After you’ve decided that a 3-day juice fast for detox is what you want to do, decide that you’re going to have some fun with it.

Don’t make your juice fast so solemn and serious! In fact, you should know that juice fasts can actually unleash a happier you because you’re eliminating the toxins that have been inside your body, interfering with your happiness!

The amount of happiness that is unleashed within you from a juice fast depends on how old you are and how many fasts you have done previously.

For example, if you’re in your 20s or 30s, and it’s your first fast, then you will feel much better between the first and third juice fast. If you’re in your 40s or 50s, it may take between two and four fasts to feel the release of that inner joy you haven’t felt for some time.

This doesn’t mean you won’t have other benefits. There are plenty of benefits that everyone experiences from a detox juice fast for a few days. For example,

1. Reduction of Allergy and Food Symptoms

If you had any mental fog or find it difficult to think straight, this is often due to some of the foods we eat on a regular basis. By not eating them for the three days of the juice fast, then you will be clearing your body of the toxic metabolic byproducts the foods created. This alone unleashes happiness, a type of cellular happiness that spills out to your presence and makes you want to say, “Wow! I feel great!”

2. Increased energy and vitality

It may seem like an oxymoron to have increased energy and vitality when you’re fasting, but it happens – and it happens frequently enough to say it’s common. Where does the energy come from? During a juice fast, the body’s metabolic pathways shift to burn fat, not the calories you are eating, which aren’t a lot on a juice fast. When your body burns fat, there’s a shift of the brain biochemistry and this shift is actually another reason for you to become happier. More endorphins are produced, which make people feel calm and happy.

3. Cleansing and healing of the digestive system

We take a shower daily and clean the outside of the body, but don’t often think about cleansing the inside of our body. With juice fasting, you clean the inside of your body. You allow your cells to dump their trash into the lymphatic system and release it in the stool, urine, and through the skin.

Surprisingly, another thing we never seem to think about is letting our digestive system rest. With rest comes healing and rejuvenation. A juice fast allows us to make our digestive system take a much needed rest.

4. Elimination of toxins and weight loss

Since the lymphatic system is picking up all the toxins you are eliminating from the cells, this can easily result in weight loss. When fat cells are forced to give up their toxins, and they are “starved”, they die, and weight falls off.

5. Improved skin tone

Why you get improved skin tone with a fast is because your skin is a reflection of what is happening on the inside of you. Clean cells on the inside means happy cells filled with more radiance. This shows up in your skin tone. One time I did a juice fast with my special juice formula that nourished the skin and the very next day, I noticed that strangers were drawn to me and smiled when they met me. Friends asked what was different about me; the beauty experts I knew wanted to know what I was doing for my skin. They said it looked positively radiant.

Preparing for the Fast: Juicing to Detox Shopping List

Do you want to know the recipe for the juice that beautifies the skin the most, more than any other detox juices? It’s right here:

Beautiful Skin Juice

3 carrots

2 parsnips

1 bell pepper, red

1 bell pepper, green

1 bell pepper, yellow

1 cucumber

1 big handful parsley

Juice all ingredients. Mix. Drink 4 ounces at a time, sipping while guessing who will notice your new glow tomorrow!

Making a grocery list can be the most important thing for your juice fast. However, as you get more experienced, you’ll simply fill your grocery cart with as many different vegetables and some fruits as possible. But don’t buy more than what you can fit into your refrigerator!

Here’s a sample grocery list for a three day fast:

• 6 pounds carrots

• 2 three pound bags apples; 1 bag red delicious, 1 bag not so sweet apples

• 2 stalks celery

• 1 bunch spinach

• 3 bunches fresh parsley

• 2 parnsips

• 4 bell peppers

• 1 hot pepper

• 1 garlic bulb

• 1 pound cranberries, strawberries, or blueberries

• 2 kiwis

• 1 bunch kale

• 3 bunches green onions

• 6 pearl onions

• 3 inches ginger bulb

• 4 lemons

• 1 lime

• 6 tomatoes

• 1 cantaloupe

• 2 beets

• 1 head of broccoli

• 1 watermelon

That’s plenty to start with for now. Don’t think you have to empty out the refrigerator on your juice fast. If you juiced a watermelon, that’s plenty of juice for the entire day! The reason why you can purchase so many different juices is because combining them makes them taste great!

Preparing for the fast: juicing to detox is fun because it’s all about the expectations. Something good, very good, is going to happen to your cells because you’ve made this decision. All you have to do is remember that and be happy!

Now, proceed to DAY 1!

If you have never tried fasting with juice, you may be wondering why you would want to put yourself through such a challenging exercise.

The answer, like the fast itself, is pretty simple.

Very few people eat a balanced diet. Most of us brought up on a Western diet eat far too much salt, fat, sugar and protein.

Over the years, our bodies accumulate toxins and other waste which even a healthy body can’t eliminate. We’d slowly get overweight and sluggish, our systems don’t work as well as they should, and the ageing process takes its toll.

One of the easiest ways to correct the balance is with a juice fast.

What is a juice fast?

Benefits of fasting with juice.

Amongst the many advantages that juice fasting will bring to you are:

• elimination of toxins
• cleansing and healing of the digestive system
• healing of some chronic diseases caused by years of bad dietary habits
• improvement in mental acuity
• improved skin tone
• increased energy and vitality
• reduction of allergy symptoms
• weight loss

Is a juice fast suitable for everyone?

Fasting with juice is safe for most fit, healthy adults, provided you follow some simple guidelines.  However, if you fall into any of the following groups, you should consult your medical professional before proceeding with a juice fast.  If you are:

• pregnant
• nursing
• a child who is still growing
• a diabetic
• have an eating disorder or are severely over- or underweight
• have liver disease
• are anemic
• are suffering from an infection or are unwell
• suffer from low or high blood pressure
• are soon to go into surgery
• have recently been in surgery
• are on certain prescription drugs

you should speak to your doctor and make a plan before fasting.

How long should you fast?

It is possible to maintain a juice fast for 3 weeks or more.  There are plenty of examples of people fasting for 9 weeks or more.

However, if you have never done one before, you should limit your fast to three days.

If you wish to attempt a longer fast, do it under medical supervision.  If you are not sure, attempt a one day fast to start with and see how you feel before extending it.  Whatever you decide, play safe and listen to your body.

What might I feel during the fast?

If you aren’t used to fasting, the first thing that you are likely to feel is hunger!  You will also probably feel the side effects of your body starting to heal itself and eliminate toxins.  These side effects are perfectly normal and may include:

• headaches
• tiredness
• constipation or diarrhea
• acne
• body odor
• bad breath

However, it is possible that you may also experience more extreme side effects such as fainting, dizziness, an uneven heart beat (arrythmia), low blood pressure or other more serious conditions.

If you experience any of these, you should immediately consult your health professional.

Do I need to prepare for the fast?

Yes.  You will get the best benefits from the diet if you build up to it.  The best way to do this is gradually to exclude (or at any rate reduce) the following from your diet over the 7 days prior to starting the fast:

• alcohol
• caffeine and caffeinated drinks
• dairy products
• junk food
• nicotine
• processed foods
• meat
• soft drinks and sodas
• sugar
• wheat and gluten
• fish

On the day before your fast, cut out everything except for fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked or raw.  Drink plenty of water to help with elimination.  One or two cups of herbal tea is OK.

Plan ahead.  The best time to fast is probably over the weekend, when you have a bit more time for preparing, chopping and juicing your fruit and veg.

Prepare a shopping list in advance, based on the recipes that you will be using.  For a basic idea of what to buy, chose from the following fruits and vegetables which are excellent for detoxification:

• apple
• beet
• cabbage
• carrot
• celery
• kale
• pineapple
• spinach

For more information on how to prepare for your fast, click here

How much juice should I consume?

It is recommended that you drink between 32 and 64 ounces (1 – 2 liters) of juice per day, spread throughout the day.

Remember:

• Sip your juice, don’t gulp it
• Drink the juice as soon as possible after juicing – it will lose much of its nutrient value quickly
• Avoid citrus juices
• Dilute the juices to taste with filtered water
• Wash all fruit and vegetables carefully before juicing
• Juice the skins where possible – many of the nutrients are concentrated in the skin
• Buy organic produce where possible to avoid contamination with pesticides and other toxic agrichemicals
• Juice only ripe fruit and vegetables for maximum nutritional benefit
• Juice doesn’t contain any fiber, so you may want to supplement the diet with psyllium husks
• Include a light workout as part of your regime: take a walk or do some light yoga
• Skin brushing can help to eliminate toxins from the skin
• Get plenty of rest

If a pure juice diet feels like it is too much for you, eat one or two light vegetarian meals during the day.

Aim to use raw ingredients – salads with lots of color are great.

How to break the fast.

The process of fasting changes some of the digestive processes in the gut.  So when you have finished your fast, it is important to make a gradual return to solid foods.

Done properly, this stage of the fasting process adds to its benefits.  Technically, the period of breaking the fast should last as long as the fast itself. So for a 3 day fast, spend 3 days gradually reintroducing solid foods in the following order:

1. Whole raw fruits
2. Vegetable soups and broths
3. Yogurt
4. Well cooked grains, legumes and beans
5. Nuts and eggs
6. …finally, meat and fish

Start with frequent small meals so that your body can adjust slowly to the new diet.  Listen to your body and follow its lead.

And chew all your food well – this will take some of the strain of your digestive system and release enzymes in the saliva.

Drink plenty of water!

If you follow this simple plan, you should feel much better both physically and mentally.  Many people feel the benefits of fasting with juice twice a year at the change of the seasons.

When winter thaws to spring, spring clean the body with a juice fast.  And as the autumn leave start to fall, prepare for winter with another.

For the next stage, follow these tips on preparation for your juice fast.

Why go through the trouble of buying a juicer and making homemade juice rather than simply purchasing bottled juice at the store? While pre-packaged juice is better than none at all, its juicing benefits will not provide nearly as powerful a nutritional punch as freshly extracted juice.

Processed Juice vs. Fresh Juice

Consider an apple that is still on the tree. You will get the most nutrients from that apple as soon as you pick it. Now, think about how long it takes for an apple to be picked, turned into juice, packed into a bottle, and shipped to a store. Not only does the length of time cause it to lose nutrient potential, the process that many juice manufacturers use to make juice greatly diminishes the health benefits the apple juice provides.

Other reasons to choose freshly extracted juice over processed juice include:

• “Fortified” juices will have vitamins and minerals added to them. However, your body will be able to tell the difference between the real thing and fortified vitamins and minerals. As a result, most of the fortified nutrients will simply be flushed straight out of your system without gaining many of their health benefits.

• Prepackaged juices often contain unhealthy additives that are better to steer away from. Since bottled juices have to sit on the shelf for long periods of time, they not only lose their nutrient value, they are likely to include unhealthy preservatives.

• Many juices go through a pasteurization process. This heating process kills valuable nutrients leaving you with a less desirable end product.

• Many bottled juices contain added sugar. Concentrates also typically contain excessive sugar content. While pre-packaged juices may be fortified with vitamins and minerals, these nutrients will not be as beneficial to your health as the real thing. Your body will process natural nutrients from freshly extracted juice much more efficiently than vitamins and minerals that are added to pre-packaged juices.

Juicing at Home

When you juice at home, you can choose the most nutrient-packed produce available in your area to maximize your juicing benefits. You’ll also be able to drink the juice immediately, greatly boosting the nutrients that enter your body. Choosing local produce that hasn’t had to travel long distances will provide the most nutrients. If possible, picking produce from your own backyard is the very best option.

If you’re not ready to invest in a juicer, you’ll find that there are many health food stores and juice bars that offer freshly extracted juice. Most offer a wide variety of fruit and veggies for you to choose from. However, if you think that you are ready to begin juicing on a regular basis, juicing at home will give you the most control over your health and will save you a significant amount of money in the long run.

Getting the Daily Recommended Dose of Fruit and Vegetables

The average recommended serving of fruit and vegetables is five per day. However, your health will benefit if you can consume even more. Juicing provides the easiest, most convenient way to make sure that your reach or exceed the recommended amount.

Raw Vs. Cooked

Most fruit and vegetables provide a much higher content of nutrients when they are left in their raw state. The heat from cooking produce destroys important enzymes, antioxidants, and other nutrients. Cooking can also chemically change the natural structure of produce, which can release harmful free radicals.

There are many people who would find it difficult to eat several pounds of raw fruit and vegetables every day. Juicing greatly simplifies the task.

Choose a wide variety of produce and juice them raw. A few of the healthiest options include:

• Spinach is rich in essential vitamins and minerals. It will add a healthy dose of vitamin A and other nutrients to your juice.

• Peppers contain a high level of vitamin C and will add an interesting flavor to your drink.

• Dandelion greens contain an impressive combination of many nutrients including vitamin A, potassium, calcium and vitamin B.

Is Juicing Difficult?

Once you have purchased a quality juicer, you are likely to find that the time, energy, and cost of juicing is well worth the juicing benefits you obtain in the long run. Instead of relying on a cupboard full of nutrient supplements, you may just find that you get everything you need from regular juicing. Most people find that they get the time and energy they put into juicing back by avoiding serious and common illnesses.

It’s simple using a modern juicer. Be creative and experiment with your juicing.  The juicing benefits will far outweigh any investment in time and effort that you have to make.

The benefits of juicing wheatgrass are so many that it would be a shame not to include this wonderful ingredient in your diet.  It is a complete superfood, which will contribute many essential nutrients to your juice.

Wheatgrass is often called “liquid sunshine” because of its high levels of chlorophyll, the green pigment found in most plants that is responsible for channeling energy from the sun.

The high levels of chlorophyll give wheatgrass superb energizing and alkalizing effects, bringing many benefits. It is an excellent source of vitamins C, E, K and the B complex vitamins and is rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, protein, sodium, sulphur, and zinc, as well as other minerals.

A couple of ounces of wheatgrass juice a day will provide more than enough energy to keep you going.  And, unlike caffeine, the energy is sustained for hours after consuming the juice.

What Exactly is Wheatgrass?

Wheatgrass is made from the young leaves of the common wheat plant. Though it can’t be consumed in its raw state because of its extremely fibrous nature, its benefits can be enjoyed after juicing.

Claims for the conditions which can be cured by juicing wheatgrass are incredibly diverse and backed up by an ever increasing mountain of credible research.

Some of the more common conditions with which it may help include:

• Anemia: as wheatgrass contains high levels of iron, it helps to regenerate red  blood cells.
• It is an effective anti-inflammatory
• Bad breath (halitosis) and body odor:  wheatgrass is an effective detoxifier of the lymphatic system and gut
• Cancer:  Excellent chlorophyll and beta-carotene content helps with fighting and preventing cancer

Wheatgrass  provides an excellent tool in the reduction of high blood pressure, in preventing tooth decay, and in building the immune system.  It is also an effective aid in weight loss and control as it acts as an appetite suppressant and boosts metabolism, allowing you to burn calories quicker.

Other health benefits include:

• Nourishment from a Raw, Living Food Source. Wheatgrass juice is typically extracted from a freshly harvested source. This allows you to take full advantage of its nutrients including over 90 minerals, an impressive variety of vitamins, chlorophyll, enzymes, and amino acids. It contains almost all of the vitamins and minerals needed for the maintenance of your body.
• Natural Blood Builder. Health professionals have found that the chlorophyll found in wheatgrass is nearly identical to the human haemoglobin molecule. The human body is able to transform the chlorophyll found in wheatgrass into haemoglobin. With regular shots of wheatgrass, you can easily increase your red blood cell count, your body’s ability to deliver nutrients and oxygen to other cells in your body, and will be able to normalize your blood pressure.
• Energy Booster. The chlorophyll in wheatgrass has the added benefit of energizing your body! Many people have reduced or eliminated their dependence on caffeine with wheatgrass, a healthier and longer-lasting alternative.
• Muscle Builder. If you have been striving to tone or add muscle to your body, wheatgrass will be of great assistance. You have probably heard that amino acids are the building blocks that form protein. Wheatgrass contains over 19 amino acids, which are essential for cell regeneration and growth. The fitness world has caught on to the advantage of using wheatgrass as a muscle builder, which is why so many bodybuilders drink it on a regular basis.
• Detoxification. Wheatgrass juice removes harmful toxins from the body. Wheatgrass is currently used in a number off detox programs. The end result of detoxification with wheatgrass is an improved digestive system, increased energy, better functionality, stronger teeth and bones, removal of heavy metals from the bloodstream, and reduced body fat.
• Suppresses Appetite. For those trying to lose weight, wheatgrass is invaluable. It shuts off the appestat in your brain, the area that stimulates hunger. This leads to reduced cravings. At the same time, it boosts metabolism allowing you to burn calories quicker.
• Protects Against Illness. Wheatgrass helps boost the body’s immune system, reducing the risk of developing serious and common illnesses. The curative properties of wheatgrass are all natural assisting your body in developing its own power to fight off disease and other ailments.

Where Can You Purchase Wheatgrass?

Many health food stores and juice bars offer wheatgrass juice that is extracted just after you place your order. This is how wheatgrass should be consumed. The fresher the wheatgrass juice, the more health benefits you will gain from it.

If you do not have a health food store or juice bar in your area that offers freshly extracted wheatgrass juice, consider purchasing a wheatgrass growing kit and a wheatgrass gear juicer. It takes from 8-14 days before the wheatgrass can be harvested for juicing, but you will only need a small portion at a time and will therefore always have a supply on hand. Keep in mind that wheatgrass requires a special “masticating” juicer specifically designed for juicing wheatgrass. A regular juicer will not work.

Once you have supplies of this amazing vegetable, it is an easy process to juice wheatgrass. You simply place a small patch of the grass into the juicer and let the machine do the work of extraction. It only takes a one- or two-ounce shot of wheatgrass per day to gain its many benefits.

Wheatgrass powder concentrate, tablets, or frozen wheatgrass juice are all readily available in most health food stores. However, many people believe that freshly juicing wheatgrass provides the most health benefits.

How to Ease Into Drinking Wheatgrass

If you are new to drinking wheatgrass, you might find that a shot of it will be hard on your stomach at first. But don’t be put off.  First timers should consider mixing a fresh shot of wheatgrass with other ingredients such as carrot, celery, or apple juice. If you are freshly juicing other veggies or fruit, do not add the wheatgrass shot until everything else is prepared. Never blend wheatgrass as this will break down its nutrients. Using a spoon, simply mix a shot of wheatgrass in your juice and enjoy its many benefits!

Healthy people around the world are turning to juicing as an important component of their diet.  Using fresh, local produce, combined with simple-to-follow juicing recipes, these folk are finding improvements in their health, energy levels and appearance.  Why is this?

You are probably well aware of how important it is to consume enough fruit and vegetables. Most of us have been told to eat our vegetables by our parents and have passed this advice on to our children. Official health organizations recommend that we consume at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit each day. But do we actually follow this excellent recommendation?

Managing to eat enough fruit and vegetables for optimum health can seem like an overwhelming task: preparing and eating that much fruit or vegetables takes a lot of time. As a result, most people do not even consume the minimum recommended amount.

But for many people, juicing with simple juice recipes has provided an easy solution for consuming the recommended amount and, as a result, they gain better health, prevent the onset of many diseases, and have a greater amount of energy.

What is Juicing?

Juicing is the process of extracting the juice from fruit and vegetables while leaving the pulp behind. Drinking fresh juice allows your body to absorb the essential nutrients contained in the fruit or vegetables without the energy-sapping digestion process that consumption of the whole food would require.  Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are absorbed quickly and easily directly into the blood, so that your body can use them straight away.

Juicing with raw fruit and vegetables delivers a concentrated shot of essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and enzymes which the process of cooking or preserving can destroy.  These nutrients are essential for healthy metabolism, maintenance of energy levels, correct weight control and general health.

Antioxidants which can be found in high levels in raw fruit and vegetable juices can prevent many serious degenerative diseases such as the common cold, high blood pressure and even cancer by neutralizing free radicals, the cells or molecules that damage cells over time.

Juicing has come a long way since the days when it was practiced by eccentric individuals or served up at the occasional health food store. These days, it is possible to find stores whose sole focus is on juiced fruit and veggies. It has become a mainstream route to greater health with a growing number of people purchase juicers so that they can acquire the benefits of juicing from the comfort of their own homes.

Juicing for Weight Loss.

Fed up with popular diets that you rarely complete?  Even if you lose weight, it comes straight back on again once you go back to “normal” eating.  Well, another fantastic benefit of juicing is that is has helped countless individuals lose weight.

Nutritional experts now accept that calorie-controlled “fad” diets which rely on reduced consumption of essential nutrients forces the body into a starvation response.  This reduces its metabolic rate to conserve resources with the inevitable result…you guessed it: no weight loss.

Juicing diets, on the other hand, provide easily absorbed essential micronutrients with a low calorie count and no dietary fat. In this way, you can reduce the intake of calories while actually boosting metabolism.  Combined with adequate exercise, a juice diet can be an excellent way to control weight.

Try this juicing recipe for weight loss:

• 2 cups watermelon
• 2 cups cantaloupe
• 1” piece of freshly peeled ginger

Combine all the ingredients in a good juicer and drink immediately.

So why not just buy pre-prepared juice from a store?

The antioxidants and vitamins that freshly extracted juice provides help to prevent serious illnesses while maintaining the overall health of your body.  Store-bought juice has often gone through a process of concentration and pasteurization that depletes its antioxidant and vitamin content.  The fresher a juice is, the more nutrients it will contain.

As a rule of thumb, raw food contains more antioxidants and vitamins than cooked food. Juicing provides one of the most effective ways to get a healthy dose of raw fruit and vegetables. It also allows you to consume a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, which is also essential for gaining a myriad of health benefits.

Now brush your teeth!

Here’s a final tip that many juicing books will neglect to give you: whenever you juice, be sure to rinse your teeth with water afterwards. This will help to clear away the acids from the juice that can cause corrosion if left to sit on your teeth. Otherwise, juicing is a safe, simple and highly nutritious way to optimize your health and boost your energy.

You will find that there are an endless number of delicious juice recipes for you to enjoy!  Learn about the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that you need to achieve your health goals, and the fruits or vegetables that are rich in those nutrients.  Then get juicin

But you may wonder how on earth to consume all those recommended greens.  Well juicing using delicious, nutritious vegetable juice recipes is the answer!  The process of juicing breaks down the cell walls in the vegetables, making it much easier to absorb the nutrients that they contain.

Instead of munching through the recommended portions of vegetables every day, juicing offers a healthy, easy, and delicious alternative. Most people find that they can effortlessly keep up with or surpass the daily recommended dose of veggies by juicing them!

Choose a Variety of Vegetables Of Many Different Colors

Health professionals urge us to consume a wide selection of vegetables of many different colors to maintain a balanced intake of the broad variety of nutrients they contain.

• Red fruits and vegetables contain quercetin, lycopene, ellagic acid, hesperidin, and other nutrients that reduce LDL “bad” cholesterol, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of prostate cancer, rid the body of free radicals, and reduce the symptoms of arthritis.

• Green fruits and vegetables contain chlorophyll, lutein, zeaxanthin, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and calcium, which facilitate digestion, ward off free radicals, boost the immune system, reduce the risk of cancer, lower LDL cholesterol and blood pressure, and improve vision.

• Blue and purple fruits and vegetables contain resveratrol, vitamin C, flavonoids, lutein, ellagic acid, zeaxanthin, and quercetin, which boost immunity, improve retinal health, fight tumor growth, reduce inflammation, and lower the risk for cancer and heart disease.

• Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, flavonoids, potassium, vitamin C, and zeaxanthin, which lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol, balance the alkalinity of the body, build healthy bones, slow down the aging process, fight free radicals, and improve skin health.

An easy way to consume all of these vegetables is to buy a quality juicer, shop for a wide variety of vegetables, and then juice away! Juicing is easy to learn and you will quickly discover ways to concoct new vegetable juice recipes that appeal to your palate and provide you with the right nutrients for your health needs.

Tips for Those New to Juicing

Follow a few basic guidelines to get the best from your veggie juicing recipes:

• Make sure that you wash the vegetables carefully before juicing to get rid of any residual pesticides or other agrochemicals.
• Remove pits and pips (some of which contain low-level poisons) and remove citrus rinds if you are using fruit to add flavor to your veggie juicing recipes.
• The only other preparation required is to cut up the veggies into small enough pieces to go in your juicer.
• Juice softer veggies first.  Then follow with harder ones such as carrots.  These will push any remnants of the softer ones through the juicer.
• Juices are best consumed immediately, so make small batches.
• Clean your juicer carefully after each use.

If you’re new to the world of juicing and have not experimented with many vegetables, it will benefit you to start off with a few vegetables that you are familiar with and know that you enjoy. Here are two vegetable juice recipes that include common vegetables:

Carrot Zinger

• 2 medium carrots
• 1 cup of spinach
• ½ cucumber
• 1 apple
• Small squeeze of lime juice
• 1” piece of ginger (optional)

Put all the ingredients in your juicer and consume immediately.

For some, ginger takes a while to get used to, but can be a healthy addition to juices once your palate adjusts to its strong flavor. Although apple is a fruit, it will help to sweeten up your veggie juice, which is another trick for juicing newcomers.

Simple Green

• 2 cups kale
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 cups parsley
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 cucumber

Put all the ingredients in your juicer and consume immediately.

Make Juicing a Habit

Once you have become familiar with a few veggie juicing recipes, you may just become healthily addicted to the healing benefits and energizing boost it adds to your life. Be adventurous and creative. Choose recipes that you enjoy, replace vegetables that you don’t care for with those that you do, and have fun creating recipes that include a variety of nutrient-rich vitamins and antioxidants.

Juicing lets your body get the benefits of the vegetables without having to work as hard to digest all of the fiber.  So you will be able to take greater advantage of the available nutrients. You will no longer have to worry about creating elaborate meals that include all of the necessary vegetables.

Purchasing and Preparing Vegetables for Juicing

The shorter the journey vegetables have to make between the farm and your juicer, the better. Vegetables contain the most nutrients when they are freshly picked, but lose nutritional value over time. If you have access to a local farmer’s market, buy your veggies there or opt for local produce at your grocery store.

The best option, of course, is to pick directly from your own garden. Growing vegetables can be a satisfying pastime that is rewarding on many levels and will provide the freshest produce options. Be sure to grow a wide variety of veggies to take advantage of the most nutrients.

Nothing is more energizing than a glass of freshly prepared juice.  It only takes a few minutes of your time, but the benefits are huge.  There is no cooking, no pans to clean.  But you will feel healthier, suffer fewer infections, lose weight naturally, and look great!

Juicing has become a worldwide trend that health professionals are touting as a preventative measure against many serious illnesses. As a result, juicing is no longer practiced on the fringes of society. Instead, individuals around the world are creating their own healthy juice recipes for juicers every day to gain a healthy dose of vitamins and antioxidants.

Why Use a Juicer and Not a Blender for Juicing?

Juicers make it far easier to gain the benefits of fruit and vegetables than a blender. They come with a pulp ejector and a separate container where the extracted juice collects. With the pulp separated from the juice, you will be able to directly take advantage of the nutrients in the juice without the energy-sapping process of digesting all the fiber in the pulp. Your body will be able to quickly absorb a host of nutrients including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, chlorophyll, and antioxidants.

Blenders chop up the fruit and veggies at high speed, but don’t get rid of the pulp.  Many fibrous fruit and veggies when blended result in a gritty, unpalatable mush which is also much harder to digest.

So if you are serious about benefiting from the considerable rewards that juicing can bring, it’s well worth making a small investment in a good quality juicer.  These days, juicers are efficient and easy to clean. They provide a convenient way to make a healthy breakfast before heading out the door or to provide all the necessary nutrients for a fully-fledged detox diet.

So you’ve bought your juicer and you’re excited about getting going.  But maybe you just don’t know how to get started devising great juice recipes for juicers.  Have no fear!  Just use your imagination and have some fun.

What fruits and veggies do you already like?  Do you like the sweet taste of carrots and plums, or the tarter flavor of citrus and kale?  Experiment to see which ones work well together.  Keep a note of the ones that really work for you.  You won’t have many complete failures.

Creating Your Own Recipes for Juicers

The list of ingredients that you can use to make a delicious and nutritious juice is endless and will depend on where you live. Whenever you are able, shop for local and organic produce. The further your fruit and veggies have to travel, the fewer nutrients they will contain. Since organic fruits and vegetables have to fend for themselves more than conventional produce, they tend to produce a higher level of antioxidants and other nutrients.

If you are adventurous, the sky is the limit. Choose a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, and then experiment. You will soon find your favourite combinations. Be sure to opt for a wide variety of produce of many different colors. This will also optimize the health benefits.

Creating Juices for Beginners

If you are new to juicing or have a limited palate, begin with  a few basic vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, and celery. Add fruit such as apples or oranges until you feel ready to branch out. Avoid using bananas and avocados as they don’t contain much juice and will just create a mush which may clog your juicer.

Most fruit and vegetables require very little preparation.  It is usually enough to wash them carefully, chop them up and put them in your juicer.  However, for citrus fruits such as lemons, oranges and grapefruit, you will need to remove the peel as it is too tough for your juicer and will leave a bitter taste in the juice.

Here is a simple recipe that most people enjoy:

• 4 carrots
• 1 apple
• Add a sliver of lime or lemon

While this juice is highly palatable, it contains a lot of sugar, which some people will want to avoid. For less sugar content, consider the following recipe:

• ½ cucumber
• One stick of celery
• 2 carrots
• ½ apple

More Adventurous Creations Provide Higher Nutrient Potential

Once you become familiar with juicing, branch out by becoming more creative with your juicing ingredients. Move on to vegetables such as lettuce, zucchini, and broccoli. Next, try adding dark leafy greens such as kale and Swiss chard, which are loaded with healthy nutrients. Try spinach, parsley, collard greens, dandelion greens, cauliflower, endive, or cilantro. To play it safe, make sure that the stronger flavored vegetables only make up ¼ of the ingredients. Add an apple or other sweet fruit to balance out the flavor.

Have fun with your juicing adventure! You are sure to come up with unique combinations on your own that provide wonderful health benefits. As long as you choose a variety of produce, you will be on the path to better overall health.

By drinking freshly extracted juice, your body will be able to take direct advantage of all the nutrients that fresh produce offers. You won’t have to worry about eating all of the recommended fruit and vegetables each and every day. Juicing will make this task easy, fun, and delicious.

Nutritionists and health practitioners believe that most common health conditions can be alleviated or prevented with the help of changes in diet.  Because of the ease with which the vital nutrients are absorbed from juiced fruit and vegetables, juicing can be a powerful tool in the natural treatment of these conditions.

Conditions from anemia to allergies, cataracts to the common cold, high blood pressure to hair loss can be eased or cured using juices as part of a balanced lifestyle.  Even serious conditions such as cancer and diabetes have been shown to respond well to appropriate consumption of juices.

Fresh juice contains concentrated levels of antioxidants as well as powerful phytochemicals, which act by boosting immunity and protecting the cells from carcinogens. Instead of trying to eat a pound of carrots, broccoli, or other vegetable to obtain sufficient quantities of these nutrients, you can conveniently create recipes for juicing and juice a wide variety of veggies to optimize your health benefits.

The first step is to understand your health condition.  Research what vitamins, minerals and other nutrients will help your condition and what fruit and vegetables are richest in those nutrients.  Then incorporate these into your juicing diet.

For instance, cabbage and carrots stimulate the immune system and the production of anti-bodies that are an excellent weapon in fighting off bacterial and viral infections.  Honey melon is rich in nutrients that are necessary to help flush out toxins.  Watercress is high in vitamin A, folic acid and chlorine that may help control inflammation.  So combining these ingredients in a recipe for juicing may help with conditions associated with inflammation such as the common cold.

You can always add other ingredients such as celery or lemon juice to make the recipe more tasty and provide even more vitamins and minerals to support the immune system.

Another delicious and nutritious juicing recipe for warding off infection:

• 2 carrots
• 1 stick celery
• 2 cups of spinach
• 1 apple
• Handful of diced cabbage

This recipe includes a host of antioxidant vitamins such as vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, which enhances the function of your immune system.

Juicing to Improve Your Heart Health

Unfortunately, the modern-day diet consists of high concentrations of processed fast foods. This has led to a high incidence of heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, and other ailments. By eating a healthier diet based on whole foods and adding freshly extracted juice to your diet, you can greatly improve your cardiovascular health.

Try this recipe for juicing to lower blood pressure:

• 2 carrots
• ½ cucumber
• Handful of parsley
• 1 stick of celery
• ½ beet
• 2 cups of spinach

Juice together and consume immediately.

Vitamins C, B9, and E, as well as the minerals potassium and magnesium found in this combination are excellent for lowering blood pressure.

Choosing Local and Organic Produce

For overall health, it is important to choose a broad variety of fruit and vegetables of many colors. When possible, buy local produce that is preferably organic. Local, organic produce usually contains the highest level of nutrients. Even better, grow fruit and veggies in your own home garden! This will provide the freshest produce with the most health benefits.

Use the Entire Fruit or Vegetable When Possible

Many people make the mistake of peeling apples or scraping off the outer layer of carrots, for example. This practice instantly reduces the nutritional value of your produce as many of the antioxidants, minerals, and other nutrients can be found in the protective skin of fruit and vegetables. Of course, you’ll have to peel the unpalatable rind off most citrus fruits, but otherwise, use as much of the fruit and vegetable as you can.

Instead of scraping off or peeling your produce, gently rinse it. For non-organic fruit and vegetables, it may be a good idea to perform a more thorough rinse and scrub to rid the produce of pesticides, insecticides, or other harmful chemicals which may have resulted from the farming or distribution process.

Spend a little time learning about the specific health benefits of the fruit and vegetables available at your local market and match that knowledge to your health goals.  Experiment to find a taste that you like and make sure you get a good variety of different colors and produce each day.  It really isn’t difficult, and you can reap enormous rewards.