Juice can actually be considered a natural water source and provides the body with protein, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that can be absorbed quickly and efficiently. Fresh juice also contains necessary enzymes, and pigments such as carotenes, chlorophyll, and flavonoids.
Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables provides numerous nutritional advantages that are extremely important to a healthy lifestyle and weight loss. In addition, diets containing a high percentage of uncooked foods are significantly associated with weight loss, improved blood sugar control and lower blood pressure.
Your appetite finds a raw foods diet more filling. Cooking can actually cause the loss of up to 97% of water-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Since uncooked foods such as juices contain more vitamins and other nutrients, they are more satisfying to the body, so it does not feel starved for nutrients. This means the metabolism will keep running efficiently and keep your weight loss efforts headed in the right direction
Juicing kick-starts your body's digestive process and enables quick absorption of high-quality nutrition, which can result in increased energy. This is one of the great advantages of achieving weight loss through improved nutrition. Fresh juices, combined with a well-balanced diet will provide you with the energy needed to burn more calories, fat, and provide you with the fuel you need for physical activity.
However, juicing does remove the fiber from these nutrient-dense foods. So be sure to include an appropriate amount of fiber-rich foods in your daily diet. Juicing should be a complement to a well-balanced healthy diet, not a substitute.
So with a little planning and creativity, juicing could enhance your well-balanced diet and add some zest. In addition to enjoying freshly squeezed juice, consider adding some fruit juice concentrates to your diet. Juice concentrates not only offer convenience but also provide vital ORAC units to the body. ORAC is defined at Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. It measures how many free radicals a food can neutralize per serving. Nutritionists recommend a person should consume 3,000 to 5,000 ORAC units per day to combat the negative effects of free radicals. For example, just one ounce of Fruit Advantage tart cherry juice concentrate delivers over 4,000 ORAC units per serving. So a single glass of reconstituted cherry juice concentrate provides enough ORAC units to be well within the range of the daily recommended ORAC intake amounts.
Mr. LaPointe is Director of Health and Fruit Education at Traverse Bay Farms. He is the author of several books including The Superfruit Handbook, Blueberry Health Report and How to Get a More Restful Night's Sleep Naturally. He has been a guest on numerous radio shows across the nation discussing the natural health benefits of superfoods and superfruits. You can contact Mr. LaPointe from www.TraverseBayFarms.com
Additional Resources covering Superfoods can be found at:
Website Directory for Superfoods
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Andy LaPointe, the Official Guide To Superfoods