Juices 101

A juice is the liquid of the plant, with all of the fiber and pulp (and some protein) removed.  This means that your body does not have to do the digestive work necessary to extract the nutrients from the plant, as they are absorbed directly into the blood stream, rebuilding cells within 15 minutes.  For this reason, they are sometimes referred to as vitamin “infusions.”  You can juice any plant that has juice to extract.  Fruits, vegetables and herbs are the most common juice ingredients.  Centrifugal juicers require that your juice be consumed right away, as heat and air and produced and begin to break down the nutrients; cold press or masticating juicers produce a juice that can be made in advance and kept fresh in a tightly-covered container for several hours.  

Juices are particularly good for people who are healing from an illness, have damaged digestive systems, or who have difficulty digesting vegetables.  Removing the fiber releases all of the nutrients from those plants, without your body having to do any work.  Fresh juices are useful for a gentle, nourishing cleanse of your body.  As your body does not have to exert any effort toward digestion, more energy can be directed to ridding the body of built up waste and toxins. Juicing allows the body to focus on healing while still providing nutrients to your body.  Juices are also beneficial for supporting the healing of a damaged gut, for skin conditions, for reducing inflammation, as well as many other health issues, depending on the ingredients juiced.