This is a question I get from my patients all the time, especially since there is so much variance in information on line (which is usually connected with the sale of someone’s appliance or products). Why not just eat the vegetables vs. juicing them?
The answer is really quite simple: “solid food requires many hours of digestive activity before its nourishment is finally available to the cells and tissues of the body. While the fibers in solid food have virtually no nourishing value, they do act as an intestinal broom during the peristaltic activity of the intestines, hence the need to “eat” raw foods in addition to drinking the juices. However, the removal of the fibers in the extraction of the juices, enables juices to be very quickly digested and assimilated, sometimes in a matter of minutes, with a minimum of effort and exertion on the part of the digestive system.” (N.W. Walker D. Sc.)
You see so many of the patient’s I work with have sluggish digestive systems that are overworked on a daily basis due the types and amounts of foods they are consuming believing it to be nourishment. Yet their symptoms paint a much different picture; Gas, bloating, indigestion, heartburn, GERD, acid reflux, chronic constipation, IBS, acne issues (yes this skin issue is rooted in the digestive/gut system).
Let me give some examples: it is a well known fact that celery because of its high sodium chloride content can help counteract the effects of extreme heat on the body. Yet to eat the celery would involve so much time in the process of digestion that most people wouldn’t feel the relief and are overcome by the intense heat before the beneficial effects of celery can be obtained. On the other hand, if one were to drink a glass or a pint of fresh raw celery juice, you can get quick physical results. I use this myself in the summer-time especially when I know we have an outing that is happening in some blistering heated weather. Everyone else is sweating like mad and racing for the air conditioning, and my body temperature is beyond comfortable. (don’t just take my word for it…. give it a try for yourself).
Whole vegetables and fruits are composed of a considerable quantity of fibers. Within the interstices of these fibers are enclosed atoms and molecules which are the essential nutritional elements the body needs. It is these atoms and molecules and their respective enzymes in the fresh raw juices which offer aid and nourishment to the cells and tissues, glands, organs and actually every part of the body.
The fibers of the veggies and fruits are also valuable too, and when we eat raw uncooked and unprocessed fruits and veggies these fibers are able to act as an intestinal broom. When however the food is cooked, the intense heat destroys the life. Its fibers, having lost their magnetism through the heat, being lifeless, dead, act in the nature of a mop swabbing through the intestines, all too often leaving a coating on the walls of the intestines. Many peeps experience this with bowel movements that are slimy and even sticky. What happens over the course of time this coating ends up accumulating, putrefies and causes Toxemia. The colon then becomes sluggish (constipation) and distorted and we see health issues labeled under chronic constipation, colitis, diverticulosis and other intestinal disturbances.
The juices extracted from fresh raw veggies and fruits are the means by which we can furnish all the cells and tissues of the body with the elements and the nutritional enzymes they need in the manner they can be most readily digested and assimilated.
Notice that I said nutritional enzymes… This applies to the enzymes in our food. The cells and tissues of the body have their own corresponding enzymes which assist and cooperate in the work of digesting and assimilating our foods. In addition, the composition of every atom and molecule in our body has a superabundant supply of enzymes. The oxygen is collected by enzyme action and then by the blood. (there is a distinct physical process as to how the body extracts nutrients to be utilized properly).
Let me give you an example: we breathe air, which is taken into our lungs as a combination of approximately 20% oxygen and 80% nitrogen. The air we expel from our lungs, is mainly carbonic acid and carbon dioxide. What happened to the nitrogen?
So this is what happens when we breathe. Two main classes of enzymes in our lungs spring into action the moment air reaches the tiny bunch of grape like interior of the lungs, called alveoli. One set of enzymes, known as Oxidase, separate the oxygen while the other set of enzymes, called Nitrase, separate the nitrogen from the air. The oxygen is collected, by enzyme action, by the blood and circulates it through the body, while the nitrogen, by action of transportation enzymes, passes into the body for protein generation.
The truth is that our ENTIRE system is composed in innumerable enzymes. These enzymes are found throughout the mouth, stomach, and intestine. More than a dozen of them are involved in the digestion and assimilation of the foods we consume. They work in conjunction with the enzymes that are also found in the atoms and molecules contained in the food itself.
COOKED FOODS…
So when we consider what we eat on a daily basis, as a general rule it will do no great harm to occasionally eat some cooked food, but that is not the average case by a long shot. And to prove my point when is the last time anyone tried to score a quick appointment with a “Gastro-intestinal Doctor”? They usually have a pretty long waiting list, which gives it’s own testament to the amount of folks struggling with gastro-intestinal (digestion and intestinal) health issues.
We live in the Atomic Age, and we actually slow ourselves down by eating too much cooked food that creates a physical and a mental conflict within our body. Next to digestion complaints with my patients the #1 chief complaint ” I HAVE NO ENERGY”.
So one of the reasons I always recommend my patients “all” my patients to incorporate some form of juicing into their daily routine is because the juices extracted from fresh raw fruits and veggies form the means of furnishing ALL the cells in the body with the elements our body need in the manner in which the body can most readily assimilate.
Bear in mind that while it is true that cooked and processed foods can sustain life, nevertheless that does not mean that they have the power to regenerate the atoms which furnish the life force for the body. Instead what we see and experience is progressive degeneration of the cells and tissues when all the meals we consume are “cooked” only.
There is not a drug in the world that will supply the blood stream with anything in a way in which the body can use it for permanent repair or regeneration! (READ THAT TWICE IF YOU NEED TO)
You can eat 4 or 5 big meals a day, and yet the body may be starved through the lack of the vital elements in the food and disturbance of the enzyme balance.
FRUITS… CLEANING CREW, AND VEGETABLES, THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS…
Fruit juices are what I refer to as the “CLEANSERS” of the body. BUT the fruit should be ripe. Remember the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”…. But fruits, with only three or four exceptions, should never be eaten during the same meal in which starches and sugars are included. Fruits in sufficient variety will furnish the body with all the carbohydrates and sugar that it needs.
Vegetable juices are the “BUILDERS or CONSTRUCTION CREW” of the body. They contain ALL the amino acids, minerals, salts, enzymes and vitamins needed by the human body, provided that they are used fresh, raw, and without preservatives.
So the fruits are needed to pull up and clean the work site so when the vegetables jump on the scene they have a clean site to reconstruct.
Like all the most valuable things in life, the vital part of vegetables that which contains the greatest concentrated value is the most difficult to reach, being hidden within the fibers. Hence, the need for thorough mastication of all raw vegetables is key.
Raw food is the nourishment intended for human beings. However, not everyone is able to change the lifelong habit of eating foods mostly or totally cooked and devitalized and in their place eat only raw foods. Usually to make a drastic change for most peeps generates physical disturbances that the person neither understands nor welcomes. Trying to make dietary “shifts” like starting with 60/40 (60% raw foods and 40% cooked) and working your way up to an 80/20 (80% raw and 20% cooked) can ease the body thru the housecleaning process at a slower ratio making it more tolerable.
The reason I encourage my patients to all incorporate raw food juicing into their DAILY routine is raw vegetable/fruit juices are digested and assimilated within 10 to 15 minutes after we drink them and they are used almost entirely in the nourishment and regeneration of the cells and tissues, glands and organs of the body. It’s nutrition that the body can use quickly and completely.
The real truth is the consistent way that most folks eat on a daily basis certainly isn’t bring them energy for days, vibrant looking skin, thick shiny hair, restful sleep, and I can go on and on.. the reality of it is most people are pulling themselves physically through their day relying on other stimulants like coffee and highly caffeinated energy drinks.
The body can repair and regenerate healthy cells when it’s given the right nutritional ingredients to work with. That regeneration process was a gift given to the human body from our Creator.
If you’d like some help making some changes in your diet/lifestyle. go to www.jodibarnett758.com and click on services. We can take this journey together.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post and feel free to share it as well.
Healthfully yours,
Dr. Jodi Barnett N.D.
Harvested Health LLC. 