chlorella.
- Consider a protein powder. While protein powders are convenient, I
believe them to be far inferior to whole food choices like eggs or
chlorella. If you can't tolerate eggs or chlorella you can consider
them. Glutamine is an amino acid and the majority of our skeletal muscle
is made of it. You can obtain glutamine powder and add one teaspoon into
your drink for a very effective healing addition. You can also use
protein powders. My two favorites are whey and rice protein. Some people
are concerned about my milk avoidance suggestion and taking whey
protein. Although whey protein is from milk, most people tolerate it
quite well as the major protein in milk that causes an allergy is
casein. I would strongly advise against the use of soy protein
powders.
- Add some garlic. Don't worry; this won't give you "dragon
breath." I like to add one to two cloves of garlic in my juice, as
it incorporates the incredible healing potential of fresh
garlic. I strongly advise you to do this regularly to balance out
your bowel flora. The ideal dose is just below the social threshold
where people start to notice that you have eaten garlic. One large
clove, two medium cloves or three small cloves is the recommended dose.
- Add oil. But not just any oil! I highly recommend cod liver oil for the
winter months and fish oil for the summer months. If you live in a
primarily sunny climate, however, I wouldn't advise taking cod liver
oil. The reason for this is that cod liver oil has a level of vitamin D
that can prove toxic to those in very sunny climates. If you are at all
unsure of your vitamin D levels, please get yourself tested at your
doctor's office.
The reason why
fat is important is that green vegetables contain vitamin K, which is very
important for gluing the calcium into your bone matrix. Additionally, new
research suggests that vitamin K significantly reduces calcification in the
arteries. However, vitamin K is not absorbed very well unless there is some
fat. Additionally, the vitamin D in the cod liver oil will work with the
vitamin K to increase calcium absorption and build stronger bones. The dose
for cod liver oil or fish oil is one teaspoon for every 25 to 40 pounds of
body weight. Please be sure to read my comprehensive
explanation on sunlight and vitamin D testing, and please review my
updates on vitamin
D information. Adding raw egg yolks, as described above, will also help
you to absorb all the vitamin K from the juice. You could also use flax as a
source of omega-3 fat, but many people have problems digesting it.
Lesson 5: Make
your juice taste great.
If you would like to make your juice
taste a bit more palatable, especially in the beginning, you can add these
elements:
- Coconut: This is one of my favorites! You can purchase the whole coconut
or use shredded coconut. It adds a delightful flavor and is an excellent
source of fat to balance the meal. Coconut has medium chain
triglycerides, which have many health benefits.
- Cranberries: You can also add some cranberries if you enjoy them. Researchers
have discovered that cranberries have five times the antioxidant content
of broccoli, which means they may protect against cancer, stroke and
heart disease. In addition, they are chock full of phytonutrients and
help many women avoid urinary tract infections. Limit the cranberries to
about 4 ounces per pint of juice.
- Lemons: You can also add half a lemon (leaving much of the white rind
on). If you are a protein Metabolic type you will not want to use lemons
as they will push your pH in the wrong direction.
- Fresh ginger: This is an excellent addition if you can
tolerate it. It gives your juice a little "kick"!
Lesson 6: Drink your vegetable juice
right away, or store it very carefully.
Juicing is a time-consuming process, so
you'll probably be thinking to yourself, "I wonder if I can juice first
thing and then drink it later?" This isn't a great idea. Vegetable juice
is very perishable so it's best to drink all of your juice immediately.
However, if you're careful you can store it for up to 24 hours with only
moderate nutritional decline. To store your juice:
1.
Put your juice in a glass jar with an airtight lid and fill it to the very
top. There should be a minimum amount of air in the jar as the oxygen in air
(air is about 20 percent oxygen) will "oxidize" and damage the
juice.
2. Wrap the jar with aluminum foil to block out all light. Light damages the
juice.
3. Store it in the refrigerator until about 30 minutes prior to drinking, as
vegetable juice should be consumed at room temperature.
Most people juice in the morning, but if
that does not work out well for your schedule please feel the freedom to
choose whatever meal works out best for your lifestyle.
Lesson 7: Clean your juicer properly.
We all know that if a juicer takes longer
than 10 minutes to clean, we'll find excuses not to do it. I find that using
an old toothbrush works well to clean any metal grater. For the Omega 8003,
the whole process takes about 5 minutes. Whatever you do, you need to clean
your juicer immediately after you juice to prevent any remnants from
contaminating the juicer with mold growth.
Warning: Don't follow the juicing recommendations that come
with the juicer, as they most often emphasize carrot and fruit combinations.
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