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With the fast pace of modern life, it’s easy to get caught up in the clutches of convenience, and to forget the simple and natural things in life. While we’re all aware of the benefits, eating fresh food is something that’s often pushed to the bottom of our priority list. We make time to see friends, play sport and clean the house, but when it comes to supplying energy and nutrition through the best sorts of food it’s usually another story.

Lately we have become used to supplementing our diets with vitamin and mineral pills, as a kind of insurance policy. Supplements have their place and can be very effective, but they can’t take the place of a diet full of natural, health-giving foods. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are part of the all-natural line-up that can knock spots off convenience products. Not only do they provide a wealth of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, they are also cleansing and balancing for the body as a whole; the equivalent of a multivitamin pill in a glass, with hidden benefits.

RAW HEALTH

Once you have tasted your own fresh fruit and vegetable juices you’ll realize that there is little comparison between the liquid that flows from your juicer and that which flows from shop-bought cartons. Most readymade juices rely on concentrated juice and extra water to bulk them up. Look on the label and you’ll find that some juices contain additives such as sugar, colours, flavours and preservatives too, while the latest range of freshly juiced juices are wildly expensive.

Homemade juices have nothing added, nothing taken away, just 100 per cent pure juice. The fruits and vegetables which you choose to juice will be as fresh as possible and will not have undergone any processing. This makes a real difference, as any sort of cooking reduces the content of vitamins and minerals, and sometimes destroys them altogether.

Every time you drink a glass of juice it will contain virtually the same amount of nutrients (although not as much fibre) as if you were eating the fruit or vegetable whole. In fact, you will probably be absorbing far more, as it takes quite a bit of produce to make just one 8 fl oz/230ml glass of juice. For example, you would have to eat 2 apples, or 3 carrots, or nearly a whole pineapple to consume the quantity of nutrients that goes into 8fl oz/230ml of juice.

THE PIONEERS

Of course, like most ‘novel’ ideas, the concept of juicing is not new at all. Since the nineteenth century, doctors and naturopaths have been treating patients with fresh juices and raw foods to help improve their health. Germany and Switzerland are together regarded as the cradle of the therapy, and during the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries nurtured a number of famous pioneers, such as Father Kniepp, Dr Kellog, Dr Max Bircher-Benner and Dr Max Gerson. Between them they developed the Röhsaft Kur (the fresh juice cure), which is still practised today at health clinics all over the world. American pioneers, such as the late Dr Norman Walker, and Ann Wigmore, founder of the Hippocrates Health Institute in Boston, have continued their work. There is simply masses of research and practice to draw upon. For many years, therefore, juices have been used by naturopaths in Europe and America to help treat a whole range of minor, and sometimes major, ailments. It’s no surprise when you consider what a rich source of nutrients and cleansing elements they are.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS

Fresh juices are packed with many of the vitamins and minerals that keep us well. As with all natural, whole foods, the vitamins and minerals in fruit and vegetables are often bound on to other nutrients that help absorption. For example, bioflavonoids are found in the pith of citrus fruit, and they aid the absorption of vitamin C. The minerals found in fresh produce are chelated to amino acids, or sometimes a vitamin, to make them easier to absorb.

The list below reveals the range of vitamins and minerals in fresh juices; beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium and phosphorus are found at particularly high levels.

Vitamins

beta-carotene (the vegetarian form of vitamin A)

vitamin B1 (thiamine)

vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

vitamin B3 (niacin)

vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

folic acid

biotin

choline

inositol

vitamin C

vitamin E

Minerals

calcium

chlorine

chromium

cobalt

copper

fluorine

iodine

iron

magnesium

manganese

phosphorus

potassium

selenium

sodium

sulphur

zinc

For more information on the nutrients contained in fresh juices, see chapters 4–6, and Appendix 1.

THE ANTIOXIDANTS

You may have heard of antioxidant nutrients in newspaper and magazine reports, and if you haven’t you will soon. They are the focus of scores of research studies, which are looking at whether a group of vitamins and minerals – particularly vitamins A, C, E and selenium – can give protection against degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, premature ageing and cataracts. Scientists believe that they may be the key to limiting the impact of these often devastating diseases.

Of course, fruits and vegetables are full of antioxidants – vitamins C and E – and juices made with them are naturally a very good source. The reason why these nutrients may have a revolutionary impact on our preventive healthcare is that they are able to quench unbalanced molecules, known as free radicals.

FREE RADICALS

Free radicals are generated by toxins, such as those produced by air pollution or smoke. They react with other molecules in our bodies and destabilize them, therefore putting cells at risk. They have been implicated in the development of diseases like cancer and heart disease, because they are capable of destroying other, healthy molecules, which in turn become unstable.

So, drinking plenty of fresh juices may have a long-term impact on your health, as well as perking you up in the short-term. For an antioxidant booster juice recipe, turn to Chapter 5.

EXTRA NUTRIENTS

Fresh juices also contain other substances which are not classified as vitamins or minerals, but which may be beneficial to our health. For example, plant pigments like carotenoids and anthocyanins; substances that combat plant viruses and bacteria; and compounds that create smell and taste. Current research is trying to establish just what these individual essences can do, but the suggestion is that they are an integral part of the goodness supplied by raw fruit and vegetables and their juices.

EASY TO DIGEST

Fruit and vegetable juices are easy to digest, and are ideal for people who can’t cope with a lot of fibre, or who don’t want to munch their way through a pound of carrots (remember fresh juices should not replace your dietary intake of whole fruits and vegetables, of which the fibre is essential for good digestion). Because they are liquids, fruit and vegetable juices are quickly digested in the stomach, and the nutrients absorbed into the bloodstream.

The digestive process is also helped by the presence of active plant enzymes, which join with the stomach’s own enzymes in breaking down the juice. The efficiency of these workers enables nutrients to be absorbed into the body within minutes of being eaten. Plant enzymes also help to neutralize excess proteins and fat from other foods. Some, like papain from papaya and bromelain from pineapple, are especially good at calming indigestion.

SUPER CLEANSERS

Fresh juices have remarkable cleansing and restorative powers. To start with, fruits and vegetables all hold stores of pure water, which has been filtered and distilled through their complex structures. This means that the digestive system has one less set of impurities to deal with.

In addition, all fruits contain acid, which can help remove toxins from the digestive tract. Citrus fruits contain the strongest acid compound – citric acid – and other fruits contain the milder tartaric and malic acids. Some fruits, such as oranges and apples, also contain pectin, which can absorb fats and toxins from the digestive tract (as well as making jam and marmalade set).

Green vegetables are rich in chlorophyll (the substance that enables plants to harvest energy from the sunlight), which also has cleansing properties. That’s why greens like watercress and spinach can be so helpful on a detox programme. Certain other vegetables, such as carrot and tomato, have a reputation for acting as tonics to the liver too. For further information on doing a detox programme with fresh juices, turn to Chapter 7.

KEEP THE BALANCE

Both fruit and vegetable juices are strong alkalizers once they have been digested, which is a plus point for most of us, because the average diet of too much protein and too many refined, processed foods creates over-acidity. Like any other living thing, the body has a subtle pH balance between acid and alkaline, tipping the scales in favour of alkaline. Drinking a glass of juice a day can help restore this essential balance.

A GOOD HEALTH GUARANTEE?

Juices on their own won’t bring you perfect health, but they can contribute to it. To increase your chances of a long and healthy life, you might like to consider other beneficial changes you can make to your daily routine, such as:

 stop smoking

 cut back on alcohol

 take regular exercise

 cut down on animal fats (meat and dairy produce)

 increase consumption of fruit and vegetables

 drink 3–4 pints of water a day

 put time aside to relax – properly

SOME GOLDEN RULES

Beginners should limit their intake to up to three 8fl oz/230ml glasses of juice a day. Veterans can up the amount to six glasses.

Always dilute dark green vegetable juices (ie broccoli, spinach, watercress) and dark red vegetable juices (ie beetroot, red cabbage) by four parts to one. They are very potent in taste and effect.

Drink vegetable and fruit juices in order to get the maximum nutritional benefit. Too many fruit juices will overload your system with the fruit sugar, fructose.

Fruit juice causes a rapid rise in blood sugar, and anyone suffering from candidiasis should be cautious regarding excessive sugar intake. If you are prone to suffer from thrush, therefore, or suspect you may have a yeast infection in the digestive tract, you should take professional advice before increasing your intake of fruit juices (vegetable juices are, on the whole, not a problem in such cases). This advice also applies to anyone with low blood sugar or diabetes.

Avoid mixing vegetable and fruit juices together in the same glass or you may well suffer from a dose of flatulence! The exceptions are apple and carrot, which you can mix freely with any other juice.

See Chapter 8 for advice on children and juices.