Today we talk with Danielle Romero from Jugos para el Alma, through Facebook Live in Rosa es Rojo. Couldn't you connect? Enter HERE to hear the good news about juicing that Danielle has shared with us. You want to start this survival habit as soon as possible!
Here are the highlights of our talk, including some of Dany's favorite juice recipes.
Thanks for joining us!
1. What role do fruits and vegetables play in our health? What main nutrients do I get from them? If I find it difficult to eat the recommended daily servings for me, are juices a good alternative?
Answer: Imagine, fruits and vegetables provide us with all the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, and fibers that our body needs to stay healthy. Fruits are more than 90% water, therefore they support the body's natural detoxification process and keep us hydrated. Green leafy vegetables are rich in chlorophyll, a powerful detoxifier, and helps oxygenation of the blood, as well as being a powerful alkalizer. Both fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C to strengthen the immune system and also rich in antioxidants to deal with the effect of free radicals in the body. They are also rich in fiber, essential for our colon to fulfill its cleansing and detoxification functions. They all have anti-cancer properties.
The World Health Organization recommends consuming at least 400grs of fruits and vegetables daily for optimal health, that's approx. 5 to 7 servings. The problem is that nowadays neither adults nor children comply with these recommendations, that is why juices and green smoothies are an excellent option.
2. What is your story and testimony on the subject of juices?
Answer: It all started on any given day when I came across the documentary "The beautiful truth", based on the story of the German doctor Max Gerson and his therapy for the treatment of chronic diseases through mainly vegetable juices, combined with an alkaline diet. At that time, my first son, who was 2 and a half years old, suffered from some respiratory diseases since he was 5 months old. Grade III gastric reflux, sinusitis, bronchitis, pre-asthma, allergic rhinitis, constipation, moderate food allergy to cow's milk protein, and we avoided soy, corn, wheat, peanuts, and eggs. We had been through various antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, steroids, and antibiotics throughout that time, and the nebulizer was a part of our lives. As a result of the abuse of medications, which caused damage to his intestinal flora, he was also a low-weight child with a very weak immune system.
Fortunately, we found an excellent pulmonologist who helped us with her recovery, and she was the first to think about treating the underlying problem and not just the symptoms as we had been doing. She was the first to propose a strict diet to prevent our son from falling into another allergic condition. Despite the good results, we were sure that he would suffer from some of these problems for the rest of his life and would have to live on regular medication.
When I saw the documentary, I practically became obsessed with the subject of food. And when I say I was obsessed, it is because I saw all the documentaries available on Netflix and I read many books on the subject. So, being an assiduous reader, self-taught, a faithful researcher, and a devoted mother, I quit my job and spent a whole year looking for a way to help my son. He also had another reason, a girl on the way. What I thought the most about was precisely how to make my son, who had lived with severe gastric reflux for more than two years, eat more vegetables, greens, and fruits and the idea of juicing them seemed perfect to me. My husband had bought a Breville brand centrifugal extractor, we hadn't even taken it out of its box for a year, and that's where this story began. Today it is 4 years since we changed our lifestyle, and my children are completely healthy children.
3. What is the difference between a juice and a smoothie? Is one better than the other, or do they have different/complementary purposes?
Answer: it is basically the fiber. The juices are primarily vegetable juices, and fruit can be included to enhance its bitter taste. They are preferably made in an extractor, the extractor separates the fiber from the juice automatically, allowing to extract of only the vital liquid from the vegetables and fruit. The base is a vegetable that is rich in water such as cucumber, celery and/or chayote. They are a supplement to food, they work as a multivitamin. They essentially provide micronutrients: vitamins, minerals. They are taken on an empty stomach and at least 20 min before the next meal, the time it takes for the body to absorb all the nutrients because it does not take much digestion process.
The smoothies, on the other hand, are made from vegetables and can include more fruit, because by containing the fiber of these they avoid having spikes in blood glucose. They are made in a blender and the base is water, coconut water, or some vegetable milk of preference. Yes, they can be a more complete food and can replace a breakfast or dinner. They also provide macronutrients such as protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates if the ingredients are combined correctly. They allow us to feel satisfied for longer.
4. Do you always need to follow a recipe to make juice?
Answer: I've always said that anyone can become an expert in juices and smoothies. The difficult thing is not having to follow a recipe, it is to make the habit and organize yourself to include it in the routine. In the beginning, you follow recipes so that they taste good, and learn to rotate the ingredients, mainly those with green leaves that contain some antinutrients such as oxalic acid that, if consumed for a long time, can prevent the correct absorption of minerals such as calcium. With that in mind, you can get creative and make your own delicious juice recipes for your whole family. There is no way that they will look bad because having a glass of spinach with celery, cucumber, and lemon is a healthy injection for your body.
5. Is it necessary to have a juicer for juicing? Can I use my blender in some cases?
Answer: The answer being strict is, yes. A cold-pressed extractor would be ideal, as it allows preserving the quality of the nutrients in vegetables and fruits, and especially in enzymes that are very sensitive to heat. According to Dr. Hiromi Shinya, author of the book "The Prodigious Enzyme," an enzyme is a catalyst protein that is formed within living things. Wherever there is life, there are enzymes, they are indispensable for life. They are responsible for activating the chemical reactions that occur within our body. They support the functions of detoxification, digestion, absorption, replacement of old cells with new ones and the decomposition of toxins They are very sensitive to heat and begin to destroy themselves at 48 degrees, conventional blenders go to more than 10,000 RPM general heat and decomposing enzymes.
However, as I always recommend, if you don't have a juicer, start with a blender, run the juice through a strainer or sky blanket, and drink it right away!
6. What is a practical and simple guide when it comes to juicing?
Answer: I can share it with you in an infographic! "How to prepare a juice for the soul?". Here I share the practical guide:
The base for juices. The basics. The cucumber, celery, and chayote should not be missing.
Green vegetables. The most important. Spinach, kale or kale, arugula, watercress, chard, Brussels sprouts, dandelions.
Herbs: Potentialize. Parsley, coriander, basil, mint, peppermint, among others.
Necessary to improve the flavor. They help a lot if you have children at home. I recommend buying green apples, red apples, pears, oranges or tangerines, and pineapple.
Other vegetables. To ensure a variety of nutrients: carrots, beets, red cabbage, nopal.
Superfoods. Optional: ginger, turmeric, spirulina, moringa, pollen, chia, flaxseed.
7. Can you share 3 juice recipes that you like the most and their main purpose?
Answer: Sure! With pleasure.
Recipe against anemia
Half beets or large peeled beets. Beets are high in vitamin C, folate, fiber, and essential minerals like potassium and manganese. Half a cucumber, preferably peeled if not organic. Remember that cucumber is one of the vegetables that have the highest load of pesticides, so it is better without the peel. The leaves of a beet. They provide a large number of antioxidants, proteins, phosphorus, and zinc. They are rich in vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, copper, and manganese. Five kale leaves. They contain vitamin C and have more iron than spinach!
Super green - To strengthen the immune system
Cup of spinach, chard, or kale, whatever green you have at home. Half cucumber, preferably without peel if not organic. The cucumber in its composition is 95% water that helps us to hydrate ourselves. Four sticks of celery. Celery is a diuretic and a remineralize. About 2 cm of fresh ginger or a teaspoon of powder. It has antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidant, antiparasitic, and anti-inflammatory properties. A clove of garlic A powerful natural antibiotic! Reduces inflammation and increases immune function. Juice of a lemon and a tablespoon of moringa powder, very rich in vitamin C.
Cruciferous juice - For cancer
Five kale or kale leaves. A cucumber, if not organic, preferably peeled. The tem of a broccoli. An Apple. Two 2cms of fresh ginger, or a teaspoon of powder. A handful of parsley contains apigenin, a naturally occurring flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. If you want to enhance its antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antiparasitic properties, add garlic.