Juicing For Health

Have you ever tried to eat half dozen raw carrots, three apples, two pears and a clove of garlic all in one sitting? Of course you haven't, who would want to? Even if you loved carrots, apples, pears and garlic, it's highly unlikely that you would want to try to consume all that at one go. However, when making fresh juices you can consume all of those and more at one time. By extracting the juice from a fruit or vegetable, you are taking in the valuable nutrients without all the work of having your body break down the fibers. For those of us who don't enjoy eating fruit or vegetables, juicing can help us to have a more complete diet. By taking the fresh juice from produce you are drinking the raw nutrients and not losing anything to pasteurization or the time the product had been sitting on the shelf in the store.

To start with, you will need a good juice machine. The ones you see in the health food juice bars are massive and the bars need those to handle the large amounts of produce they juice on a daily basis. You will not need something quite that industrial. Prices range anywhere from $100 to $1,000, you can find one that suits your budget. Try not to get a cheap one you will regret it. A low-end juicer won't have enough power and will get clogged easily and you will end up frustrated with it. Get good quality; a juicer in the $150 to $200 range is usually sufficient. When the Juiceman juicer first came out this was a good, solid machine, capable of handling daily use, and since the late 80's they have no doubt improved.

Preparing your produce for juicing is probably the most time consuming part of the whole process. Fill your sink with cold water, squeeze half a lemon into the water and add some salt (a couple of tablespoons). Let your produce soak for about ten minutes. There are also some products in the health food stores designed specifically for washing produce should you decide to try that. One way of dealing with removing the wax from fruits like apples, one source suggests that you dip the fruit or vegetable into boiling water for approximately five seconds. While organic produce is expensive, you might want to get your apples from a natural market where they do not wax produce such as apples or cucumbers.

Coming up with new combinations of juices can be fun. You want to choose produce that has high water content to begin with. Produce such as apples, oranges, carrots, celery, cucumbers and pears are a few of the popular choices. You can juice melons, but they tend to be mushy and clog the filter and you have to make sure that you cut the rinds off. Garlic and fresh ginger also work well, but treat them as you would when using them as spices in cooking. Use garlic and ginger sparingly, they have great nutritional value, but they can easily overpower the flavor of your juice. There is also what is called "green" juice made from such produce as kale or wheat grass. These green juices have a very strong flavor and you don't need to make them in large servings.

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Through the example of four very different cultures that have the distinction of producing some of the world's healthiest, oldest people, Robbins reveals the secrets for living an extended and fulfilling life in which our later years become a period of wisdom, vitality, and happiness. Bringing the traditions of these cultures together with the latest breakthroughs in medical science, Robbins reveals that, remarkably, they both point in the same direction.

Traditional Healing in Modern Medicine

You've heard that it's takes a village to raise a child, but Dr. Mehl-Madrona believes that it often takes a community to heal someone who is ill. The indigenous ways have much to teach us. In his books and this interview he tells us stories that he's told to his patients to help in their healing process. These stories give us universal wisdom and strength.

• Discover how to use the community to help your friends and family heal
• See how to integrate contemporary medicine with traditional healing
• Learn the traditional meaning of the Four Directions
• See how you can use stories to enhance the healing process
• Discover the hidden meaning of the Native American Medicine Wheel
• Be Inspired to live in harmony with the seasons and nature
• Learn about the real meaning of “success” in healing
• Explore how to use our ancestors’ spirits in healing and story
• Find out what the benefits of ceremony can be in your life
• Learn to create your own ceremonies for daily living
• See how the Ravens Beak story relates to modern health issues

Lewis Mehl-Madrona holds an M.D. from Stanford University and has been a practicing doctor for over 20 years. An experienced healer who has led many Native American healing ceremonies, Dr. Mehl-Madrona has also headed traditional medical clinics, helping AIDS and cancer patients as well as researching the benefits of relaxation techniques to aid in the natural correction of breech positioned babies. He is currently an Associate Professor of Family Practice at the University Of Hawaii School Of Medicine. He has been studying and working in the field of Native American and indigenous healing for many years.