The Health Benefits of Juicing Are Well Documented, But What Exactly is Juicing?

Juicing fresh, raw, natural foods has been gaining in popularity the past few years as we have come to realize how beneficial fresh juice is for our bodies. Not only do freshly extracted juices taste delicious but they provide a valuable source of nutrients, improve diet, increase energy levels, aid in eliminating toxins from the body and in general, add to better all around health. 
Juicing is a method of separating the juices of fruits and vegetables from the pulp and fiber. A high end masticating juicer is capable of releasing the juice from fiber by literally breaking the fiber. A centrifugal juicer is not capable of breaking fiber and instead, fiber remains in the pulp and its nutrient potential is lost. Masticating juicers are recognized generally as the best selection to derive the maximum health benefits from your juicing.
Fresh juices are a very valuable source of nutrients as well as highly digestible. Juices that have been pasteurized have been subjected to heats as high as 120 degrees, destroying the natural enzymes in the juice. Fresh juices are rich in minerals, enzymes and vitamins that processing such as pasteurizing damages or destroys. The nutrients in freshly extracted juice are intact and thus, provide maximum benefits for health and taste.
It is often difficult to eat enough fruit and vegetables every day to meet our daily nutrition requirements. One great thing about juicing is that it is an easy way to meet the needs of our bodies. Another fine feature of juicing is that you can make juice from any combinations of vegetables and fruits that you have on hand. For example, juicing 1 apples, 2 peach, an orange and 4 stalks of celery will make one tasty glass of juice loaded with nutrients and antioxidants.
It is doubtful that you would eat all these fruits plus celery at one time but you are likely to consume the entire glass of juice. Juicing provides a simple way to consume adequate amounts of nutrition. Shortly after beginning to routinely drink freshly extracted juices, most users feel a marked increase in energy level and generally feel better.
Liquids are absorbed by our bodies quicker that whole foods. Liquid nutrients bypass a part of the digestive process allowing them to be digested very swiftly to be utilized by the body for healing, building and maintaining itself. In essence, the juicing of raw vegetables and fruits results in a highly concentrated glass of easy to absorb nutrition.
The health benefits of juicing are numerous. Some vegetables (spinach for instance) are very rich in antioxidants and are therefore, beneficial for detoxifying your body. Juicing for health is basically juicing for life. Uncooked fruits and vegetable contain phytochemicals which are thought to be among the strongest of disease fighting natural substances.
In general, people do not consume enough raw fruit and vegetable to reap the benefits of phytochemicals. By juicing on a regular basis, the level of phytochemicals consumes will be adequate to have an impact. Another health benefit of juicing is that those concerned about maintaining or losing weight will find that their metabolism is affected by the live enzymes contained in freshly extracted juice. Live enzymes increase metabolic rates to burn calories more quickly.
Juicing for health is an excellent preventative measure against many diseases. Juicing specific combinations of fruits and vegetables is thought to benefit those who suffer from specific ailments such as cancer. Juicing is not suggested to be an alternative or replacement for medical treatment. The benefits that patients realize may be simply a general energy level increase and an increased feeling of well being. Mainstream medical professionals have become more amenable to juicing for health and a better quality of life.
Pregnant women find that juicing helps eliminate or moderate many issues normally related to pregnancy such as anemia, pre-eclampsia, constipation, morning sickness and fatigue. Mood swings are often less harsh and after delivery recovery time is very likely to be hastened.
Not only does a pregnant woman derive benefits from freshly extracted juice, so does an unborn fetus. It is well documented that good nutrition is critical to the development of a normal brain, good birth weight and in decreasing the chance for complications in the pregnancy. Juicing provides vitamins, minerals and other nutrients crucial for the unborn baby's development and for the mother's safe, healthy pregnancy.
During pregnancy it is suggested that you should consume the juice of at least one high Vitamin C fruit (an orange, for example), three raw vegetables and two raw fruits daily. To put this in perspective, 1/2 cup of cooked vegetable is generally considered to be one serving whereas one cup of raw, green, leafy vegetables is one serving, 1/2 cup cooked or chopped fruit is one serving as is one cup of whole, raw fruit. In order to consume the recommended amounts of fruit and veggie, it is much simpler to juice all the recommended foods into one glass of fresh juice packed with nutrients.
It is recommended that if you have any doubts about juicing that you take proper medical advice.
Be on the alert for new juicing recipes for good health. Look for new ways to use your juicer; the more you use it the more benefit you are receiving. As a source of live enzymes, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants crucial to physical and mental health, juicing cannot be beat. A daily cocktail of freshly extracted fruit and vegetable juice to satisfy your daily nutrition needs and tantalize your palate is a wonderful start to the day.
The benefits of juicing are too numerous to list and do justice to in one article. Juicing has no negative side effects; drinking fresh juices will only improve your health.