Juicing Slideshow

Below are a few pictures that I've taken while juicing throughout the last few months.

Juice Stop

I don't think I've made any fresh fruit or vegetable juice for over a couple weeks. I've been busy getting caught up in my classes and juicing just hasn't been a top priority for me as of late. Fortunately, just because I haven't made my own fresh fruit or vegetable juice doesn't mean I'm not getting any fruit or veggies in my diet. I like to eat salads, big salads, every chance I get. I also like to go to Juice Stop when I'm on the run. There are two different locations here in town. One in the Fairlawn Shopping Plaza at 21st and Fairlawn, and there's also the Juice Stop Cafe in the Brookwood Shopping Center at 29th and Randolph. Anyways, I'll stop in, grab a smoothie (Hawaiian Hula is my favorite), and sometimes a pretzel. Whenever I'm at the 21st and Fairlawn location I also like to get a shot of wheatgrass juice (the other location used to offer it also, but I heard their juicer broke). There's a sign at Juice Stop which claims that one, one ounce shot of wheatgrass juice is equal to consuming two pounds of raw vegetables. I have no idea if that's true or not but a claim like that leads me to believe that a shot of the stuff probably won't hurt any. So if you're pressed for time and on that side of town then stop in and try it for yourself.



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Juicing Remedies For Stomach Ulcers

I recently posted about a book that came with my juicer called "Juice Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Juicing Remedies." The book has many remedies for many different health disorders. My last post focused on colitis, so I wanted to follow that post up with some information and remedies for stomach ulcers. In this post I'm going to give the information and juicing remedies that the book lists for stomach ulcers on page 231. 

Stomach Ulcers

Stomach ulcers are characterized by inflammation in the stomach, which can cause stomach pain (especially after eating and when lying down) and burning sensations in the stomach. In some cases, stomach ulcers can also result in stomach bleeding. Once thought to be primarily due to stress, since the 1990s it has been recognized that over 90 percent of all cases of stomach ulcer are caused by an overabundance of a type of bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which some researchers now speculate can also cause stomach cancer. (However, recent research indicates that H. pylori can be a normal flora without causing ulcerations. Some researchers are now suggesting that H. pylori  appears to thrive on ulcerated tissues and may not be causative.) Food allergies and the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs, especially aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID's), as well as steroids and other types of pain relievers, can also cause stomach ulcers. 

A related type of ulcer is duodenal ulcer, which affects the duodenum, the upper region of the small intestine, which is connected to the stomach by an organ known as the pylorus. Duodenal ulcers are caused by the same factors that cause stomach ulcers, including H. pylori infection.

The following juices can both relieve ulcer symptoms and help the body eliminate H. pylori infection

Juicing Recipies

• Combine 1-2 ounces wheatgrass juice in 8-16 ounces green juices (any combination of green vegetables).
• Juice 3 medium carrots, 1/4 head cabbage, 1/2 medium cucumber, and 1 garlic clove. Makes 14 ounces. Consume once daily.
• Raw potato juice can be added to carrot and celery. Consume 6 ounces twice daily.
• For duodenal ulcers. Drink raw cabbage juice throughout the day (can be mixed with carrot or celery). Consume 6 ounces three times daily. 

Juicing Remedy For Headaches

I recently posted about a book that came with my juicer called "Juice Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Juicing Remedies." The book has many remedies for many different health disorders. In this post I'm going to give a few  recipes that are listed in the book as remedies for headaches/migraines as well as the information about headaches and migraines that the book provides. 

Note: The following is taken directly from the 2nd edition printing of the book, as it appears on page 192. 

Headaches

Headaches rank among the most common of all health conditions, affecting nearly everyone at least once in their lives. In most cases, headaches are temporary, but in others, they can prove debilitating, depending on their type. Migraine headache is an example of this latter type of headache, as are headaches that continually recur or persist for long periods of time. Such headaches should be attended to by a physician, as should all cases of headaches that are accompanied by blurring vision, convulsions, dizziness, fever, and head trauma. 

There are many potential causes of headaches. These include physical factors, such as spinal misalignments, muscle spasms and muscle tension, and physical trauma or injury. Other potential causes of headache include allergies, constipation, poor diet, poor digestion, hormonal imbalances, infections and nutritional deficiencies. Juicing can often prove beneficial for headaches caused by this second class of factors due to the abundant supply of nutrients juices contain. 

Juicing Recipes

• Juice 4 medium carrots and 4 celery stalks. Makes 14 ounces. Consume once to twice daily.
• Juice 3 medium carrots, 1/2 medium beet, 1 medium cucumber, and 1/4 bunch parsley. Makes 14 ounces. Consume once to twice daily.
• Juice 3 medium carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1/4 bunch spinach, 1/4 bunch parsley, and 1/4 head lettuce. Makes 16 ounces. Consume once daily.
• Juice 1/2 medium papaya, 6 ounces cantaloupe, and add 1 tablespoon noni juice. Makes 8 ounces. Consume once to twice daily.

Juicing Remedy For Better Sleep

I recently posted about a book that came with my juicer called "Juice Alive: The Ultimate Guide to Juicing Remedies." The book has many remedies for many different health disorders. In this post I'm going to give a few different recipes that are stated in the book to help people who have insomnia (I'm one of these people,) I'll also share the information on insomnia that the book provides.

Note: The following is taken directly from the 2nd edition printing of the book, as it appears on pages 202 and 203.

Insomnia
Of all sleep disorders that affect Americans, the most common is insomnia. According to sleep experts, nearly 60 percent of all adults in the United States suffer from some form of insomnia at least once a week. There are three types of insomnia. The most common form is characterized by a difficulty sleeping upon going to bed. This type is known as sleep-onset insomnia. Another type of insomnia, known as sleep-maintenance insomnia, is characterized by frequent awakenings during the night, with difficulty falling back to sleep each time. The third type of insomnia, known as early-wakening insomnia, occurs when people wake after only a few hours of sleep and are unable to return to sleep. All three forms of insomnia leave people feeling tired and exhausted throughout the day.

There are many factors that can cause insomnia, including psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, unresolved emotional upsets, and chronic stress. Other factors include poor sleeping habits, unhealthy diets, habitually eating late in the evening, poor nutrition, and hormonal imbalances, especially a lack of hormone melatonin. Juicing can help to correct dietary and nutritional factors that contribute to insomnia. Because juicing can also enhance the overall health of the endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone production and regulation, regularly drinking juices can help alleviate hormonal imbalances, which may contribute to insomnia. Such juices include the following.

Juicing Recipes

• Juice 3 medium carrots, 1-2 celery stalks, and 1/2 head lettuce.

Makes 12 ounces. Consume one hour before bed.

• Coconut milk with passionflower fruit (equal parts).

Consume 8 ounces before bed.

• Juice 6 ounces cantaloupe, 4 ounces blueberries, and add 1 tablespoon noni juice.

Makes 4 ounces. Consume before bed.

(Note: I made the first recipe stated. It didn't taste very good, and it's hard to say whether or not it helped my insomnia any because I only tried it once. If I were to try another recipe for insomnia next then it'll probably be the last one, because it actually sounds tasty.)

Juicing Takes Effort

Like other household appliances, juicers can oftentimes be tucked away in cabinets and other hidden places, rarely seeing the light of day, forgotten, eventually put back in its box and into an attic or other storage place, waiting for the next garage sale or swap meet.

There's some good reason for this. Juicing can be a bit of work. You have to buy fruits and veggies (which are more expensive than many processed convenience foods,) clean them (some people go to great lengths to ensure their veggies are cleaned,) prep the fruits and veggies (cut off bad parts, peel some of them, take cores out of some, dice into manageable pieces depending on your juicer, etc.,) juice them (finally,) and then you have to clean the friggin' thing. That seems like an awful lot of work just to get some healthy fluids in your life. 

These are some of the reasons that I've gone days, weeks, even months on end without juicing. It's funny how much a person's opinion on the ease, or difficulty, of juicing can vary from one individual to another. I either hear some juice enthusiast talk about how easy it is and how it only takes a couple of minutes out of a persons day, or I hear someone who's new to juicing talk about it like it's the most difficult, frustrating part of their day. Really? My thoughts about it tend to be right in the middle. Juicing isn't really easy, and it isn't really hard, it's just, a process. A process that takes a little time, thought, and effort, much like many other activities in our lives. 

Excuse me here for getting a little deep and turning something like juicing into some sort of life lesson, but my best advice is to think positively about the whole situation and experience. If there's one thing I notice about myself it's that a certain mindset or way of thinking can make a big difference as to how I perceive something. The difference between a pleasing juicing experience and a stressful one is often something as small as our current frame of mind. Listen to your favorite music (for some reason I really like Bob Marley when I juice,) do it when nobody else is around, think about the positive effects it will have on your health, just do whatever you have to do to and think however you need to think to make the experience as positive as possible. 

Fresh Juice vs. The Store Bought Stuff

Every now and then I talk to people about the juices that I make and consume. Most people have heard about making fresh fruit and vegetable juices themselves, but there are many others who haven't. If I mention that I just consumed a fresh vegetable juice a pretty common response is, "you mean like a V8 juice?"

Even the ones who are familiar with juicers and the practice of juicing oftentimes have misconstrued ideas about these juices. Many wonder why someone would go through all the trouble of preparing a juice themselves, when they could grab a bottled juice out of any cooler in a gas station or supermarket and consume it without having to clean up or prepare a thing. 

Some people might see a movie like "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead," and then decide that juicing, or a juice fast is something they'd like to do. Many of them don't realize that juicing requires a little effort, and once they find out that cleaning a juicer can be a pain in the ass, they often wonder what other, easier options they have. A common question that often arises is, "what store bought juices can I consume instead of making my own juice with a juicer to achieve the same outcome?" Anytime someone asks a question like that they are surely going to be disappointed with the response, because there is no substitution for juice that is extracted out of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, so I decided to share a blog entry that I read awhile back on the topic that can explain some of the (major) differences between fresh juice made with a juicer and the stuff bottled up on store shelves. Just click on the link below to read the brief article on the subject. 

Fresh Juice vs. The Store Bought Stuff

How My Journey Began: Part I

How did my juicing journey begin? I'm glad you asked. I've been juicing fruits and vegetables for about three or four months, but I first learned about juicing a little over a year ago. It all started one evening when I was browsing Facebook. One of my friends posted a status stating he had begun a juice fast (only drinking juice and water, no eating.) To me this sounded absurd, and I quickly disregarded it as a yo-yo diet that probably did more harm than good. Each day that he fasted he posted his weight loss and how he was feeling. By day five he had lost 20 lbs., without any exercise whatsoever. The weight was falling off and he claimed that he was feeling better than ever before. He started to get quite a bit of attention from his fellow Facebook friends and many of them wanted to try what he was doing and wanted to know where he heard about such a thing. It turns out he had watched a documentary and that's what started it all. I was intrigued, I didn't need or want to lose a lot of weight, but I wanted to check it out for myself. I had to know more about this documentary...

Introduction

Hello all, and welcome to Mike's Juicing Journey. As you might guess, my name is Mike, and this blog is all about my personal experiences with juicing. When I talk about juicing I'm not referring to steroids or PED's (Performance Enhancing Drugs.) I'm referring to the process of making fresh fruit and vegetable juice using a juicer that extracts only the juice from fruits and veggies while excluding the pulp. I'm not a health-freak like you might imagine, just a guy who's looking for a fun, easy, and tasty way to add fruits, veggies, and all the wonderful nutrients they contain into my diet. I'm relatively new to the world of juicing, but please follow along on my journey where I'll share what I learn and love about juicing.