To Juice or Not to Juice To Achieve Optimum Health

In medical and nutritional circles this subject is the topic of a lot of conversations which means that there is probably not one single answer. I think it is the same answer the elderly gentleman gave the young clothing salesman that asked him if he wore boxer shorts or briefs. His answer: Depends

Depends on whether your goal is to achieve optimum health or whether you will be happy with pretty good health or whether your goal is just to be up and about and able to take care of most of your daily work. I am going to talk a bit about that goal and if your goal is just for fair or even pretty good health the answer is less critical.

To achieve optimum health it is pretty well agreed that along with adequate protein and fat intake and exercise that our body needs 6-9 servings daily of dark green and yellow vegetables and fruits. The more color in them the higher the vitamin and nutrient content and usually the lower the caloric content. So if even most physicians, health care workers and both republicans and democrats agree on that it is likely somewhat correct. Here are the ways to get them on a daily basis:

• Eat them, preferably raw or lightly steamed, if cooked. This gives us all of the fiber and also all of the juice but is a lot of bulk. They may be running out your ears.
• Juice them and drink the juice. This is quite a lot more hassle but even more importantly it results in throwing away all of the fiber and drinking a sugar laden liquid. It does though provide a lot of nutrient value and a nice sweet and pleasant taste.
• Blend them into smoothies. Like eating them, this gives you 100% of both the juice and fiber and all of the nutrients in a pleasant tasting and convenient form. It reduces the bulk amount greatly and clean up and prep time is also greatly reduced. It can even be frozen for later use or into frozen treats. This is as healthy as any method, is the fastest and most convenient and is the easiest and most convenient clean up.

In today's world most people, even if they want to achieve optimum health, are busy and on the run so convenience is a huge factor as long as it is as good. Smoothies or eating the dark green and yellow foods gives us a daily intake of very nutrient dense foods, those with a lot of nutrition and few calories and a lot of bulk so they are filling and satisfying.

Usually, if we will eat all we need to eat daily we will have no or very little craving for junk foods. This eliminates fighting with our cravings all day each day.

I have tried several types of equipment and by far the best I have found are the Nutri-Bullet and the Vita-Mix. Both are available on Amazon and almost all large box stores carry the Nutri-Bullet in 3 sizes. The 900 watt unit is not that much more and is the best unit. I will have reviews on my web site if you wish to access them.

I hope each of you will realize the value of your health while you are young enough to influence it with your life style. The object is not just to see how long you can live but to maximize the quality of your life during those yrs. so you are not sitting around somewhere in a wheel chair not knowing anyone and with oatmeal dripping off your chin.

Best to all of you.

Harold