…the power to regain your health through nature
As interesting as the long history of juicing may be, the bottom line is that it’s still recommended today because of its successful use to improve health. As a dominant component within therapies that reverse some severe diseases, how can juicing not sound like a worthwhile effort? You can imagine my surprise after juicing to stop a prolonged episode of diarrhea to find arthritic symptoms also vanished. While the weak, dizzy effects of diarrhea changed within hours, I fortunately continued using fresh vegetable juices to experience other improvements.
Modern use of juicing began with Norman Walker (1886 – 1985 ) who authored a number of books between 1937 to 1978 on juicing, raw food diets and natural ways for health. He also invented a commercial juicer that is still manufactured today. Another big contributor to juicing is Dr. Max Gerson (1881-1959), who developed a therapy in the 1920’s and 1930’s for people with chronic illness, incorporating juicing and raw foods as a major and vital part of the program. He attributed disease to waste buildup in the colon and detoxification still is an important part of the therapy. The late Dr. Linus Pauling, renowned for his work with Vitamin C and winner of two Nobel Prizes, attributed most disease, illness, and ailments to mineral deficiencies in the diet and soil.
From these pioneers in health we began to understand that juicing fresh, organic vegetables provides live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting nutrients in a liquid form. Enzymes are killed by temperature extremes of freezing and cooking, but are crucial to instigate many chemical reactions in our body. We may not be drinking 13 glasses a day as in a therapy program, but any periodic regular use of juicing can only add to our vitality. The fact that these liquid nutrients are absorbed directly into our bloodstream is a major bonus because the integrity of our intestinal tract does not determine nutrient extraction from food nor absorption levels. It’s important to note that the nutrient quality of freshly pressed juice is said to degrade with each passing hour – so fresh is best! Additional health benefits may include increased energy, mental clarity, elimination of constipation, parasite cleansing and establishing a more natural body weight.
My introduction to the power of juice was a book by Jay Kordish who as a young professional football player in California, was diagnosed with cancer. Leaving his career behind, he moved to New York city for access to Dr. Max Gerson’s clinic and after two years on the program, said he was diagnosed as free of cancer. This experience converted him to lifelong use of freshly pressed vegetable juices and promotion of juicing for the rest of his life. He said that while many people take up juicing for weight loss, it can be the first step in progressing to a healthier and more productive life.
His story alone attests to how enormous our body’s healing power is to regain health and stay healthy when cleansed from the inside out with quality nutrients in an absorbable form.
Another consideration is awareness of genetically engineered (GE) produce versus the choice of organic vegetables. This is emphasized since research results were published from Quebec’s University of Sherbrooke. Clinical tests on volunteers regarding the effects of ingesting genetically engineered produce occurred during the summer of 2011. Bacterium used for GE transfer of foreign genes from one species to another was found alive and well in the blood of test subjects and even the fetus of pregnant subjects, in stark contrast to claims by the creators of GE foods who said the bacterium and viruses used to force modifications between species would not survive our intestinal tract to infect our system. When it comes to juicing then, reading labels is important because American produce is 80% genetically engineered. Canadian GE crops and their related products in 2011 included soy, corn, canola, sugar beets, and alfalfa as the latest addition.