Juicing well

Juicing is good!

I’m so glad to hear about all the juicing going on in Rose Creek Village. Juicing is a good way to get lots of nutrients into your body without having to eat tons of vegetables. When I came home from Kenya people were noticeably  healthier. I enjoyed some juice made in my kitchen and got on the bandwagon.

Then I got a question that stimulated me to do a little research. The question was about how juicing affects blood sugar. Good question.  I watched the video ‘Fat, Sick and Almost Dead’ for the first time. I was inspired. So I went online to find recipes and more information.

After I checked out a few websites I got stuck on this one:  http://www.juicingbook.com/responsible-juicing. This website is dedicated to educating people about how to do ‘responsible juicing’.  I like that. There’s a lot of commonsense in what it says about juicing. I believe that people with serious health problems should do more juicing than someone who is trying to get healthier or lose unhealthy weight but we tend to be extreme in most of what we doJ So I’d like to bring some balance and help prevent some unhealthy side effects of over juicing. … like hypoglycemia or diabetes.

You wouldn’t normally eat the amount of fruits and vegetables you put into your juicer. Think of juicing as therapeutic nutritional supplementing rather than just eating a meal. Here’s an excerpt from the website to give you and idea what I’m talking about:

Responsible juicing is important because when you juice, you’re drinking concentrated nutrition. In a way, you’re drinking an herbal concoction when you drink fresh juice. This is because herbal medicine works by providing your body with nutrition. It’s the nutrition in the herbs that helps your body heal, recover and stay healthy. If you juice irresponsibly then you can potentially overwhelm your body with nutrition causing you to stimulate something in your body too much, feel not so good, create negative effects, etc. Nutrition is fuel for the body and it is said that the difference between medicine and poison is all in the dose. “All things are poison and nothing is without poison. It is the dose that makes a thing poisonous.” Paracelsus, 16th century pharmacologist. I’m writing this with the intention to stimulate your thoughts and I’m sure there will be questions. I would love to explore the ‘art of juicing’ with you. Please email me questions and comments. I’m sure there will be different perspectives. Maybe, together, we can avoid the pendulum swinging all the way back. Our goal should always be to improve our lifestyle towards a healthier life.

Some points to consider:

·         Juice responsibly.

·         Ice or cold will slow down digestion. Juices should be room temperature.

·         Variety is important.

·         Root vegetables, such as carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, are high sugar foods.

·         Chew your juice. This stimulates saliva that will help start digestion.

·         Use vegetables in season. Example: Lettuce is cooling and best eaten in summer.

·         Avoid adding fruits to vegetables except apples.

·         Juice fruit in small quantities for a treat.

·         It’s best to eat fruit and juice vegetables.

There's some good information on the website juicingbook.com   I highly recommend you read some of the articles particularly the one about hypoglycemia and diabetes. One thing he says I don't agree with is that juicing is not fun and is boring. Well maybe someday but I'm not there yet:)

I hope this blog post will help you to juice thoughtfully. 

Happy Healthy Juicing!

Holidays are here!

I love the holiday season! It starts with the Ingathering which we usually do pretty well. But then comes Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, not to mention birthdays. What a fun time!

I don’t think we have to pay for having so much fun, but if we aren’t deliberate in our food choices we will pay the price. You probably already know what I’m about to say. Yep.... Let’s control our eating. 

Pamela's apple carving.

If you don’t take time to think about it you will overindulge and you won’t pay attention to what your children are eating. Remember last years’ coughing sickness that lasted for months? I don’t think we have to be so sick this winter. We have additional motivation to stay healthy for the sake of Shammah’s family while he goes through stem cell transplant and compromised immunity. Even though you may not be in contact with Shammah you will be around his family and others who will be seeing him frequently. We can put into practice all we have learned about preventing the spread of germs this season.  

The most important things to remember are: 

1. Eat sweets in moderation. Moderation means 80/20 with the 80% of everything you eat in a day being healthy foods and 20% of everything you eat being fun foods. Don’t get confused and do the opposite 20/80, if you know what I meanJ I don't mean you shouldn't eat anything sweet. What I do mean is small amounts, less frequently. Too much sugar will weaken your immune system.

2. WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY! The single most important way to decrease the spread of germs that cause sickness is frequent hand washing.

3. Teach little ones how to keep their germs to themselves. Two year olds and under are human petri dishes. You have to help them keep their hands and noses clean. Wash your hands after you help them.

4. Take immune building herbs like Immuplex, echinachea, and kid e immune.

5. Keep each other accountable.

Happy Healthy Holidays!!  

Eat well, Feel good!

This is the market place in Nakuru, Kenya

Haviylah