Bottoms up!

Hey guys! How’s your week going?  Over the past few days, I’ve gotten hooked into juicing.  I know I know, one day cookies and the next juices- clearly I’m treading on opposite ends of the spectrum ;).  I’m pretty sure the warmer temperatures of late prompted me to dust off our extremely outdated juicer…it’s probably older than I am!  My go-to “cocktail” when I juiced daily a few years ago was beet, spinach, celery and carrot.  I’m still experimenting with different combinations but so far ABC (apple, beet & carrot) on the rocks remains a favourite:

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Although I think I’m doing pretty decent in consuming a variety of fruits & veggies daily, I figure the extra boost can’t hurt. I know juices in general get a bad rap given their lack of fiber but I think it’s a plus point: I’m not sure my stomach could handle any more fiber from produce (sorry for TMI). If anything, the lack of fiber makes fresh juices an efficient way for the body to absorb various health-promoting phytonutrients, vitamins & minerals. Maybe it’s the placebo effect but I definitely feel more reinvigorated after a glass.  Curiosity got the best of me and I was amazed by some of the other benefits in juicing, particularly beet juice:

  • Reduces the risk of various health issues (e.g. cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease): along with curbing inflammation, beet juice may fight free radicals (Source)
  • Acts as a blood purifier & builder, as well as naturally detoxifies the liver (Source).  By cleansing toxins from the body, drinking beet juice also imparts a healthy glow to the face.

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  • Tackles iron deficiencies, even more so than spinach (Source).  Juicing beetroot with vitamin C-filled produce (e.g. strawberries, broccoli, kiwi, red bell peppers) will help increase iron absorption.
  • Promotes hormonal balance:  Betaine in beets is a methylator & methylators remove excess estrogen out of the body.  Without methylators, excess estrogen leads to liver toxicity (Source).

Talk about potent hydration! From what I gather, the only side effect is red pee.  Especially as I am heading to London this weekend, I want to make sure I leave fully recharged.   Some people pop a multivitamin, others drink their vitamins…right now I fall into the latter category.

What’s your favorite juice flavor/combination?

42 thoughts on “Bottoms up!”

  1. I had no idea beets helped in hormonal balance – thanks Khushboo -cos of you lady, I learnt something new today.
    I haven’t jumped on the juicing bandwagon yet – but if I did, it would have to involve pineapple in some way (maybe with beets) – I dont remember a smoothie I’ve made recently that didn’t have a chunk in it.

  2. Red pee 😀 ? I never juiced beets, so I didn’t experience that. But juicing is definitely an amazing way to get some more nutrients in. I love mean green juices made of spinach, cucumber, celeriac, apple and lemon. My aunt and I made liters of green juices this weekend and enjoyed them before breakfast. Only con: someone has to clean the juicer afterwards.

  3. Great information! I actually recently got my mum a juicer because shes hit the awesome menopause stage, and I’ve been making her juice carrots, beets and apples several times a week! I might need to start incorporating more juice too as I reckon I get enough fiber elsewhere 😉

    I love pineapple + baby coconut juice- so good!

  4. My parents have a juicer that I’m pretty sure is older than I am as well. They have a fancy newer one too, but for some reason they always grab the classic one first. If it ain’t broke… 😉

    That being said, I remember drinking a loooooot of carrot juice in my younger years, and I have to agree that juices are extremely refreshing and energizing. I haven’t juiced in a while, but carrot and celery was always my favourite. I’ve been meaning to try juicing greens, but I don’t think my juicer can handle it.

    1. I feel you on the expense! I’m heading to London next week and without a juicer at home, this new habit will have to take a break!

  5. I didn’t know that about beets – interesting! I always love adding them to juices.
    Green juice is kind of one of my favourite things lately – it seriously gives me an extra pep in my step.
    I love the simply juices with kale, apple, spinach, ginger, carrots, and some cucumber.

  6. i didnt realize all the health benefits of beets! especially the hormonal balancing benefits. thats great. funny story about red pee- a good friend of mine called me up one day with her voice shaking and was like “omg i just peed and it was all red… am i dying? i think im dying.” i was like “did you eat beets recently” she was like “no! thats why its scary!” i was like “you eat beets all the time, are you SURE you havent had any?” she was like “no- i- ohhhh i had some this morning. never mind!” 🙂

    1. OMG I could’ve written this comment myself- this sounds just like my bestie…it’s one story I’ll never let her live down! She was FREAKING out at the sight of her pee ;)!

  7. Confession: I’m afraid to try juicing. I think it’s because I’ve tried a couple of veggie juices on their own (carrot juice, beet juice, tomato juice) and haven’t been a fan of them at all…maybe one day I’ll convince myself to give it a shot :-p

  8. I love a fresh juice every now and then! I don’t own a juicer but honestly, I’m cool with that because I feel like they’re a pain to clean? 🙂 Haha. There’s a juice bar pretty close by owned by two health coaches and I LOVE going there for juices. Needless to say they’re getting to know me pretty well. It’s nice to find fellow health enthusiasts around your city. 🙂

  9. even though juicing gets a bad rep – I absolutely love it. IMHO, as long as we are not solely living on juice and not eating whole foods – that may be detrimental but supplementing juice once a day or something probably wont hurt. ABC is also one of my reasons but didnt know beets had so many other benefits. I also like cucumber+parsley+green apple with lemon.

  10. When I was volunteering at the Garden of Hope for my thesis, I had access to fresh beets alllllll the time. It was fab…I made SO many yummy juice. The apple, carrot and beet combo is always a fave, especially with a knob of ginger and a handful of spinach. I was on a huge juicing kick but then I got too lazy to clean the juicer and too frugal to spend so much on produce. Kudos to you for keeping it up!

  11. I’ve tried cucumber, parsley, kale, with a bunch of other stuff, it was a green juice I bought. It was pretty good, but I definitely prefer fruit smoothies. 🙂
    OMG… London! How exciting. Hey, now I’m jealous!
    Lol!

    1. I’m yet to try mixing in herbs to my juices- I’m not sure I can handle it! On a separate note, I’m headed to a Greek restaurant tomorrow- thought of you :)!

  12. Oh wow!! I had no idea about the hormonal support! That’s awesome! All the more reason to love beet juice! I’m so ashamed that I’ve let my juicer get dusty…I think I only made ONE glass all summer! I swear just about every glass I make is different but my go-to combo is carrot (something) and lemon…I usually go with apple, but I also love peach and pear too!

    1. Ooh I will have to try adding lemon next time- I can imagine the end result being so much more refreshing! 😀

  13. I love juicing with beets. It’s pretty much the only way I actually like beets and since I use my blender as opposed to an actual juicer, I still get the fiber. My stomach can take fiber like a champ. Go figure, although you do need to be aware of the red output. It can be a little freaky the first time around.

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