Everything You Need to Know About Juicing To Alkalize Your Body

This is part 1 of a 2-part series about juicing – everything you need to know about this easy, fast, and effective tool to reboot your health and metabolism.

Out of everything I have learned and taught throughout the years, I’m here to tell you that there’s NOTHING more powerful to reset your health, than juicing.

If you’re looking for quick energy throughout the day, like when you’re hitting that afternoon low and considering going out for a latte or a sweet treat, juicing is the perfect thing for you. It gets the energizing, alkalizing greens into your system fast, and with ease…So it’s going to give you a jolt of energy you need WITHOUT the crash.

That said, energy is not the only health benefit fresh juice has to offer. After regularly consuming fresh-pressed vegetable juices, which are highly alkalizing to your body, you will experience better digestion, mental acuity, clearer skin, and an overall sense of well-being.

So you might be wondering how juicing is different than blending. After all, I recommend smoothies all the time, so they must both be great ways to serve the same purpose, right?

Well, yes and no. Both fresh, green juices and smoothies are great. But they serve totally different purposes and can be used in tandem to get the maximum health benefit.

Unlike juicing, blending is going to give you a drink with a lot of fiber, which is very satiating and keeps you fuller longer. Plus, it is a great way to not only get a good dose of alkalizing greens, but ALSO some healthy fats.  Therefore, a smoothie can be a meal replacement that packs a serious nutritional punch. 

Juicing, on the other hand, is not a meal replacement, but I like to think of it as one way to turn back the hands of the clock. You know I often say that every time you put a piece of food in your mouth, you are choosing to fight disease or fuel it. Well, fresh, green juice is a powerful tool in fighting disease.

In fact, dare I say this, the MOST powerful way to infuse health and energy into your cells and mitochondria (the energy factories of the cell). 

How? Let me explain in one word: assimilation.

Frequently, in my wellness clinic in NYC, lots of patients come to see me who have seen MANY other doctors, and THINK they’re doing all of the right things and still exhibiting signs of dis-ease – such as low energy, weight gain (and they’re working out like crazy), digestive issues, skin problems, and weak hair.

Well, here’s the problem, and I see it time and time again – they have NOT addressed the root cause to WHY these issues have happened in the first place, which is inflammation, toxicity and acidity, and deficiency of the essential nutrients the cells need to be healthy.

You see, the root cause is always the same, and it has had an accumulative effect on gut function, a place where all the magic is supposed to happen for your body to be healthy.  In every single case I see, there is ALWAYS some type of gut dysbiosis going on.

So even if you’re doing all the right things – proper supplementation and nutrient-rich foods – your body is simply not absorbing those nutrients because the gut has been damaged in the past, whether it’s from an antibiotic you took a year ago or that oatmeal you ate yesterday morning.

When that’s the case, we need to take steps to really repair the gut. One of the most effective ways to do it is through juicing.

Juicing delivers a wide variety of fruits of vegetables into your menu.

How many of us eat the same vegetables and fruits almost every single day? We’re all guilty of this, right? Well, there’s a downside to doing this.

When you take a look at certain fruits and vegetables, although they have so many health benefits, they can also have downsides health-wise especially if you’re prone to certain conditions.

I’ll give you an example. Glycogens, which are found in broccoli, kale, and cabbage can actually hamper the function of the thyroid gland. When raw, they are goitrogenic foods that actually depresses thyroid function. However, when you blanche, roast, or juice them, it actually kills that enzyme-inhibiting agent and then becoming a thyroid enhancer.

Variety is really the spice of life. Whether exercise or nutrition, changing it up is CRUCIAL to optimize your health!  Not only will you get all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that you need, but green juices are powerful detoxifiers.

I just got back from a conference in Nashville, and spent some time with David ‘Avocado’ Wolfe, and here is what he had to say – Nutrition is important, but DETOXIFICATION is the MOST important!

What about store-bought green juices?

You might be thinking, Okay, so green juices sound great, but I don’t want to invest in an at-home juicer. I’ll just buy store-bought juices.

Not so fast. Unfortunately, store-bought juices contain virtually no nutrients whatsoever. For the most part, they have been pasteurized, or heated to about 118 degrees, which totally destroys all of the nutrients and enzymes, aka. the most important part of the juice.

Not to mention, many are loaded with sugars, and the ones that have been sitting on the shelf a bit, have begun to ferment, which creates lactic acid.

So for that reason, I really recommend making your own juices at home. It’s an investment, but a juicer will actually pay for itself in the not-so-long run with the price of store-bought juices. And when you factor in those expensive coffee drinks you’re buying for energy, a good juicer is a no-brainer! 

At-Home Juicers

You know the saying: you get what you pay for. There are a lot of inexpensive juicers out there, but they cause a little bit of degradation in the juice and so the juice won’t last as long. It’s going to be something that you’re going to have to drink right away.

If that’s convenient for you, that’s fine. But for most people, taking your juice on the go to work, the gym, or out and about makes the convenience factor worth investing a little more.

You’ll have a longer time to drink juice from a good cold-press juicer. It will stay longer in your refrigerator if you put it in an airtight container and you can reap the benefits for it at least a couple of days.

Cold-press juicers I recommend:

• The Hurom is a great single gear slow-press juicer, and this is the one I have at home.
• A Kuvings is another really good one one because it has a wide mouth at the top and you can actually fit larger pieces in it.

Ready to find out WHAT to juice now that you know all about the power of juicing and how to do it? You’ll have to wait until next week, when I’ll break down the best foods to juice, the worst foods to juice, and the shortcut you can take to get the power of juicing without the time and mess.

I go into more detail about fresh juices and smoothies in my best-selling book, Get Off Your Acid: 7 Steps in 7 Days to Lose Weight, Fight Inflammation, and Reclaim Your Health and Energy, as well as give you recipes, tips, and ideas to take you from sluggish and in pain to healthy, energetic, and slim.

GET OFF YOUR ACID!

Dr. Daryl