In the diet and health world, you’ll find many fads and trends. Juicing has become popular as a way to cleanse the body, lose weight, and greatly increase intake of vitamins and minerals.
It’s always valuable to look at the science behind a diet trend, so just how healthy is juicing?
On the one side of the juicing trend, we have a lot of marketing effort. If fruits and vegetables are good for you and your body, then drinking them in one go each day, must surely be of benefit?
However, the science behind it is more complex than the marketing line, and the reality is a tale of both pros and cons that are well worth considering before integrating juicing into a diet regimen.
The Pros of Juicing
Many people juice vegetable and fruits on a daily basis without thinking too much about the pros and cons of the activity. However, it’s always wise to look beyond the marketing lines and examine the nutritional value and science behind it.
In this spirit, here are some of the health benefits of juicing:
- If your daily diet is poor, then juicing even on a semi-regular basis can provide your body some much needed nutrition.
The striping away of much of the fiber content in fruits and vegetables by the pulverization process makes it easy for your body to absorb the nutrients faster, thus giving you a high dose of nutrients.
These nutrients contribute to your overall health and well-being and boost your immune system.
- The pulverization of much of the fiber also unlocks some of the enzymes found in some fruits and vegetables and makes them available for digestion and absorption.
- If you juice regularly, you’re habituating yourself to a dietary activity that is actually of great benefit. You’re thinking of your body, your health and what you’re putting into your body, and developing this habit is of massive psychological benefit, particularly for those who have had previously poor eating habits.
This change in habit can lead to other positive life changing activities, including regular exercise and eating more foods of greater nutritional value.
Many of us don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables on a daily basis, so drinking even one small cup of freshly juiced vegetables and fruits can help our bodies.
The Cons of Juicing
Despite the strong marketing line, juicing has quite a couple of pitfalls. Much of the nutritional science behind it is still being debated in diet circles, but there are some very specific problems that are slowly becoming more well-known.
Read on to find out some of the cons of juicing to put the debate into a sharp perspective:
- Juicing fruits and vegetables actually strips away most of the insoluble fiber content due to the pulverization process. Eating fiber regularly is essential to a smooth digestive process and helps us to maintain a healthy weight because it causes us to feel fuller for longer.
- As our bodies absorb a super hit of nutrition due to the stripping away of much of the fiber, we also absorb a lot of natural sugar, this is especially critical when juice blends consist mostly of fruits.
This creates an abnormal spike in sugar levels, which is clearly problematic for diabetics and promotes weigh gain. Over time, this excess of fructose sugar will cause us weight problems as they are converted to fats and stored by our bodies.
In this way, regular juicing will have the opposite of a beneficial health effect. However, it is important to note that this sugar overload only occurs when fruit is the predominant ingredient, when you juice a ratio of 80% to 20% or 90% to 10% of vegetables to fruits this is not a problem.
- Juicing can be expensive, with a quality machine costing around $150 or more and the cost in produce, where sometimes many vegetables are needed to make just one glass of juice. This will be expensive over time.
Thoughts on the Health Benefits of Juicing
It seems as though juicing is here to stay, at least for the near future, but it’s wise to consider both the pros and cons behind it.
To supplement an already poor diet, drinking juice can offer superior nutritional and health benefits.
Pros And Cons Of The Raw Food Diet
A raw food diet means that 75% of one’s diet is only raw food, and mainly this consists of uncooked fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted beans.
Food that is heated above 116 degrees Fahrenheit is not allowed when following a 100% raw diet.
“Baked” goods such as breads or crackers are made in a dehydrator, in which changes to fruits and vegetables textures can also be attained.
Those who follow the Raw Food Diet are known as rawists, according to the Living and Raw Foods website. Rawists believe that this type of eating plan enhances their energy and boosts their health.
Furthermore, proponents of the diet say that the best part of a raw food diet is that the nutrients, and especially the enzymes, are not destroyed in the process of cooking and are thus available to be absorbed and used by the body.
There are critics of the raw food diet and some downsides you need to consider before embarking on a diet that consists entirely of raw foods.
Such a diet, for example, is usually a vegan diet, which lacks the protein seen in a diet that embraces fish, poultry, and meat.
You can get your protein by eating raw fish, as long as it comes from a safe source or else you risk a chance of ingesting pathogenic bacteria from these foods.
These are the pros and cons of eating a raw food diet:
Pro: The raw food diet retains the natural enzymes and undamaged phytonutrients that can be absorbed by the body but are broken down in the cooking process.
When you eat the untainted enzymes, digestion is helped, and the body can better absorb other nutrients when the enzymes are left untouched. This can increase the health and wellness of the cells of the body.
Con: While a raw food diet is a good thing in theory, it is not what is recommended in Ayurvedic teachings and in Traditional Chinese Medicine. According to these health programs, cooked foods are better for you because they are already partially broken down, so they are more easily digested.
Not all of the phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables are destroyed by cooking and some vegetables are actually absorbed better after they have been cooked.
Pro: Raw foods have a cooling effect on the body. This is why raw food diets are more popular in places where the climate is warm, such as the southern states and Hawaii. According to traditional Chinese medicine, raw foods cool the body and reduce inflammation.
People who are dealing with inflammatory conditions may do better with a raw food diet, while those who have problems feeling cold all the time would not thrive on a diet where everything they eat is cold.
Con: As mentioned, some foods are absorbed better by the body after they have been heated up. One example is tomatoes. The lycopene in tomatoes is a potent antioxidant that is better absorbed when the tomatoes are cooked.
Other vegetables, including spinach, kale, onions, and garlic have been found to be more nutritionally available after they have been cooked because the cooking releases important phytonutrients that would not be digested if the food is taken in raw.
Overcooked foods, however, especially overcooked or burned meats contain acrylamide along with other chemicals that can cause cancer and can lead to inflammation.
In order to avoid this problem, foods should be steamed lightly or sautéed in oil in order to release all of the phytonutrients and to start the digestive process.
Pro: Many people are deficient in enzymes that would can be replaced by eating raw foods, which have not had their enzymes destroyed.
If one eats a cooked diet, some experts recommend supplementing the diet with enzyme supplements so to improve their nutritional profile, but this can also be achieved by adding more raw food to one’s diet.
Some of these enzymes include phytase; lipase, amylase, alpha-galactosidase, and invertase—all of which can help food get broken down easier so that the nutrients can be absorbed.
Con: The best diet is a diet that is balanced in terms of eating some foods raw and some foods cooked.
Experts say that, while eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables is beneficial, the diet should also contain foods that are lightly cooked, including roasted vegetables, cooked fruits, meats, and eggs.
This can provide you with the enzymes you need to absorb food as well as cooked food, which is much easier to digest than raw food.
There is no one perfect diet out there and that includes the raw food diet. Raw foods might be good for people who need the enzymes in order to digest their food, but it may be bad for people who need the partial digestion of lightly cooked foods.
Rather than the extreme of eating a raw diet, it is recommended by many holistic practitioners that a balance is struck between cooked foods and raw foods so that the digestive system is taken care of in the healthiest way.
How A Raw Food Diet Can Help Type 2 Diabetes
Part of the cause of type 2 diabetes is a diet high in processed and overcooked foods as well as foods that are high in sugar. By eating a raw food diet, you can decrease the amount of sugar you put in your system and can lose weight.
Evidence suggests that losing just 5 to 10 percent of your body weight can have a great impact on type 2 diabetes and on overall blood sugar. A raw food diet can help you lose weight quickly and naturally.
Type 2 diabetes is extremely common. More than 20 percent of individuals under the age of 20 carry a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Part of this comes from an epidemic of obesity and unhealthy eating habits.
As a result of high blood sugars and obesity, the insulin sensitivity of the body’s cells go way down, and glucose cannot enter the cells to be used as cellular fuel. This causes the cells to starve for energy.
A healthy diet consisting of raw food can greatly alter the outcome of type 2 diabetes and can not only slow the disease process but can reverse the effects of diabetes.
This means eliminating the standard American diet, which consists mostly of processed foods, fast foods, dairy products, meat, and sugar-containing foods. Instead of this diet, you need to substitute the bad foods with raw vegetables and fruits. You also need to exercise in order to lose some weight.
How A Raw Food Diet Can Counteract Type 2 Diabetes
The raw food diet was pioneered in Switzerland by a Swiss doctor, Maximilian Bircher-Benner in the mid-1800s. He was the doctor who invented muesli, which consists of grains mixed with dried fruits.
The raw food diet involves a plant-based diet in which food is eaten in its completely natural state.
It means that food is not:
- Cooked
- Processed
- Microwaved
- Genetically engineered
- Irradiated
- Treated with herbicides or pesticides
People who believe in this diet say that, when you heat or process foods, you destroy most of the nutritional benefits of the food, including the phytonutrients, vitamins, and healthful enzymes. Foods that are uncooked are believed to be more wholesome for the type 2 diabetic.
Eating a Raw Food Diet
The idea behind eating a raw food diet is that all food consumed is eaten in its unprocessed state. It is a vegan diet in which no animal products are eaten.
Foods cannot be heated above 118 degrees Fahrenheit. It is allowable to dehydrate food so that vegetables retain their crunchiness and fruit can be turned into tasty fruit leathers.
Foods that can be eaten on a raw food diet include vegetables, fruits, juices, seeds, nuts, raw almond butter, grains, seaweed, sprouts, raw beans, virgin coconut oil, olive oil, herbal tea, and coconut butter. If you choose not to eat completely vegan, you can drink unpasteurized milk, raw eggs, raw fish, raw meat, and cheese.
Foods you can’t eat on a raw food diet include any kind of refined sugar, processed salt, flour, pasteurized milk, caffeine, baked goods, pasta, ice cream, soda, many types of juices, alcoholic beverages and fast foods.
You will likely be eating mostly at home, because most restaurants only serve cooked food. You can grow your own sprouts, juice fruits, and vegetables, dehydrate fruits and vegetables, chop, or blend any type of fruit or vegetable.
Benefits Of A Raw Food Diet On Type 2 Diabetes
A raw food diet can help the type 2 diabetic lose weight. In one research study, those who ate a raw food diet lost 9 percent of their body weight over a three-month period of time. It also decreases cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The fasting blood sugar and Hemoglobin A1C level will drop when the weight falls off. A raw food diet also contains plenty of minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients.
The biggest downside of a raw food diet is that it is expensive. There is also a chance that the type 2 diabetic will suffer from a decrease in bone mineral density and bone mass. Raw food diets can also have less vitamin B12, iron, calcium, vitamin D, and omega 3 fatty acids.
In addition, not all foods are better for you when eaten raw. Eggs and tomatoes absorb better when they are cooked. Potatoes, raw fish, and raw meat are potentially dangerous as they can carry foodborne illnesses.
Green Juice For A Healthy Heart
The term “green juice” can actually refer to a wide range of vegetables processed through a juice or blender to transform the solids into a smoother liquid.
Though spinach and kale are among the most common options, it can also include Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, wheat grass broccoli, bitter melon and many others.
The emphasis on green produce comes from the fact that many of these items carry different types of essential nutrients and vitamins than options on the other side of the food color spectrum, such as iron, Vitamin K, and antioxidants.
In addition, greens with a darker color, such as kale, also commonly have higher levels of these nutrients than the lighter green vegetables, such as iceberg lettuce, making them ideal candidates for a healthy diet.
Juicing And Heart Health
Juicing is simply a more convenient way to introduce the foods into your diet, as many juices also include other, more palatable ingredients such as fruits and similar sweeter fare.
The specific benefits of drinking green juice depend on the ingredients. For example, a juice made primarily of kale delivers a high dose of iron, approximately 1mg per cup compared to 0.4mg per cup of cabbage, according to the USDA.
Iron in particular is essential to developing a healthy heart because it is a key element in creating hemoglobin, which is a component found within red blood cells that aids the distribution of oxygen throughout the body.
If the body does not have enough iron to properly carry oxygen molecules out of the lungs, it cannot function properly and will eventually start to break down, leaving you feeling fatigued.
Overworking your body means overworking your heart, which eventually leads to a weakening of the muscle that can result in heart disease or other ailments.
Another way green juice helps keep your hearth healthy is by introducing antioxidants into the system, which carry a wide range of health benefits overall.
In terms of the heart, antioxidants help to restore damage that comes from daily activity, strengthening the walls of your heart over time and allowing it to function more efficiently.
Many green juices also feature vitamins that help keep the heart pumping properly and strongly. Similarly, the nutrients and minerals in the juices can help improve circulation by expanding the blood vessels and lowering blood pressure, which allows the blood to flow more smoothly throughout your body.
Green juices also help introduce fiber into your diet, which are essential to a healthy heart because they can lower blood cholesterol levels.
High cholesterol causes the heart to work harder than it needs to pump blood through your body because it literally blocks the passageways in the circulatory system.
Overworking the heart, combined with the lack of oxygen and buildup of toxins due to poor blood flow, can result in a heart attack or similar issues. The fiber in the green juices helps ensure proper blood flow and thus keeps your heart and body functioning normally.
Fiber also helps combat other conditions that can lead to heart disease, such as obesity or diabetes, offering an additional layer of healthfulness.
Green juice is low in calories and makes a great addition to a sensible low-calorie diet in support of a healthy weight, which in turn realty benefits heart health as both obesity and overweight are two of the biggest contributors to heart disease, heart attack, and premature death.
Regardless of the types of vegetables, you put in the juice or how often you drink them; they are most effective when combined with regular exercise and an overall balanced diet.
Eat Your Greens
Whether you throw them together in a tossed salad or put them in a green smoothie, leafy green veggies have many health benefits.
Let’s see just how healthy they are.
What Are Greens?
There are surprisingly many different types of greens you can choose from.
Here are a few of the most nutritious varieties that you eat raw or throw into your recipes:
Kale
This is a powerhouse of nutrition that has everything you need in a green. It has lots of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K as well as calcium, potassium, and folate.
Kale can be cream-colored or blackish, depending on the variety you choose. Kale can be used to substitute bread and buns in burgers and sandwiches making for a low calorie and low carb meal.
Collards
These are often used in Southern cooking and they are a lot like kale. They taste a bit more like cabbage than kale and have a chewy texture. Collards contain only 25 calories in about a half-cup serving.
Turnip Greens
These are the tops to turnips and are just as good as the vegetable itself. These are commonly used in Southern cooking like collard greens, but they are more tender than other types of greens, so they don’t have to be cooked as much to be flavorful.
Swiss Chard
This has red stalks, veins, and stems on the leaves, and it tastes a lot like beets. It is a great green to sauté and can bind to calcium, so it doesn’t cause kidney stones. It has only about 15 calories per half cup serving.
Spinach has only about 20 calories per half cup serving and has plenty of vitamin C and vitamin A for better health. It also is high in folate. It reduces its oxalate content on heating, so it is actually better for you cooked than raw.
Mustard Greens
This is a Southern recipe green that is very similar to collard greens and turnip leaves. It comes in both green and red varieties. These greens give off a smell like mustard when cooking and should be toned down by adding lemon or vinegar, which provide acidity.
Broccoli
Yes, this is a green, too. It contains only 25 calories per serving and is high in vitamin A and vitamin C. It is great in stir-fries, where it adds a crunchiness.
It can also be eaten raw, in salads or as a snack with low fat dip. Broccoli goes great over pasta, in soups and in casseroles. It is one of nature’s best plant foods.
Romaine Lettuce
This wonderful lettuce comes in red and green leaves and is great for salads, sandwiches and even juicing or smoothies. Nutritionally, it is high in vitamin A as well as in folate.
Leafy lettuce is softer than romaine, which is a bit crunchy. The darker leaves have more nutrition in them than lighter leaves. One cup is only about 10 calories.
Cabbage
This is a pale vegetable of the cruciferous type. It contains a great deal of vitamin C and other cancer-fighting agents. It comes as green and red cabbage, and can be cooked, stir fried, or made into a shredded Cole slaw. A ½ cup has only 15 calories.
Iceberg lettuce
This is a blander tasting lettuce because it contains a lot of water. It is ideal for weight loss because it is very filling and great in salads and sandwiches. It is popular but contains less nutrition in it than many of the other greens. It can be a green that people start with while working their way to eating other healthier greens. Iceberg Lettuce has virtually no calories and can be eaten liberally.
Benefits Of Eating Greens
There’s no question that greens are good for you. Here are some of its healthier benefits:
Healthier Aging
Greens contain vitamin K, which helps clot blood. Too little vitamin K in the diet predisposes you to heart disease, kidney calcification, arterial plaques, and fragile bones.
One cup of raw greens will give you your daily requirement of vitamin K, with kale being the best, along with dandelion greens and Swiss chard.
Keep Down Cholesterol
This is true especially of kale and mustard greens. When you bind bile acids in the fiber of these types of greens, it exits the body instead of going into the bloodstream, raising cholesterol.
Help Your Vision
This is especially true of Swiss chard, mustard greens, dandelion greens, and kale. They contain many types of lutein and zeaxanthin, which helps filter out high energy light.
This is a type of light that can damage your eyes. They are also helpful in fighting glare, so they decrease your chances of getting cataracts.
Fuel the body. One cup of escarole when eaten raw will give you a tenth of what you need of pantothenic acid, which is vitamin B. This helps convert carbohydrates into glucose to be then be used as fuel to make energy for the body.
You need to eat B vitamins every day because they are water-soluble, and any excess will just exit the body each day.
Improve bone health. The bitter taste of many of these types of greens means they are high in calcium, which is good for your bones.
You can’t get enough calcium just by eating greens, but they can help. About a 1/2 cup of dandelion greens, for example, contains 78 milligrams of calcium.
Prevent Colon Cancer
This is especially true of mustard greens and kale, which is a part of the Brassica family of foods (as are cabbage and broccoli). The more you eat them, the lower your risk for colon cancer.
10 Foods That Are Most Nutritious When Eaten Raw
Trying to maintain a healthy diet doesn’t have to be hard work.
Did you know that there are many raw foods that you can eat which actually provide you with more nutrition than they do when cooked?
Next time you’re looking for a quick snack or trying to think of something that you can take with you for a lunch away from home, try out some of these raw foods.
They need minimum preparation and have plenty of great benefits for your body if you eat them regularly.
Fermented Vegetables
Fermented vegetables are easy for the body to absorb and digest because the fermentation process pre-digests the starches in these foods. They also have many enzymes and probiotics to boost your immune system and improve nutrient absorption.
You can ferment many vegetables, including kale, carrots, cucumbers, celery, and cabbage. Ginger and garlic make great spices when fermenting vegetables.
Tempeh is a fermented food, as is the Korean favorite Kim Chee along with raw kefir or yogurt. Note that commercial kefirs and yogurts are not advised, as they are often loaded with sugars that destroy the beneficial bacteria.
You can use them in salads, soups, main dishes or as compliments to main dishes and they add great flavor. Some people even enjoy eating them on their own.
Honey
Raw honey provides two key beneficial components, bee pollen, and propolis. It is a unique blend of enzymes, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
Raw honey contains antioxidants called phenolic compounds, and some types contain as many of these essential free radical fighting agents as vegetables and fruit.
Free radicals are known contributors to aging, and increasing risk factors of cancer, heart disease and other chronic medical conditions. Numerous studies have shown the polyphenols found in honey to play a key role in preventing heart disease.
Phytonutrients are compounds in plants that protect them from external harm, and they do the same for the human body, as they have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Phytonutrients are only found in raw honey as they are destroyed in any type of heavy processing of food.
Honey can be used as a healthy substitute to sugar and is a popular choice for many people when dieting. If you include a teaspoon in your daily diet, you will be able to enjoy many benefits, as it is high in sugar and calories, so moderation is key.
If you’re wondering how you could eat more honey in your diet, you could try using it to sweeten tea or coffee, spreading it on toast or adding a few drops to your morning berries.
Coconut
Raw coconut provides a wide variety of nutritional benefits as compared to the dried or processed form. Coconut water is a natural form of sports drink because of its natural ability to hydrate and replace electrolytes, and it is also rich in potassium, sodium, and magnesium. The above is not true of dried, processed, or sweetened coconut.
Moderation is key however, as coconut is high in calories, but it does have less sugar carbs in the same portion as apples.
Blueberries
Blueberries are really tasty and full of antioxidants that fight free radicals to prevent chronic disease. They are high in fiber, vitamin C, and vitamin B-6 and very low in calories and sugar.
If you need something sweet for a quick pick-me-up, instead of reaching for the chocolates, try a handful of blueberries.
For extra convenience, you can purchase frozen blueberries, which will keep for longer. Stock up when they’re more affordable and enjoy the benefits.
Sprouts
Some people love sprouts, while others absolutely hate them. They’re actually very healthy and if you want to improve your overall health, you should try to get used to eating them raw.
Sprouts are vegetables that are still in the growth stage, and because of this, they have high levels of nutrients, key enzymes and numerous vitamins, all ready to be digested by the human body.
For example, alfalfa sprouts have vitamins A, B, C, and E, Calcium, Carotene, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, Zinc, and Chlorophyll.
If you’re a vegetarian and you need more protein in your diet, sprouts are a great source of protein too.
If you don’t like the taste of them raw, why not make a green smoothie and flavor it with other healthy ingredients.
Raw Broccoli
Eating raw broccoli helps fight cancer, as chewing of this raw super plant food allows you to access a cancer-fighting compound known as myrosinase, which is easily killed off in the cooking process. Eating broccoli sprouts doubles your intake of anticancer properties.
Garlic
Freshly raw chopped garlic contains the enzyme alliinase that converts alliin into allicin, which is what creates the specific aroma of fresh garlic and also helps to improve your health. According to the University Of Maryland Medical Center, allicin has antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties.
Moreover, fresh raw garlic releases a short-lived gas known as hydrogen sulfide that acts as an intracellular signaling compound that protects the heart. Cooking, processing, and drying destroy this valuable compound.
Nuts
While many love to eat oil-roasted nuts, the cooking process reduces valuable nutrients, such as iron and magnesium and also adds extra calories and fat.
Red Bell Peppers
Red bell peppers contain about 150% of the daily-recommended value of vitamin C, but the National Institutes of Health warns that this vital nutrient breaks down when the peppers are cooked at or above 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Eating raw red peppers also helps prevent atherosclerosis that leads to heart disease.
Onions
A Cornell University study found that raw onions contain Sulphur compounds, and cancer-fighting antioxidants that are only present in their juice. These nutrients help protect against lung and prostate cancer.
How Adding Turmeric To Your Juices Benefits Your Health
You might not be familiar with turmeric by name, but chances are you’ve eaten it at least once before. As a primary ingredient in many Indian dishes, as well as a coloring agent in foods such as mustard and various cheeses, its benefits in the culinary world are well documented.
However, did you know it also carries numerous health benefits? Read on to find out how adding turmeric to your juices brings a wide range of positive improvements to your diet and overall well being.
Reducing Osteoarthritis Pain
Though much of the research into the various effects of turmeric are still in the early phases, one study reports significant findings on its ability to treat pain from osteoarthritis, according to WebMD.com.
These researchers studied test groups with arthritis and found that a regular dosage of turmeric reduced the amount of pain that resulted from the joint impairment.
The research focused on patients consuming whole turmeric, rather than a modified supplement made from turmeric, meaning you can easily sprinkle the spice it into your juice for the full effect.
Anti-Inflammatory Aid
Another major benefit of turmeric is its anti-inflammatory properties, which means that it helps to relax blood vessels that become engorged as a response to pain or other irritations.
Adding turmeric into your juices can thus help to alleviate discomfort from a variety of pains and aches, similar to that of taking an over-the-counter pain reliever.
Research from the University of Arizona also found that these properties helped to reduce pain from rheumatoid arthritis, furthering the evidence that it can help improve joint movement. The research also suggests that taking the turmeric preemptively can help prevent the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.
Fighting Heart Disease
Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among both men and women, often resulting from long-term issues relating to diet and other health factors. Turmeric can help to fight off heart disease by aiding the body in the removal of plaque from the arteries, which decreases blood flow through the body.
This obstruction causes the heart to work harder than necessary to pump blood, which results in excessive damage to the muscle that can lead to heart attacks. By removing the plaque, the heart is able to function at a normal level and thus stay stronger for longer.
Promoting Better Digestion
Many people turn to juicing to help with digestive issues, often focusing on detoxifying the body and flushing the system of harmful build up. Try adding turmeric to your juices to enhance your digestive system by reducing bloating and eliminating excess gas.
The spice is also found to help alleviate discomfort from heartburn, which can lead to other health issues and major discomfort if left untreated.
Drinking a juice blend with turmeric can sometimes result in immediate relief of these issues, though response time may very between individuals.
Boosting Antioxidant Levels
One of the most significant health benefits of turmeric is its high levels of antioxidants, which have a variety of benefits to your overall health.
A diet rich in antioxidants can help repair the damage to the heart muscles, reduce the signs of aging, increase your energy levels, and improve the function of your other organs.
Some research also suggests that antioxidants can help combat free radicals that can lead to cancer. Similarly, research from UCLA found that turmeric contains a compound know as curcumin that seems to dramatically increase the antioxidant capacity of the body.
As with all juicing ingredients and health tactics, remember that moderation and consistency. While tossing a cup of turmeric into your next juice might have a short-term benefit, it can lead to an upset stomach and other discomfort.
Stick to a few teaspoons per juice a few times a week to keep yourself on track and guarantee your ability to reap its benefits in the long haul.
Turmeric In Juicing
You can juice fresh turmeric or stir in the dried spice to a finished juice.