A few years back we had a few friends that had a juicer and that's where we were introduced to it and we thought it would be cool to own a juicer. Then fast forward to a few months ago we watched the movie Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead and that is pretty much what put us on the fast track. It wasn't even two weeks before we had a juicer in our possession. And it's been going almost none stop since. The movie is all about this guy, (Joe Cross) an Aussie, (Yeah! Go Aussies!) who goes on a 60 day juice fast and documents his journey. He was suffering from an autoimmune disorder and on heaps of different medication. By the end of the fast he has drop massive amounts of weight, stopped taking all of his medication, and in much better health all around. If you haven't seen this film, it is one that I highly recommend. It's on Netflix streaming, if you have that, if not you may have to just buy the DVD. It can be purchased from their website (see the link above.)
So why should you juice? Juicing is an easy way to provide your body with good quality nutrition. It's practically a straight shot of vitamins. Juice requires practically no digestion, so all of that nutritional goodness goes straight to your body. When you juice you juice way more fruits and vegetables than you would actually consume in a day so it's a much denser and more compact way of getting so many vitamins and minerals. AND it's like a serious detoxification. Because your putting so much good stuff in, all the bad stuff gets flushed out. Awesome, right?!
So here is just a quick list of some of the health benefits of juicing and why you should do it.
Major detoxification: Our livers have 100s of important function. The main one (and I'm no medical professional here) being cleaning our blood and ridding it of toxins. With the amount of toxins that modern day life provides us our liver has a full time job. It's important for us to keep it clean so that it can keep us clean.
Healthy skin, hair, nails, and eyes: Who doesn't want all that right? Our bodies are constantly growing and replacing our skin, hair, and nails. If you're loading it with all the right kind of stuff it needs you will be able to notice it in these places pretty quickly.
As for the eyes, you need a good amount of vitamin A to keep them going strong. Carrots are an excellent source of this. And when you juice you can pack so many carrots (and other produce that has similar benefits) into a glass you're really doing your eyes a favor. (My grandpa always told me it's what kept my hair red so I have always made sure to eat lots and lots of carrots.) :)
Increased energy levels: Yes! Who doesn't want more energy? Again this goes back to all those vitamins and minerals that you're putting into your body. Everything is able to work more efficiently which the obvious result is more energy. Awesome! And when you're combining this with a healthy diet and active lifestyle, well, you'll be unstoppable.
Improved immune system: We are sitting right in the middle of winter (unless of course you're down under, then, of course, enjoy that sunshine for me!) and illness often accompanies the cooler weather. I have noticed that my body is not only stronger at keeping illness at bay, but when I do come down with something I feel like it doesn't last nearly as long as it used to. And again, it's all thanks to all those vitamins and minerals being shot directly into your system.
And that, my dear friends, is why we juice. And why I think you should juice too. We will be spending all week focusing on juicing and different recipes you can try so keep checking back.
