Why Green Juices?

What’s so grand about drinking this stuff?  To begin with, the health benefits really start adding up.  Green juices have many of the essential vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and pro- and prebiotics our bodies need to function properly.  Green juices also contain vast varieties of herbs, algae, and adaptogens that support the body’s functions including hormone balance, stress reduction, and immune response.

Drinking quality green juices that are meticulously formulated, conveniently packaged, and held to the highest nutritional standards, you receive a flood of health benefits in a stress-free manner.  All this makes green juices the easy-peasy way to boost your health.

Can’t I just eat that stuff?

Yes, you can definitely eat whole foods to gain the nutrition you need.  Just understand, that to receive all the nutritional benefits green juices provide, you had better be prepared to put in A LOT of effort.  First, research and purchase all the foods your body needs, but make sure to purchase only quality foods (organic, fresh, well sourced, etc.).  Then prepare it all properly, or if you mess that up, well, all that quality food you just spent your cash on isn’t doing your body much good.  You will also need to research and purchase supplements to complement your diet to make sure you are getting the cortisol reducing, mind and immune system boosting, and digestive support you need.

Phew, I’m just worn out thinking about it!

Instead of all that you could just add green juices to your diet to COMPLETE and ENHANCE your nutrition while providing TIME and COST SAVINGS. The choice seems simple right?   

Green juices just get you…

What’s more, is that green juices have a great taste that’s earthy, mixed with just the right amount of sweet.  It’s a really nice combo conveniently put together.  There’s no stress for you to combine (and afford) this fruit, that vegetable, those herbs, with that supplement in hopes of getting the right health components and flavors together in one drink.  Green juices allow you to follow directions, mix it up, and take in up to 12 servings of fruits and vegetables just like that.  So much taste and convenience in one drink!

Oh the many Benefits!

Taste, convenience, and saving money not enough for you?  Well then let’s talk health.

Hormone Balance: Having hormones in balance is critical for our well-being.  Feeding your body the nutrients it needs will allow it to carry on daily processes, keep stress in check, sleep better, keep the liver and thyroid functioning properly, and boost up that libido! Allowing for all this lets your hormones come into balance, which allows your body to come into balance, which allows your hormones to come into balance, which…you get it.  It’s a cycle.  Being healthy makes you healthy.  And that should make you happy!      

Mental Clarity: Our minds are hit with a lot each day.  With the daily dings of stress from work, kids, crazy drivers, etc. our minds take a beating.  Then if you’re physically active, your body is asking your mind to take a neural hit as the muscles build, learn, and adapt.  Our minds need all the support they can get to boost our brainpower and find focus.    

Gut Health and Improved Digestion: Our guts contain millions of bacteria.  We are more bacterial than we are human!  Therefore, the health of our gut biome has a HUGE impact on our overall health and it’s important we feed the gut right.  Offering the gut fiber and pro- and prebiotics ensures that the gut biome is getting the nutrition it needs.  Plus with the added enzymes and herbs found in green juices, your digestive system gets what it needs to operate smoothly.  Smooth operation equals proper absorption and synthesis of nutrients, and reduction in constipation, diarrhea, IBS, etc.    

Immunity: Pick any season of the year and there is always some type of sickness going around.  Giving your body the immune boosting vitamins and minerals (like Vitamin C and Zinc) that it may be deficient in, can keep you from getting a dose of what everyone else is passing around.   

Detoxification: Let’s face it, our bodies take in a whole lot of yuck, whether we want them to or not.  With the fragrances and cleaning products we breathe in everywhere we go, the heavy metals we may be ingesting, and the occasional drink (or two) we partake in, our bodies have to filter out a lot, especially our ever so hardworking and extremely crucial liver.  Providing it with a means of detoxification and support allows our bodies to be at the top of its game.  

Body pH Balance: When you have your body’s pH in balance, meaning it’s in an alkaline state, this reduces chronic illnesses and disease.  Proper balance wards off fatigue, cancer, upsets in skin and digestion, and unhealthy weight gain.

The above list gives you a glimpse of the health benefits green juices provide, but its ingredients also simply provide you with the essential vitamins and minerals you need for overall health.  It’s difficult to separate out the benefits because they work with your body as a system, keeping one and all parts functioning at their best.   So when you reap one benefit, your reap them all, and overall health is supported.

So what’s in this stuff?

I would just like to answer that question with one word “AWESOMENESS!”.  However, I don’t think the FDA allows you to put that on food label ingredient lists.  Perhaps they should…anyone feel like contacting the FDA?  The fabulous (that word should be in the FDA’s ingredient arsenal too) ingredients in green juices that give you amazing health benefits are listed below.  This isn’t a comprehensive list, just an idea of some of the top ingredients you will find in the juices.   

Chlorella: A freshwater blue-green algae high in protein (1 oz. = 16 grams!), healthy PUFAs, beta-carotene (vitamin A), potassium, phosphorous, iron, zinc, magnesium and B-complex vitamins.  This little powerhouse helps detoxify the body (as does Milk Thistle – which green juices contain too!), alkalize the body, prevent cancer, boost the immune system, lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol, and rejuvenate skin.

Spirulina: Being Chlorella’s cousin and also a freshwater blue-green algae, this superfood contains many of the same vitamins and minerals that Chlorella does and therefore has many of the same beneficial properties.  However, put those 2 together and you boost the benefits!  I love synergism!

Moringa: This plant is full of antioxidants, offers protein, and helps detoxify the body, drops blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and aids in getting a good night’s sleep.

Turmeric and Ginger: Spicy little guys that they are, not only create fabulous flavor, they also aid in digestion, reduce inflammation, and make a heck of a coconut cream pie…oh wait that was Mary Ann.  But I bet if she had made Gilligan a pie with these spices they’d gotten off that island, because both ginger and turmeric help improve cognition and mental mood.     

Beets: These veggies not only provide vitamin C, iron, magnesium, folate, potassium, and manganese, they also contain nitrates, which eventually convert to nitric oxide in our blood.  Nitric oxide is important because it can lower blood pressure, improve athletic performance, and reduce untimely clotting.

Wheatgrass: aka Liquid Sunshine!  With its restorative doses of chlorophyll, antioxidants, enzymes, and phytonutrients, wheatgrass is a powerful immune booster and works to detoxify and balance the body.

Probiotics and Prebiotics: They feed the beneficial gut bacteria and keep the not-so-beneficial bacteria from overpopulating.  All this keeps our gut health in tiptop shape.

Rhodiola, Ashwagandha, and Ginseng:  Natural adaptogens that help balance our hormones, keep cortisol in check, and helps us respond to stress.

NO Sugar: Sometimes what’s left out is just as important as what’s been added in.

As with anything you put into your body be aware of the quality.  Don’t consume cheap, synthetic, hormone and pesticide laden food products, and that goes for green juices too.  To make your green juices even greener, make sure they contain organically grown and environmentally sustainable ingredients.  Green shouldn’t stop with the color of your drink.    

What are the Mental Keepers?

With your newly found, green juice inspired brainpower, these are the ideas to tuck away in the vault:  

• Green juice provides a GREAT way to get the nutrition your body and mind NEED.
• Green juices save time and money.  Convenience and cash…Nice!
• Green juice ingredients are health ROCKSTARS!   
• Quality in, equals quality out.  Buy quality juice!
• FDA should have new labeling to include ingredients like awesomeness and fabulous.  (just kidding…you don’t have to remember this one).

Ok, so those are the highlights.  Now, get out there, be green in every sense of the word, and conquer the world!

Go green, and drink your way to vitality!

References:

AthelticGreen. 2017. AthleticGreens.com. Whole Food Ingredients that Replace Your Other Supplements. https://athleticgreens.com/pages/whole-food-nutrition-ingredients

Cox, L. November 21, 2014. Live Science. Spirulina: Nutrition Facts & Health Benefits. http://www.livescience.com/48853-spirulina-supplement-facts.html

Dr. Axe. Dr. Axe. Food is Medicine. 7 Proven Chlorella Benefits (#2 is Best). https://draxe.com/7-proven-chlorella-benefits-side-effects/

Dr. Axe. Dr. Axe. Food is Medicine. Spirulina Benefits: 10 Proven Reasons to Use This Superfood. https://draxe.com/spirulina-benefits/

Drew Canole. 2017. FITLIFETV. Organifi Green Juice. http://www.organifi.com/2-classic-cb/?hop=ogjaff10

Flynn, K. August 16, 2013. LIVESTRONG.com. What Are the Benefits of Alkaline in the Body? http://www.livestrong.com/article/444199-what-are-the-benefits-of-alkaline-in-the-body/

Hippocratesinst.org. 2017. Hippocrates Health Institute. Benefits of Wheatgrass. http://hippocratesinst.org/benefits-of-wheatgrass-2

WebMD.com. 2017. WebMD. Find a Vitamin or Supplement. CHLORELLA. http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-907-chlorella.aspx?activeingredientid=907&activeingredientname=chlorella