Juicing and Smoothies For Dummies
Book image
Explore Book Buy On Amazon

Although the water or juice of mainly fruits has been enjoyed for centuries, it wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that two men began to look at raw juice as a medical cure. Called the Roshåft Kur, or raw juice cure, it was revolutionary at the time, and its developers, Dr. Max Bircher-Benner and Dr. Max Gerson, used it to promote health and well-being for patients suffering from fatigue and stress.

Just about everyone living in the 21st century suffers from fatigue and stress at some point. And raw juicing would be a quick and positive step toward repairing the damage to cells from modern-day stress.

Food flows through your gastrointestinal tract, which extends from your mouth to your bowels, and must be absorbed through the walls of the ­stomach and intestines before it can enter the bloodstream. Like most things associated with the body, assimilation (absorption of nutrients) is complicated. For total transport of nutrients through the intestinal cell wall, key enzymes and minor nutrients must be present.

Once absorbed, nutrients circulate to and feed all your tissues by way of your blood. Nutrients, which are tiny molecules, are bound up in the larger cells of carbohydrate, and they’re in the water or juice of fruits and vegetables. When you juice, you remove the fiber and cellulose tissue in order to leave the pure water and nutrients.

In fact, by juicing, you’re performing critical steps in the digestive process, which would normally start by chewing to break down the flesh of fruits and vegetables. All the nutrients in juice are instantly available for moving into the blood and, in fact, they’re completely taken up and on their way to repair cells within 10 to 20 minutes of drinking them. They save the body from doing digestive work — the gallbladder, pancreas, and stomach from excreting bile and digestive enzymes and the liver from separating toxins.

Juices are the fastest and easiest way for the body to take up the nutrients it needs to feed and detoxify itself.

If you want to jump-start your adventure into health, jump into juicing. Today’s juice machines are leaps ahead of the juicers of years ago. Juicing at home is more economical, faster, cleaner, and more convenient than ever before.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book author:

Pat Crocker is a professional home economist specializing in herbs and healthy foods. She has been growing, photographing, teaching, and writing about herbs, food, and healthy diets for more than two decades. Pat lectures at international conventions and is a seasoned television and radio guest.

This article can be found in the category: