Consumers Site Nutrition as Greatest Health Concern

And why not? The single most important variable in your life is what you consume! More important than exercise. More important than education. Unless your body is functioning right you will always be at a disadvantage as it relates to reaching your full potential. The fuel you put into your body dictates how your body "runs".

A recent study by the Nutrients for Life Foundation below shows that people are realizing this important truth and seeing it as the priority that it is!

Four in five consumers are more concerned about health, nutrition, and fitness than they were a year ago, but nutrition has beat out fitness as consumers' top priority, according to a new survey of approximately 3,000 consumers by Phil Lempert, nationally renowned food industry expert and trend spotter.

"Shoppers care more than ever about the kinds of foods they buy and a growing number of consumers especially want to know where their foods came from and how they were raised or grown," said Lempert, who reports on consumer trends, food safety, and new products for NBC's Today Show. The survey, which evaluated consumers' attitudes toward selecting foods, stated 95 percent of consumers are concerned about nutrition. As a result, Lempert suggests there is a growing trend toward fresh, minimally processed foods, which points toward greater interest in fruits and vegetables."Fresh fruits and vegetables offer the good nutrient sources consumers are looking for," Lempert said. "However, we have also seen a few reports recently that produce doesn't have the same level of nutrition that it did 40 or 50 years ago.

The consumers surveyed easily recognized soil nutrients as the leading way to improve the nutrient content of foods."According to the survey 84 percent of consumers recognize that the nutrient content of produce can vary based on production practices. Additionally, 70 percent noted soil nutrients as their preferred method for improving nutrient content. Growing plants draw their nutrition from the soil. To ensure the healthiest, most nutrient dense produce, it is important that soils are replenished with key nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These are naturally occurring elements that come from either organic or commercial sources. Plants need to be "fed" just like people.

Healthy soil produces healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables. Interestingly, 55 percent of consumers said organic foods contained the best nutrient levels. However, conventional fruits and vegetables actually offer the same and sometimes enhanced nutrient profiles because it's easier to balance soil nutrition in conventional crops. Lempert said Americans are hungry for health and food information and predicts our food obsession will continue to grow. In addition to nutrition and health, Lempert suggests convenience, technology and value will be key consumer drivers in 2007.

Pure water, lean protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy lipids provide the body with the energy, building blocks, recuperative and restorative properties our bodies and minds need to function at peak performance!

Grace and Peace,

Ed

http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html

Organic Farming in Small Spaces

Here are some paragraphs from two articles I found called "Micro-greens: Farming on your windowsill." On Sunday, April 13, 2008, By CRAIG ROTHSTEIN, Columbia News Service and "Micro greens and sprouts can be grown in just days on the windowsill."
Columbia News Service / Steve Meyerowitz.

NEW YORK A farmer gazes out upon a lush field of greens. The arugula, amaranth and basil, which were neatly sown days earlier, are ready for harvest. So the farmer readies a trusted harvesting tool: a pair of scissors. Farming, once the domain of tractors and sprawling acreage, has come to the kitchen windowsill in the form of micro-greens and sprouts, homegrown versions of the exotic greens found in trendier restaurants.

In recent years, micro-greens have become a darling of haute cuisine. The infant shoots of lettuces, radishes and other vegetables are luxuries fine chefs everywhere have sought to add to their dishes. Now seed and garden companies are jumping on the trend, creating kits for the home.

“They’re fun. They’re pretty. We’re very much into creative cooking,” said Mary-Anne Durkee, a food writer who grows micro-greens in her Alamo, Calif., home. Tracy Lee, the horticulture manager for Cook’s Garden, an online garden supply company, says she isn’t aware of any companies selling micro-greens supplies before 2 1/2 years ago. Cook’s Garden keeps an eye on restaurant trends and in recent years saw micro-greens adorning plates everywhere. So Lee devised a collection of seeds of edible plants such as peas, Bull’s Blood beets and spinach, for the home chef to use.

“We had enormous success,” said Lee, of the initial product. While micro-greens are a new trend, kitchen farming itself isn’t exactly new, said Steve “Sproutman” Meyerowitz, author of Sproutman’s Kitchen Garden Cookbook. Sprout farming, which is essentially the same as growing micro-greens but harvesting the plants earlier, became popular in the 1960s.
(The difference between sprouts and micro-greens is small. Sprouts grow with just a rinsing of water, and micro-greens, which are slightly more mature, must be planted.)

Easy to grow and packing a potent nutritional punch, sprouts remain popular. But it was the near collapse of the sprout-growing industry that prompted some sellers to encourage kitchen agriculture. A salmonella outbreak attributed to alfalfa sprouts in the late 1990s hamstrung the industry.

Gil Frishman, who owns Sproutpeople.com with his wife, Lori Tooker, was growing sprouts in Wisconsin when the FDA shut down all of the state’s sprout producers. Frishman says he was the only Wisconsin producer to grow sprouts organically, and the FDA’s solution — to wash seeds in a light bleach mixture — wasn’t acceptable by his standards. He and Tooker moved their business to San Francisco and began selling seeds and sprouting equipment directly to consumers.

Now, Frishman sells mostly to home growers. “There’s more business nowadays, because people just know more about diet,” said Frishman. Consumers are also concerned about where food comes from, he said, and it’s hard to grow food more locally than in the kitchen.

“It’s the only form of agriculture still growing when you’re growing it in your kitchen and bringing it to your dinner table,” Meyerowitz said. There is a peak of nutrition, he said, that comes in the early stages when the plant is growing rapidly.

Customers of sprouts and micro-greens usually fall into three categories, according to Frishman: nutrition foodies, raw food enthusiasts and gardeners. But, said Frishman, they get survivalists too; the idea of a crop that can be grown entirely at home appeals to those who foresee Armageddon on the horizon.

Koppert Cress USA is a Dutch company setting up shop in Lake Success, N.Y., with plans to market “micro-vegetables,” which seem to be just like micro-greens but come from exotic sources such as Shiso Purple and Sakura Cress. The company sells the plants alive and in their growing medium, claiming to use natural cultivation methods. For now, the company focuses sales on restaurants, but the motive is clear: with sprouts and micro-greens enticing foodies and chefs alike, they believe there is room for growth.

Lee, of Cook’s Garden, likened raising micro-greens to “bonsai vegetable gardening,” and her company is planning for more growth. Besides selling micro green supplies to independent garden centers, she says they have also sold to major retailers like Loews, Target and Home Depot. That, she said, is the real sign that micro greens are catching on.

This is a fantastic idea! I have grown produce for my own consumption for 30 years in Brooklyn and on Long Island, NY. From a small patch 3 foot by 18 foot in Brooklyn, to a "square foot garden" consisting of 8 - 4 by 4 foot squares of soil, to 8"pots. Nothing tastes better than when its organically and locally grown and harvested fresh and ripened to perfection! This is easy to do and the rewards are great!

Grace and Peace,

Ed

Http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html

New Healthy Energy Drink is Actually Good for You!

"The Feast SuperCharged – All Natural Coffee,Tea, Caffeinated Energy Drink Alternative"

An all natural energizing formula with the same blend of superior ingredients as The Feast with the addition of 6 Energizing Berries, Seeds & Leaves. Much healthier and more invigorating replacement for coffee, tea and sugar laden sports, energy drinks.

The Feast Super Charged and the Feast are the only products on the market that provide a synergistically complete, nutritionally balanced combination of natures MOST beneficial live whole foods. The Feast Super Charged is a convenient all-in-one live whole food based supplement for today’s active and demanding lifestyles! Feed your body the feast it deserves!

The Feast Super Charged is the one and only live whole food based product on the planet that delivers a full, synergistic spectrum of:

6 Energizing Berries, Seeds & Leaves
30 Antioxidant Rich Fruits & Berries
30 Powerful Greens & Vegetables
11 Nutrient Dense Seeds, Nuts & Sprouts
83+ Active Enzymes & Fulvic Minerals
22 Strains of Resilient Living Probiotics

The Feast Super Charged:
Does not contain isolated, synthetic or inorganic vitamins and minerals.
Dried at temperatures below 100°F. Fresh live whole foods to powder concentrate in seconds.
Non-pasteurized. Preservative free.
More variety, quality and quantity than any other concentrated whole food supplement.
Nutritious and Delicious! Tastes great!
The most powerful, nutrient dense nutritional product on the market today. Every Scoop Provides:
70+ nutrient dense concentrates from fresh, live whole foods.
1000’s of naturally occurring nutritional compounds from concentrated whole foods.

THE FEAST SUPERCHARGED Powder Drink Mix is a supreme blend of nature's most nutrient dense, live whole foods. This carefully selected combination works together synergistically, providing greater nutritional benefits than when consumed individually. The Feast SuperCharged Powder is the most powerful and nutritionally sound powder drink mix product on the market! This whole food powder is far superior and many times more powerful than any liquid fruit or berry product or green drink powder drink mix on the market. Fruits, berries, greens, vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouts are the most nutrient dense foods available.

They provide a variety of nutritional advantages that go far beyond the scope of basic nutrition and have tremendous nutritional benefits throughout the entire human body. Studies have shown that the significant phytonutrient & antioxidant content of these live whole foods has provided profound benefits to people that consume them regularly. These live whole foods each possess particular uniquely effective qualities and contains thousands of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds, amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, fiber & phytonutrients. Because these live whole foods are not consumed on a regular basis, most people are not experiencing the extraordinary benefits they provide. The Feast provides an optimal amount of each of these in synergistic combination.

Most importantly, the majority of the crucial nutrients contained in The Feast Supercharged are still alive and are very bioavailable. These live nutrients are necessary for optimal assimilation. By providing each ingredient in its most natural form, all of the natural plant enzymes and phosolipids necessary for enhanced nutrient absorption are present.

For optimal health, there's nothing better than nutrient-rich, unprocessed, unpreserved whole live foods in their balanced, natural state like those found in The Feast Supercharged Powder. URI understands that in order to provide these remarkable benefits, all of the nutrients, natural balance and life force found in these fresh fruits & berries, vegetables and greens, nuts, seeds, sprouts, minerals, enzymes and living probiotics must be protected.The process used to create The Feast Supercharged, retains the majority of the vital live nutrients of our ingredients in their natural synergistic state.

The Feast Supercharged Powder provides a quality & quantity that will never be matched by a synthetic, processed or preserved liquid supplement. The Feast Supercharged contains 100% pure, natural whole fruit & berry, vegetable and greens, nuts, seeds, sprouts, minerals, enzymes and living probiotics powders and is a true Whole Food based product that provides superb nutrition. URI International refuses to compromise and has spared no expense to combine the perfect combination of quality berries & fruits even though many of them are unique and rare. The Feast Supercharged is a convenient, delicious way to drink your way to higher nutrition levels. URI has raised the bar and produced a perfectly blended, synergistic product that is truly one of a kind, a first in its class-The Feast Supercharged. The Feast SuperCharged is available in Powder, Vegetarian Capsules or convenient Packets. The Feast Supercharged/Beyond Berries is the perfect complement to a good, healthy diet and a lifestyle that includes a beneficial exercise program. The Feast Supercharged/Beyond Berries is recommended for adults and children who need to increase their servings of fruits and vegetables, and want to significantly improve their overall sense of well-being and quality of life.

WARNING:If you are pregnant, nursing, using any prescription drugs, or have a medical condition cunsult a health care professional prior to use. NOT FOR USE BY PERSONS UNDER AGE 18. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN.

Grace and Peace,

Ed
http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html

Beyond Berries Organic Whole Food Supplement

Beyond Berries Powder Drink Mix is a supreme blend of the world's most nutrient rich fruits and berries. This carefully selected and blended combination works together synergistically, providing far greater nutritional benefits collectively than when consumed individually.

Beyond Berries Powder is the most nutritionally sound fruit & berry product on the market. It is far superior and many times more powerful than any other liquid fruit or berry product.

Each Serving of Beyond Berries Powder Provides:
15 Antioxidant Concentrated Rich Fruits & Berries
83+ Active Enzymes and Full Spectrum Fulvic Mineral Blend
22 Strains of Resilient Living Probiotics
1000’s of naturally occurring phytonutrients
Does not contain synthetic, isolated or inorganic vitamins and minerals
Dried at temperatures below 100°F
Preservative free
Non-pasteurized
Typical ORAC Value (Antioxidant Value)*Per Scoop: 4,140 Per 300 Gram Jar: 124,200.*The typical ORAC value may vary slightly from batch to batch due to natural changes in growing and harvesting conditions.

Fruits and berries are among the most nutrient dense foods available. They provide a variety of advantages that go far beyond the scope of basic nutrition and have tremendous benefits throughout the entire human body. Studies have shown that the significant phytonutrient & antioxidant content of these live whole foods has provided profound benefits to people that consume them regularly. These live whole foods each possess particular uniquely effective qualities and contains thousands of naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, antioxidant compounds, amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, fiber & phytonutrients. Because these fruits and berries are not consumed on a regular basis, most people are not experiencing the extraordinary benefits they provide.

Beyond Berries provides an optimal amount of each fruit and berry in synergistic combination. Most importantly, the majority of the crucial nutrients contained in Beyond Berries are still alive and are very bioavailable. These live nutrients are necessary for optimal assimilation, proper uptake of nutrients to the body and to maximize bioavailability & potential effectiveness. By providing each ingredient in its most natural form, all of the natural plant enzymes and phosolipids necessary for enhanced nutrient absorption are present. Who would have thought that foods so juicy & flavorful could keep you looking young, while dramatically improving your health!

BEYOND BERRIES POWDER IS SUPERIOR TO LIQUID! Due to recent scientific studies showing the incredible antioxidant and health components of specific berries & fruits, the nutritional market is currently being bombarded by liquid "miracle" products. Each company claims to have the "best" product. So what is the difference between Beyond Berries and the liquid products that seem to be everywhere? Beyond Berries Powder is far superior and more powerful than any liquid product. Liquid beverages have many more constraints than powders. A major challenge for liquid supplements is maintaining the small amount of nutritional integrity left in the liquid over time. Beyond Berries retains a higher content of the naturally occurring live nutrients found in the original fresh produce, just as nature intended. As a result Beyond Berries provides more nutritional benefit than any liquid product.

SUPERIOR INGREDIENT QUALITY! Liquid berry products typically contain ingredients from a "juice concentrate" or "puree concentrate". Both are created through the use of heat and/or vacuum. This denatures and compromises the nutritional integrity of the fruit or berry. Additionally, these products may contain as little as 10% of the actual ingredient that the product is being marketed for.

LESS EXPENSE! Liquid products are more expensive, particularly when you compare the nutrient content and serving size to Beyond Berries. One jar of Beyond Berries Powder makes approximately 180 ounces of reconstituted liquid juice, which equals 4-5 jars of any of our competitor's liquid products. The recommended daily serving for Beyond Berries Powder is 10 grams in 6 ounces of water. At this serving size, a jar of Beyond Berries Powder lasts 30-days. Most liquid juice products suggest only 1 ounce of their product per day to create a 30-day supply-that's only ONE OUNCE!

NO PASTEURIZATION! 98% of the liquid nutritional juice products on the market are pasteurized. The pasteurization process uses high heat to kill bacteria & harmful microorganisms that create food borne illness. Pasteurization reduces the very real risk of pathogenic contamination and health threatening bacteria in liquid juice products but while it appears to be a wonderful thing-in reality it is not. This heat process not only kills the bad bacteria, but it substantially alters or deactivates the majority of good, naturally occurring live nutrients that we consume the fruit or berry for in the first place! Don't be fooled by words like "flash pasteurization". Pasteurization is just that, a process that always requires heat at a temperature higher than what the majority of live nutrients and enzymes can withstand. Many companies try to smooth-over the pasteurization process by saying that their product has been "fermented". But, in the end, after the fermentation process, pasteurization still must occur.

NO PRESERVATIVES! Many liquid products contain preservatives such as sodium benzoate and/or potassium sorbate. Without preservatives these liquid products could grow bacteria, naturally decompose and become rancid. While preservatives help prolong the shelf life of a liquid product, they are also known to cause a myriad of "mysterious" health problems. The FDA considers these preservatives "safe" in small amounts, yet anything more than a "small amount" is considered "unsafe & unhealthy". Because the majority of the processed foods we eat contain these same preservatives, it is not "safe" to say that we are getting "small amounts" when you take into account that fact we are consuming these same preservatives on a daily basis throughout our entire lives. Another commonly used preservative is Ascorbic Acid.

Many companies use Ascorbic Acid in their liquid juice supplement for several reasons;
To artificially and inexpensively increase ORAC values and Vitamin C label claims
To preserve the product.
And to try and compensate for the loss of nutrients due to pasteurization. This concept is known as "overdosing". Ascorbic acid is a synthetic, man-made version of vitamin C, and is a poor substitute for vitamin C from natural whole food sources. The addition of artificial preservatives and/or synthetic nutrients defeats the purpose of consuming an "all natural health product" in the first place. Our modern diet is already filled with depleted, over-processed foods.

URI International, believes that a natural food product should be just that - natural. Beyond Berries contains all natural, non-pasteurized berry & fruit powders with no preservatives or synthetic additives.

PROPRIETARY PROCESS! Our proprietary drying process provides much higher concentrations of vital nutrients than any other product on the market. Other companies often just dry whole foods, but we juice them and dry the juice in seconds at temperatures below 100ºF, concentrating it far more than if we merely dried the entire plant and leaves as most other companies do. This process ensures that you get the highest quality product without any extra fillers, preservatives or pasteurization while retaining vital nutrients and live enzymes. The end result - Beyond Berries is packed with all of the naturally occurring phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

For optimal health, there's nothing better than nutrient-rich, unprocessed, unpreserved whole live foods in their balanced, natural state like those found in Beyond Berries Powder. URI understands that in order to provide these remarkable benefits, all of the nutrients, natural balance and life force found in these fresh fruits & berries must be protected. The process used to create Beyond Berries retains the majority of the vital live nutrients of our ingredients in their natural synergistic state.

Beyond Berries Powder provides a quality & quantity that will never be matched by a synthetic, processed or preserved liquid supplement. Beyond Berries contains 100% pure, natural whole fruit & berry, powders and is a true Whole Food based product that provides superb nutrition. URI International refuses to compromise and has spared no expense to combine the perfect combination of quality berries & fruits even though many of them are unique and rare. Beyond Berries is a convenient, delicious way to drink your way to higher nutrition levels. URI has raised the bar and produced a perfectly blended, synergistic product that is truly one of a kind, a first in its class- Beyond Berries.

The basic functions of breathing, eating and drinking are not only essential for our existence, but are necessary for the body's ongoing job of producing energy and rebuilding cells. However, these life-giving actions come at a price. Each day we are bombarded with free radicals in the air we breathe, food we eat and the water we drink. The body also naturally produces free radicals from the act of living and producing energy. Free radicals cause oxidative damage to our body, organs & cells. A damaged cell loses or decreases in its ability to perform its specific function. This causes many different health concerns and is directly linked to the actual aging process itself. Fresh fruits & berries contain a wide variety of antioxidants, each performing a specific function of neutralizing, repairing, reducing or preventing further free radical damage to cells & tissues. Beyond Berries provides the perfect combination of the missing nutrients that are necessary to help provide antioxidant protection.

WHAT IS ORAC? ORAC has become the latest "buzz" word in the nutritional industry. ORAC is an abbreviation for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity - a method of measuring the overall antioxidant activity of the particular ingredient, food or product being tested. The higher the ORAC value, the more antioxidant power. The ORAC test was developed once scientists became aware that phytonutrients such as antioxidants found in fruits & berries have such powerful health benefits. In fact berries were found to be the highest on the ORAC scale! The greatest protection is provided when a variety of foods high in these nutrients are combined, like those found in Beyond Berries. An intake of 3,000-5,000 ORAC units per day is recommended. Because most people are already getting a portion of this value from their diet, research suggests supplementing the diet by at least 1000-2500 ORAC units per day. Beyond Berries Powder boasts an amazing ORAC value of 2,460 per daily minimum suggested use! Beyond Berries ORAC value is naturally occurring and is not artificially increased through the addition of isolated or synthetic additives. Beyond Berries is available in Powder, Vegetarian Capsules or convenient Packets.

BEYOND BERRIES INGREDIENTS:

POMEGRANATE has 3X the antioxidant ability of green tea and a substantial amount of potassium, polyphenols, fiber, Vitamin C & Niacin.

BILBERRY has outstanding antioxidant properties. Rich in vitamins C & A.

RASPBERRY is rich in anthocyanin antioxidants and phytochemicals: ellagic, coumaric & ferulic acid. Contains fiber, calcium, manganese, enzymes, vitamins A, B, C, E, & folic acid.

PURPLE GRAPE contains over 12 antioxidants including polyphenols, quercetin, resveratrol & proanthocyanidin flavanoids. Contains Vitamin C, K, quercetin, manganese, fiber & potassium.

ELDERBERRY is rich in nutrients, polyphenols, antioxidants, amino acids, flavanoids, tannins & carotenoids.

CRANBERRY is rich in potent antioxidants - polyphenols, procyanidins & resveratrol. High in Vitamin C & dietary fiber.

STRAWBERRY is an excellent source of antioxidants & phenols. Contains vitamins B, C & K, manganese, potassium, iodine, magnesium, copper & omega-3 fatty acids.

APPLE provides vitamin C, B, iron, magnesium, calcium, zinc, potassium, folic acid & fiber.

NONI FRUIT contains Vitamins A, B, C & E, amino acids, calcium, linoleic acid, selenium, xeroinine & proxeronine.

MANGOSTEEN is high in antioxidants, potassium & Vitamin C.

WOLFBERRY - GOJI has extraordinary antioxidant & nutrient value. Contains polysaccharides, 18 amino acids, 21 trace minerals, 6 essential fatty acids, flavanoids, Vitamins B1, B2, B6 & E, with 5X more Vitamin C than oranges & more Beta Carotene than carrots.

ACAI BERRY provides a complete range of vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, plant sterols, essential fatty acids & essential amino acids. Contains fiber, protein and over 16 antioxidants & phytonutrients. Rich source of flavanoids including anthocyanins & proanthocyanidins. A super-antioxidant with an incredibly high ORAC value.

BLACK CURRANT is a rich source of antioxidants & essential fatty acids. Provides iron, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and Vitamins A, E, B1, B2, B3 & B6, and 3X more Vitamin C than oranges.

BLACKBERRY is high in antioxidant/ORAC value. Contains Vitamin C, E, calcium, folic acid, potassium, iron, anthocyanins, enzymes, ellagic acid & fiber.

BLUEBERRY provides high antioxidant values. Contains vitamins A, C & E, resveratrol, zinc, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium & fiber.

The potential nutrition benefits of each specially selected ingredient in Beyond Berries are impressive by any standard. The Feast/Beyond Berries is the perfect complement to a good, healthy diet and a lifestyle that includes a beneficial exercise program. The Feast/Beyond Berries is recommended for anyone who needs to increase their servings of fruits and vegetables, and who wants to nutritionally improve their overall sense of well-being and quality of life.

The information contained herein has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a health care professional or to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

TAKE THE 90-DAY URI CHALLENGE - BACKED BY MY IRONCLAD GUARANTEE!“I am so confident that you will be absolutely pleased with my concentrated, nutrient dense, live, Whole Food Based products, that I back them up with my ironclad, risk free 90-day money back guarantee!Try any URI International Live Whole Food Based “InstaFresh” Juice Products for 90 days. And if you are not 100% satisfied for ANY reason you will be refunded 100% of the purchase price! Experience the results for yourself! There is absolutely no risk whatsoever on your part! Quite simply, the products prove themselves!With my 90-Day Money Back Guarantee, you have absolutely nothing to lose and only real nutrition to gain! You have my word on it!”

Uri LeBaronFounder/CEO of Uri International

Grace and Peace,

Ed

http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html

Benefits of Juicing

I have been an avid proponent of juicing for over 30 years! I remember watching Jack LaLanne on TV with my Mom. I have never cared much for all of the inconvenience, expense, time and money involved in juicing fresh organic produce but the benefits are enormous! I'm glad I found a way to get my juice now with no muss or fuss and for less than if I bought it daily at the store. More on that later though. Back to the why's of juicing.

WHY JUICE?

Recently. the National Cancer Institute began a campaign to get people to do one simple thing - EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Specifically, the recommendation was to eat five servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day, and their reasoning was simple: a diet high in fruits and vegetables may help prevent or even cure a wide range of ailments.

Breast cancer, cancer of the colon, esophagus, stomach, lungs, ovaries, and rectum - pick and ailment these days, it seems, and researchers somewhere are searching for chemicals in plants that will prevent them, or offer a cure. These plant chemicals, known as phytochemicals, are the cutting edge of nutritional research because they hold the keys to preventing some of our most deadly diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, as well as some of our most common, like asthma, arthritis, and allergies.

In some ways, this isn't news. For years, epidemiological studies that compare disease states and diet in large populations of people have already been bearing out the value of a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Such studies, which have been done in Africa, China, the Mediterranean, Russia, and elsewhere have shown that in cultures where the diet consists of fruits and vegetables, making it high in both carbohydrates and fiber, a number of diseases that afflict North Americans simply don't exist. For example, during more than 30 years of study, British researchers working in Africa didn't find a single case of such common ailments as diverticulitis, hernia, cancer of the colon, or cancer of the prostate. The only reason that they could attribute to the lack of these diseases: differences in diet.

But these studies (more than 150 have been done in the last decade) don't really prove that it is diet that makes the health difference There are simply too many other factors that may influence health to make the studies conclusive. Is, for example, the lack of disease because of the subjects diet or, instead, is it because they live in a relatively unpolluted environment? If it is diet, which part of their diet, specifically, is making the difference?

These are the questions that led researchers at the National Cancer Institute, at the department of Agriculture, and elsewhere, to begin looking for specific substances in foods that could be providing protection against disease. In the process, they have found quite a few. A tomato, along with vitamin C, vitamin A, and several minerals, also has 10,000 other chemicals in it, most which researchers are trying to isolate, identify, and study.

The phytochemicals that researchers have uncovered are changing the way we think about food. Citrus fruits have substances that make it easier for your body to remove carcinogens, thus decreasing the chance of contracting cancer. Grapes contain a phytochemical that appears to protect each cells' DNA from damage. Similarly, a number of green vegetables contain phytochemicals that appear to offer protection against cancer-causing substances. Bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, turnip greens, red beets, peppers, garlic, onions, leeks, and chives are but a few of the vegetables that appear to have cancer-preventing phytochemicals.

The problem, though, is that most of us don't eat enough fruits and vegetables to reap the benefits they offer. For example, although the National Cancer institute recommends five servings of vegetables and three of fruits each day, the truth is this: The average American eats only 1 1/2 servings of vegetables and, on average, no fruit on any given day.
Maybe the business men and women who frequent trendy juice bars, the company that delivers carrot juice, and the grocery stores that are beginning to carry fresh fruits and vegetable juices are on to something. Possibly, juicing could provide the answer to fixing our fruit and vegetable deficient diets.

Really, it isn't a new idea. If you study the traditions of most juicing programs, you discover that the vegetables being studied at various facilities around the country are often the same vegetables that have been juiced for years. Collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, peppers, carrots, and cabbage are not only vegetables being studied for their phytochemical content, they are also the vegetables that are most commonly juiced. Not only are researchers looking into the cancer-prevention capabilities of citrus fruits, grapes, and apples, these are also the fruits that we most often associate with fruit juicing.

All of this raises the question, what else is there in the wisdom of juice therapy that, up until now, have traditional nutritional research overlooked or ignored? For example, juice programs often tout the value of adding chlorophyll to your daily diet. Chlorophyll, a substance found exclusively in plants, has a structure similar to hemoglobin, the substance in blood that is responsible for transporting oxygen. During the 1940s, researchers found that consuming chlorophyll enhances the body's ability to produce hemoglobin, thus improving the efficiency of oxygen transport.

Or, for another example, consider fresh juice's ability to deliver another important group of nutrients, known as enzymes. Enzymes are your body's work force. Acting as catalysts in hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that take place throughout the body, enzymes are essential for digestion and absorption of food, for conversion of food stuffs into body tissue, and for the production of energy at the cellular level. In fact, enzymes are critical for most of the metabolic activities taking place in your body every second of every day.

Fresh juices are a tremendous source of enzymes. In fact, the "freshness" of juice is one of their key features, because enzymes are destroyed by heat. When you eat cooked foods, whether its meal, grains, fruits, or vegetables, if the food is cooked at temperatures above 114 degrees, the enzymes have been destroyed by the heat. Since fruits and vegetables are juiced raw, the enzymes are still viable when you drink the juice. Coincidentally, many of the phytochemicals that nutritional researchers are focusing their attention on are either enzymes, or more often, they are substances that help build or activate enzymes that play essential roles in protecting cells from damage.

Also, fruit and vegetable juices are good sources of the traditional nutrients. Citrus fruits (grapefruit, oranges, etc.) provide healthy portions of vitamin C. Carrot juice contains large quantities of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene. A number of green juices are a good source of vitamin E. Fruit juices are a good source of essential minerals like iron, copper, potassium, sodium, iodine, and magnesium, which are bound by the plant in a form that is most easily assimilated during digestion.

Plus, since juicing removes the indigestible fiber, these nutrients are available to the body in much larger quantities than if the piece of fruit or vegetable was eaten whole. For example, because many of the nutrients are trapped in the fiber, when you eat a raw carrot, you are only able to assimilate about 1% of the available beta carotene. When a carrot is juiced, removing the fiber, nearly 100% of the beta carotene can be assimilated.

Finally, fruits and vegetables provide one more substance that is absolutely essential for good health - water. More than 65% of most of the cells in the human body are made of water, and in some tissues, for example the brain, the cells can be made up of as much as 80% water. Water is absolutely essential for good health, yet most people don't consume enough water each day. Plus, many of the fluids we do drink, coffee, tea, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages and artificially flavored drinks each contain substances that require extra water for your body to eliminate. Fruit and vegetable juices are free of these unneeded substances and are full of pure, clean water.

As more and more is written about the long-term health benefits of consuming more fresh organic fruits and vegetables the popularity of juicing will continue to grow.

I started juicing with a “Vitamix” in the 70’s and went to a “Juiceman in the 90’s and love juicing’s benefits. Recently I found an incredible ready to mix "Instafresh" juice concentrate that has 30 fruits and berries, 30 super greens and vegetables, 11 nuts, seeds and sprouts all in an easy to mix, delicious, organic concentrate that has 83 Active Enzymes and Minerals and 22 Resilient Living Probiotics. It's absolutely the best raw whole food supplement on the market today. Great for people on the go! And all for just $1 per serving! Now that's juicing for the new millennium! Just read the label and get a sample like I did at Http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/products.html I think you’ll love it! And yes, I still make a fresh carrot, apple, parsley juice cocktail in my home juicer and I freeze the carrot and apple pulp for fresh carrot cake!

Grace and Peace,
Ed
Http://www.urilife.com/realfoodforlife/opportunity.html