In our current pace of society, it is not always easy to slow down and attend to our health. Recently I saw someone post the message that when we do not make time for our health, our body will make time for illness. Truth be told, it seems a lot of us believe that to be healthy we must do innumerable, often increasingly difficult things and in consequence we end up doing nothing. However, being healthy is about steps; it is about taking moments to listen to our bodies and provide simple, healthful habits one at a time. Even changing one aspect of our lives can snowball into changing many parts of it.
A simple and easy way to provide proper nutrients for our bodies is through juicing. Unfortunately, juicing has become a bit of a craze, focusing on the “proper” (and too expensive) juicer, the right combinations, or which fruit or vegetable to select above others. This can be a bit overwhelming to a novice juicer or to someone who is just looking to supplement their already mainly raw diet.
At our clinic, we like to recommend starting small with citrus juices. Why? Because citrus juicers are inexpensive (Amazon.com has them for less than $20), combining of various citrus fruits is a no-brainer, and the immense benefits both felt and seen from drinking fresh citrus juice is even promoted by authorities outside of the natural health world. Moreover, perhaps the best benefit is that for little effort, you can receive a lot of benefit.
We are often told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day—however, this made more sense when our ancestors worked on farms or labored all day and needed that extra boost of resources to complete such taxing work. Most of us no longer need to be up with the roosters and no longer work manual, laborious jobs. (That is not to say that we do not encounter great amounts of stress in our work or in our lives—in fact, according to the American Psychological Association, mental health disorders have significantly increased in young individuals in just the last decade due to shifts towards a more digital, and less social, world—but, rather that our physical bodies do not require as much nutrients to start our day.) We prefer to recommend that we each listen to our bodies and only begin eating when we actually feel hungry. In the meantime, though, a great way to start the day is through drinking a glass of fresh citrus juice.
Drinking fresh citrus juice is certainly not the same as drinking bottled juice. Bottled juices are often filled with unneeded additives or sugars, and worst of all, are pasteurized through a heating process, often reducing the immensely beneficial enzymes that are derived from citrus fruits. You will find that many argue that enzymes are not an issue relative to health. The truth is without enzymes, the body does not function. A cell can receive all the protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals and even vitamins, but without enzymes, the ‘chemistry’ of life does not happen.
Fresh citrus juice is chock-full of Vitamin C and antioxidants, in addition to various vitamins and minerals, including B vitamins, phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium. Vitamin C and the antioxidants are considered to be at the top of the list for bringing great benefits to your body. The reason behind this is twofold: one, our immune system is greatly enhanced and buffered by Vitamin C, and two, antioxidants are believed to protect against damaging free radicals in the body that may contribute to cancers and other chronic diseases. Vitamin C has also been shown to protect our largest organ (the skin) by keeping it smooth and elastic (in fact, you will often find Vitamin C in age-defying face creams). It should be noted, too, that by drinking fresh citrus juice (instead of, perhaps, just taking a supplement) you are providing more water for your body—another needed resource that is greatly underrated. The joints are also a big fan of Vitamin-C. A classic symptom of low Vitamin-C is getting up out of a chair after sitting for a spell and finding that for the first few steps the joints are stiff, and then they loosen up.
Citrus juicing can be easily completed when you start your day, often taking under 10 minutes to make a significant difference in how you function and feel. So, if you are looking for an easy step to making your health (and yourself!) a priority, why not start small and simple and begin with just one glass of fresh citrus juice each day?