The Importance of Juicing
Cherie Calbom, the Juice Lady

Vegetable juicing is very important for a variety of reasons:

1) Juice is broken down into an easy-to-absorb from that the body can utilize easily. It is estimated that the nutrients are at work in the blood stream in about 20-30 minutes after drinking the juice.

2) Very few people have the time/energy to eat anywhere near the amount of vegetables they could juice. I timed eating a medium-size carrot; it took 10 minutes. Every day I juice 5 carrots, along with a beet with the stem and leaves, a handful of parsley, two stalks of celery, a cucumber, 1/4 lemon (peeled) and about a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger root. This is my Morning Energizer recipe. It's delicious. There is no way, any day of my life, that I would eat all that if I had to sit down and chew it all up. And we need the nutrients in vegetables now more than ever for help in the detoxification process. We're bombarded with toxins from air, soil, water, and food. Without ample antioxidants and other nutrients, toxins can and do damage our tissues.

3) Juices are loaded with antioxidants, other vitamins and minerals, enzymes, and phytochemicals. Most of us just don't get enough of these nutrients in our diets to promote health and heal our bodies otherwise.

4) You can juice items you would probably never eat such as leaves like beet leaves (they are loaded with minerals), stems, seeds, and peels (if organic). All of these parts of the plant are loaded with nutrients, some with far more than the portion we're accustomed to eating. Also, you can juice vegetables or herbs such as parsley that you might not eat much of because of a stronger taste. When combined with other milder-tasting veggies, you will hardly notice they are there, but you are getting all the nutrients you would otherwise miss. It's also a way to get other family members to eat veggies they wouldn't normally, or ever, eat.

5) Vegetable juices have been used by a number of famed doctors such as Max Gerson, M.D. for healing. Dr. Gerson used a number of juices (about 8 glasses a day) in his cancer treatment protocol with great success. They are also integral part of every cleansing program I've ever completed.

If you want to read more about juicing, I recommend my book The Juice Lady's Guide to Juicing for Health (Avery); it is an A-Z guide on juicing and diet for a variety of ailments. The opening section of that book has an extensive amount of information on why one should juice. In the back of the book are the cleansing programs, such as the 7-Day Liver Cleanse and other juice programs to promote health and healing.

You can make vegetable juices and add them to the blender along with VCNO, a little ice (if desired) and make a smoothie. I don't recommend much fruit juice, however. It is simply too much sugar. In that case I do recommend just eating the fruit because the fiber helps to slow the metabolism of the sugar. Putting the whole fruit in a blender to make a smoothie is fine.

In addition to juicing vegetables, I definitely recommend eating them. Big main-course salads with strips of your favorite red meat, chicken or fish and lots of greens and vegetables is terrific for fiber and a cornucopia of nutrients.

With a good juicer, you can easily juice your way to super health.

Best of health,
Cherie Calbom

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