LIFESTYLE NEWS - We all know that eating more fruit and vegetables is good for us.

Fruit and vegetables not only supply essential macro and micro nutrients but also contain special plant chemicals called phytonutrients.

According to Juicedco, suppliers of fresh juices, phytchemicals protect the body because they act as antioxidants and help the body mop up cell-damaging free radicals that come from toxins from smoking, bad diet, stress, pollution and medications. Phytochemical nutrients can help prevent heart disease, certain cancers, and other diseases attributable to aging and lifestyle.

For optimum health, it is recommended that we consume at least 5 and up to 11 servings of fruit and vegetables per day (a serving being 1 medium fruit, one cup of raw vegetables, half a cup of cooked vegetables or half a cup of fruit or vegetable juice). Juicing is a great way to help us meet our requirements and boost our health in amazing ways.

It is not recommended that we get all our phytonutrients from juice, because whole fruit and vegetables have the additional benefit of bring rich in fibre. When we juice foods, we take the fibre out of the food, which means the nutrients are retained in a more concentrated form. So although we need the whole food too, we can never get the phytochemical levels that we can from juicing it.

Some benefits of juicing remain:

Juicing is a good way to get lots of nutrition in a small amount of food. Juices are very concentrated in terms of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients and at the same time they lack the bulk from the fibre. This means we can take in more nutrition without getting full.

Juicing is easy on digestion. The nutrients in juice are pre-digested because they have been broken down through the juicing process. Foods that have just been juiced also contain more enzymes, which help digest the nutrients quickly and efficiently.

Jammin Cabbage Cleansing Juice

1/8 green cabbage

1/8 red cabbage

2 stalks celery (including green leaves if available)

½ beet

1 green apple

1 carrot

1 peeled lemon

1 inch ginger

Process all ingredients through your juicer. Serves 2.

Source: www.juicedco.co.za

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