Juicer, a scruffy-looking dog, walks into the neighborhood watering hole, steps up to the bartender, and orders a carrot juice.
“We don’t do carrot juice here, ya mutt,” said the bartender with annoyance. “How many times do I have to tell you and your friends? This is a bar. We sell booze and sodas. Who wants carrot juice on a hot day?”
“Anyone who cares about their health would want carrot juice on a hot day!” barked Juicer. “Don’t you know the benefits of fresh-pressed vegetable juices? They can bring a nearly dead body back to life!”
“Yada yada yada,” said the bartender, rolling his eyes.
“Yada yada yeah! Vegetable juices are the easiest way to pack nutrients into your body, and a nutrient-dense diet is happier and healthier from the inside out.”
“Look, pal, either shut up or and get lost. You’re depressing everybody in the place.”
“Depress? All the crackers and prepackaged foods you serve are just empty calories. They not only depress the immune system, they can actually cause depression.”
“Listen, Juicer, I’m not gonna tell you again. You want a soda? I’ll pour you one. Otherwise, get outta here.”
Juicer shook his head and walked out. He wanted his carrot juice.
We Really Are What We Eat
Recently, I was at the checkout counter at a local store and a young girl (possibly 10 years old) behind me reminded me of myself at her age – a junk-food junkie with two sodas, milk-chocolate candy, and potato chips in her cart. I started to tell her about the benefits she might get from drinking some fresh-pressed vegetable juices instead of sodas, but her evil alien look quickly stopped me. Because I love to share information about health, I would have liked to have told her this bit about fresh juice:
- Fastest & easiest way to nourish the body. We can exhaust our jaws eating pounds of carrots and other veggies. Drink them and we get even more health benefits. Anyone who needs energy, feels weak, or has a depressed immune system should turn first to a glass of fresh-pressed vegetable juice.
- Live nutrition vs. dead foods. Fresh-pressed juices provide raw and live nutrition. How many of us really do munch down the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables each day? Our bodies need live enzymes to sustain our health.
- Juicing blasts the cells into action. Separated from the fibrous pulp, juices bypass the digestive tract and feed their nutrients directly into the bloodstream, making their nutrients much easier to assimilate than the entire vegetable. And since we don’t have to digest the fiber, we receive the juice’s energy instantaneously.
- Fresh live juices help us feel and look great. Body nourishment happens at the cellular level. Because juices go right to the cells, our vital organs receive immediate nourishment, which helps our skin glow, renews our energy, releases excess weight, and helps ‘wash away’ health issues manifested by consuming the wrong foods.
Of course, when I was ten years old, I didn’t want to hear anything about bodies or health, either, not even from my mother. After all, until we get into our mid to late twenties, we’re all immortal, right? Nothing can hurt us! So I ate whatever I wanted, just like most Americans: chocolate, French fries, Mac-and-cheese, chocolateanything, cookies, ice cream, chocolate…did I already mention chocolate?
Until my “immortality” kicked me in the teeth.
What Did I Do Wrong?
Who would believe that a steady diet of grilled cheese on soft white bread, French fries, soda, ice cream, chocolate candy, apple pie, and pancakes could cause serious, even deadly health problems?
Believe it. For me, it was a near-fatal case of pneumonia and pleurisy. My immune system was so weak it didn’t even have the energy to digest anything. Two things brought me back to health: some truly potent homeopathic remedies and consuming nothing but fresh filtered water and fresh-pressed vegetable juices for close to a month. While my digestive organs got a much-needed rest, my body got the energy and support it needed to heal.
The typical American diet—with its canned, frozen, boxed, and other prepackaged foods that have no nutritional value—can lead to gastro-esophageal reflux syndrome, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, colon cancer, or even a complete digestive shutdown. For others, the diagnosis might be chronic-fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, lupus, or congestive heart failure.
It all comes back to the same thing: an immune system repressed by unhealthy eating/drinking habits. And the answer comes back to the same thing, too: eliminate toxic buildup and refresh the entire cellular structure with fresh-pressed vegetable and fruit juices.
All of life should be so simple!
Juicers
Juicers are available in myriad physical and online stores. My favorite is still the Breville juicer (they have many models). The refurbished one I bought over 4 years ago and use almost every day still works beautifully and is easy to clean, but there are many other reasonably priced brands as well. Look for a wide-mouth juicer that takes whole carrots, apples, cucumbers, etc., without having to precut them.
Gallup Journey Readers, I Challenge You Once Again…
The last time we talked about juicing in April 2012 (http://gallupjourney.com/2012/04/lets-all-get-juiced/), I challenged you to avoid organ transplants and major illnesses by replacing all your juice boxes and carbonated, energy, and other commercially made drinks with plenty of fresh filtered water and fresh, raw-vegetable juices for one month.
Those who truly engaged in the challenge reported:
- More energy
- More mental clarity
- Fewer aches and pains
- Longer sustained blood-sugar levels, and far less blood-sugar crashes.
- Weight reduction (many reports on that!)
- Parents even saw their children exhibit fewer ADD/ADHD symptoms.
If you engage in this challenge, please email me your results at bastis@bastis.org.
According to studies, McKinley County has more diabetics than most other counties not only in New Mexico but the whole United States. Much of it comes from eating and drinking food-like substances that provide no nutrients to our cells. Don’t we all deserve to be healthy and feel good every day? Fresh vegetable juices can help make that a reality.
Great Veggies to Juice
- Carrots – great blood builder
- Celery – high amount of vital organic sodium. Yummy combined with cucumber.
- Cucumber contains silica, potassium, and magnesium to improve our healthy complexion.
- Garlic – a wonderful heart strengthener and toner; mellow when combined with carrot and beet juice.
- Ginger helps soothe and improve digestion.
- Lettuce, especially Romaine – nutritionally packed and an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), folate, vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, manganese, chromium, and folic acid.
- Parsley – a rich source of antioxidant and cardio-protective nutrients. Its volatile oils (particularly myristicin) inhibit tumor formation, especially in the lungs. Parsley is great for increasing oxygen to the brain, which can help improve memory.
- Potato – a nutrient-dense food especially high in potassiumwhen consumed raw. Combine potato juice with carrot, parsley, and lettuce juices for a powerfully nutritious drink.
- Spinach is another powerful blood cleanser. Carrot and spinach make a wonderful combination.
Juicing Tips
Sip or drink your juice slowly for best assimilation.
Drink the juice on an empty stomach, not with solid food, to feed your bloodstream and avoid involving your digestive tract.
Best to combine fruits with fruits and vegetables with vegetables when juicing, as they require different digestive processes. Exceptions:
- Lettuce and celery can be combined with either fruit or vegetable juice.
- Apples can be used in place of carrots to sweeten a vegetable-juice mixture.
Most fruit juices mix together well. Exceptions:
- Juice citrus only with other citrus fruits.
- Juice melons only with other melons.
So, whaddaya say, like Juicer, let’s wag our tails and propose a fresh raw juice toast: to our mutual health!
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Dr. Bera “The Wellness Whisperer” Dordoni, N.D.
Specializing in immune system rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance through nutritional counseling, life-style coaching, and the laws of attraction. To purchase I Have a Choice?!, schedule a private consultation, or learn more about her next workshop, wellness retreat, or natural-health class, visit www.bastis.org or call 505-783-9001.
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