How to Cleanse and Nourish Your Cells with Fresh Vegetable Juices

by Dr Ben Kim

I'm often asked to name one thing that can be done right away to get healthier. With respect to food choices, the best suggestion I have is to begin drinking freshly pressed vegetable juices. Drinking just one freshly pressed juice each day is a reliable way of infusing your body with a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that can protect your cells against premature aging and disease.

Almost everyone who has studied nutrition can agree that freshly pressed vegetable juices are highly beneficial to human health. But few people make time to prepare and drink them regularly.

Making time to drink vegetable juices isn’t a problem for most people. It’s the time that is needed to wash fresh vegetables, feed them through a good juicer, and clean the juicer afterward that prevents most people from making fresh juices a regular part of their lives.

So the first step to incorporating juicing into your life is to fully understand how good it is for your health and why making time to do it daily is one of the very best investments you can make.

The Right Ingredients

The key to making healthy vegetable juices is to make green vegetables the bulk of every serving. Green vegetables won’t spike your blood sugar and insulin level like fruits and sweet vegetables like carrots and red beets will.

This is not to say that you can’t juice fruits, carrots, and red beets. Fruits and sweet root vegetables can be healthy additions to your drinks, and they'll definitely add sweetness and flavor. You just want to make sure that they never make up more than one-third of each glass that you drink.

And if you have a problem controlling your blood sugar level, you’ll want to use a blood sugar monitor to determine how much is acceptable for you. I’ve worked with dozens of diabetics over the years who haven’t been able to handle even an ounce of fruit, carrot, or red beet juice in their drinks without negative health consequences, so please consider this point before you select your ingredients for juicing.

Romaine lettuce is one of the best green vegetables that you can juice. You can also juice other types of green, leafy lettuce like red or green leaf lettuce.

For variety, try adding large handfuls of kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, Bok Choy, and any other dark green vegetable that you might steam before eating.

For another layer of flavor, you can add a tiny slice of lemon (including the rind for its flavonoids) to your vegetable juices.

Some people enjoy adding a clove of raw garlic for even more bite.

Be creative and add any vegetables you crave. You really can’t go wrong as long as you make sure not to use too many carrots, red beets, or fruits.

Clearly, organic vegetables are better than non-organic vegetables. But my experiences have led me to believe that the health benefits of drinking juices made with well washed, non-organic vegetables far outweigh not juicing at all. If you are only able to juice non-organic vegetables due to financial or other life circumstances, it’s still well worth your while to do so.

Preparing to Juice

We like to fill up the kitchen sink with cold water and dunk all of our vegetables for a good five minutes. Before we pull all the vegetables out to sit in a colander to dry off a bit, we shake them around in the cold water to make sure that we’ve removed any dirt or even bugs that may be hiding in the vegetables, particularly in heads of celery and lettuce.

If we know that we need to make a few gallons of vegetable juice over several days, we store washed carrots and ribs of celery in containers full of water in the refrigerator.

We store leaves of lettuce spread out and stacked vertically in a container with layers of paper towel in between each layer of lettuce to help absorb excess moisture. Fresh lettuce can last a whole week or more when stored in this fashion.

If you’re really pressed for time and want to make enough juice to last three to four days, you can make a big batch and store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator - not as good as drinking right after pressing, but still likely better than drinking store-bought fruit juices or even vegetable cocktails like V8.

The Art of Juicing

Juicing is, for the most part, quite easy to do. You make sure that your vegetables are small or crunch-able enough to fit through the feeding mechanism of your juicer, and you push them in one at a time.

It's best to juice soft vegetables like leafy greens first, as they are a bit harder to push through the extraction mechanism than firmer vegetables like carrots and celery. Firmer vegetables like carrots and celery can actually help to push any bits of softer vegetables that are deep within the feeding tube of your juicer but not yet
completely through the extraction mechanism.

With leafy greens, we find that it is best to roll them up into small balls before feeding them through the juicer. This helps prevent a single leaf from getting stuck between the feeding tube of your juicer and the plunger that you use to push the vegetables down.

Fruits, like firmer vegetables, can be added near the end, as you are unlikely to have a problem with pushing them down and through the extraction mechanism with the plunger.

Healthy Juice Recipes


Vegetable-based juices:
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 ribs of celery
  • 8 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 2 carrots
  • Handful of parsley
  • 6 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 3 ribs of celery
  • 1 carrot
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • 6 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 rib of celery
  • 1 carrot
  • Big bunch of kale
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 ribs of celery
  • Big bunch of Swiss chard
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 ribs of celery
  • 6 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 2 cups of green cabbage
  • 2 carrots
  • 6 leaves of romaine lettuce
  • 2 ribs of celery
  • 1 apple, whatever is in season
  • 4 ribs of celery
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 apple

Fruit-based Juices (only for special occasions and if you don’t have high blood glucose levels):
  • 3 ribs of celery
  • 2 apples
  • Small handful of strawberries
  • Watermelon (cut into strips, rind included if you wash it well before cutting)
  • Honeydew (cut into strips)
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • 1 apple
  • 1 pear
  • 3 ribs of celery
  • 2 apples
  • 8-10 strawberries
  • 1 cup of pineapple
  • 1 cup of grapes
  • Small handful of strawberries

This is some serious, life-sustaining stuff, so drink with gratitude and enjoy knowing that you're taking great care of yourself.

Source: www.drbenkim.com

Related DVDs

7lbs In 7 Days - Super Juice Detox Diet

Jason Vale, the master of juicing, outlines a natural and safe way to lose up to 7lbs in 7 days by harnessing the power of juice. If you are interested in losing weight, maintaining your weight or detox and cleansing through juice then this film is a must see.

Format: DVD - Region Free
Running Time: 150 minutes
Price: $24.95

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Previous Comments

Terri commented on 22-Jul-2010 10:14 AM5 out of 5 stars
Thanks for the great recipes.
Melissa Landicho commented on 22-Jul-2010 12:09 PM5 out of 5 stars
I love juicing - and this is some extra great info that I will take on board! Thanks for the tips!
Leigh Eggins commented on 22-Jul-2010 12:40 PM5 out of 5 stars
Is blending as good for you? I blend daily.
Eric commented on 23-Jul-2010 11:24 AM1 out of 5 stars
I love juicing!

I own several books on juicing and they outline health benefits and ways of controlling and curing illness and disease.

It's interesting that carrot juice is downplayed in this article simply because of its sweetness (natural sugar content)? As it's main component to the Gerson therapy and also to restoring proper bowel function and aiding digestion immensely.

Blending is of course okay, but it doesn't get the mega dose of vitamins and minerals to your cells the way juicing does. Your body must process all that pulp that wouldn't be present if it was juiced!

Andrew Saul himself juices a 5lb bag of carrots everyday so don't rule carrots out! Or beets either for that matter. My advice is to buy a proper juicing book!

This article actually isn't overly informative! but it might make people get out those old acme stainless steel juicers and start feeling great again!!!
Jane commented on 23-Jul-2010 11:59 AM5 out of 5 stars
Erik, I have a cold press juicer coming this week from an online purchase. Do you have a juicing recipe or book you especially like?
Eric commented on 23-Jul-2010 10:30 PM5 out of 5 stars
Yes :)

The N.W. Walker books are great and can be found used at a very reasonable price.

Also a little research into the Gerson Therapy may be beneficial. Their cures for cancer and other terminal and chronic illnesses are all about expelling toxins from your body. Also regulating natural body function using juicing, coffee enema's and a strict diet. Very very interesting work.

The Beautiful truth is a must see documentary about the Gerson Therpy!

Anonymous commented on 24-Jul-2010 12:45 PM5 out of 5 stars
TY for your post and recomendations. I will check them out!

:)
Mary Mann commented on 24-Jul-2010 08:01 PM5 out of 5 stars
Dear Eric, Your references Walker and Gerson are excellent and these guys were the proponents of juicing. However alot of experience and research has gone into juicing since their time and as I understand it large quantities of sweet veg and juice has since been discovered to be less beneficial than the oxygen supplying greens. I invite you to update your research before you diss the info provided above. There is a balance in everything and it is a very personal thing so each of us has to experiment and observe what works and what does not.
Jane commented on 25-Jul-2010 01:19 AM5 out of 5 stars
Mary thank you for your post. just to clarify, I was simply asking Eric his personal favorites. He was kind enough to share with us. Maybe for me (newbie) starting at the beginning and learning the origins of juicing would be a good place to start. I'm sure I will find my way with juicing and appreciate everyone's input.

FAB commented on 25-Jul-2010 02:45 AM5 out of 5 stars
HI

Can we use any type of juicers ? Gerson recommends to press rather than using centrifugators systems... anyone has info on that ? thks ! Fabrice
Eric commented on 26-Jul-2010 09:05 AM5 out of 5 stars
It's interesting that carrot juice is still used today at the Gerson Institute as part of a therapy curing all kinds of disease including cancer! Not to say greens juice isn't equally important. That's the main reason I value N.W. Walkers material so much because it isn't all about just one particular juice. It's what is your body missing and how can we correct the deficiency. Regardless the recipes above make it seem as if one tiny glass a day is all you need, when in reality if you want results you need to drink 5 to 8 glasses of fresh juice daily... Also listing what the juices help with would be nice. The article could just be more informative that's all.

I'm well aware of my information being dated. Charlotte Gerson is 82 now I believe and was cured of tuberculosis when she was young, I think I will stick to her fathers regiment...
Tracy commented on 30-Jul-2010 09:51 PM5 out of 5 stars
Hi. I would like some recommendations from you juicers on what juicing machine to buy. Has to be available in Canada. Thanks.
Peggy commented on 13-Sep-2010 08:22 AM5 out of 5 stars
Hi, my name is Peggy, live in Illinois and I am just thrilled to hear all this good news. I'm only 49 and I have alot of medical issues. I have chronic pain by my lower left hip area. When I had my 4th child the birth was violent. He came out so fast he left abrasions inside me and that's when the chronic pain started. Is there anything natural I can take for this? I had breast cancer 2 years ago (in July). I'm cancer free now. I had a mastectomy and they removed my ovaries as a precautionary thing. I'm in menopause now and I sweat constantly. What do you suggest I take naturally to help with this constant sweating? I can't take any hormones for the menopause because that just feeds the cancer. I also have hypothyroidism. Just a week ago I was told by my family dr. to go see a rheumatoid doctor because she has the feeling I may have lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. My ankles swell up to twice their size. What do you suggest for this? And, I'm also bi-polar. This documentary said to take Niacin which I am going to do. The woman that you spoke of in this documentary, did you say she was up to 11,000mg of Niacin? Please respond through my Facebook account because I'm having problems with my email account. My Facebook account name is Peggy Doherty Schneider. I have blonde hair and you can see part of my shirt which is blue. I'm just giving you all this info. so you know you have the correct person. One more thing, what kind of juicer do you suggest to buy? I look forward to hearing back from you.
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