It is believed that our ancient ancestors ate up to six pounds of green leaves per day. Can you imagine eating a grocery bag full of seasonal greens each and every day?
Few of us eat even the minimum USDA recommendation of five servings of vegetables and fruit a day or three cups of dark green vegetables per week. And yet, green veggies deliver a bonanza of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, biophotons and phytonutrients. The good news is that you can juice them and easily consume one to three cups of greens per day.
Calorie for calorie, dark green leafy vegetables are among the most concentrated sources of nutrition. They are a rich source of minerals including iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium plus vitamins K, C and E, along with many of the B vitamins.
They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including alpha- and beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related diseases. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of omega-3 fats.
Juicing is one way you can get these power-packed beautifiers into your diet every day. There are many greens that can be juiced such as collard leaves, chard, beet tops, kale, kohlrabi leaves, mustard greens, parsley, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, watercress, arugula and dandelion greens. All you need is a juicer and some great-tasting recipes to make a significant change in your health.
Green juices are good because even if you took the time to chew up a couple of cups of green veggies each day, you wouldn’t get as much benefit from them as you would from juicing them up. It’s the mechanical process of juicing the vegetables, which breaks apart plant-cell walls and makes absorption better than even the best-chewed food. It has an effect like throwing marbles at a chain link fence rather than tennis balls—juiced contents are going to go through your intestinal tract in a way that “tennis ball-size” nutrients can’t.
Juice contains easily absorbed micronutrients that will optimize your overall health and wellness. Green juices energize your body, fire up your metabolism, speed weight loss and over-haul your health.
Adapted from Cherie Calbom’s The Juice Lady’s Remedies For Thyroid Disorder (Charisma House, 2015).
Cherie Calbom, M.S., C.N., is the author of more than 20 books, including The Juice Lady’s Big Book of Juices and Green Smoothies and Remedies for Stress and Adrenal Fatigue. She holds a Master of Science degree in whole foods nutrition from Bastyr University. Cherie and her husband, John, offer juice health retreats throughout the year, along with health and healing conferences. For more information, visit juiceladycherie.com.
