Teresa Kennedy - The everything giant book of juicing: includes vegetable super juice, mango pear punch, ginger zinger, super immunity booster, blueberry citrus juice and hundreds more!

IN THESE INCREASINGLY HEALTH-CONSCIOUS times, people are aware of the need for better nutrition. Concerns over pesticides, genetic engineering, the empty calories, added sugars, and trans fats in commercially prepared convenience foods all make headlines as authorities try to teach the need for better nutrition.

A good diet is key to good health. Yet, despite a myriad of movements toward whole foods and health foods, the typical American diet tends to fall a bit short of the mark. Crazy schedules, busy lifestyles, and increased dependence on convenience foods have taken us a long way from the days where backyard gardens flourished and everything that came out of the kitchen was made from scratch. Too, theres a bewildering array of advice out there as to what to include and what to avoid in your daily diet as a means of maintaining good health. But the fact remains, everyone agrees that including greater amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables is essential. Experts recommend anywhere from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Realistically though, thats easier said than done. Even the best dietary intentions can fall by the wayside when faced with finicky kids, rising grocery prices, and the ever-present temptation of added convenience. Things get even more confusing with the seemingly never-ending array of information about foods that are bad for you.

The good news is that regular juicing provides a great answer for those who want a better balance in their diets with a minimum investment in time, money, and effort. Juicing is something you can add to your daily routine without necessarily having to give up the foods you enjoy or spending endless hours in the kitchen. It requires almost nothing by way of preparation, and is faster and easier than popping something in the microwave. Best of all, you can be confident in the knowledge that just by juicing three to four times a week, you and your family will gain maximum nutrition, an increase in overall good health and immunity, and all the antioxidant and disease-fighting benefits you need to thrive.

Why fresh juice? Because juicing extracts essential nutrients and vitamins by breaking down fruits and vegetables at the cellular level. The resulting liquid nutrition is absorbed into the body almost instantaneously and far more efficiently than by popping a multivitamin. Unlike prepackaged or prepared juices, fresh juice isnt pasteurized, as required by the FDA. Although pasteurizing is meant to be a protection, the heating process can destroy much of the original nutritional value. The logic is simple: Whole, living foods provide the best nutrition for living beings. Fresh juice is pure quality, provides instant bio-availability and immediate and tangible rewards.

As science uncovers more and more information about the benefits of juicing, people have come to understand that many of the micronutrients, phytochemicals, and enzymes available in whole, raw fruits and vegetables simply arent available when those same foods are eaten raw or cooked. This is because they are not absorbed or digested in the same way that fresh juices are.

What are some of these nutrients? Amino acids, which form the building blocks for protein; soluble fiber that helps control bad cholesterol; essential fatty acids that the body cannot make on its own, yet which are essential to healthy nerve cells and form part of the cellular membrane around all cells; phytochemicals that give plants their unique colors, tastes, and scents, and which have antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties. Minerals, such as calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc, that are essential to proper cell functioning. Enzymes, which aid in digestion and regulate chemical reactions in the body, and, last but not leastvitamins, vitamins, vitamins! Fruit and vegetable juices contain vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, as well as B-complex vitamins, all essential to maintaining good health.

Though many people first come to juicing seeking help for a specific ailment or condition, theres no need to wait for something to go wrong before you try it! The human body has a remarkable capacity to fight disease, to heal, and even to renew itself. When you give it the nutrients it needs, it will respond in amazing ways, rewarding you by regulating your weight, increasing your levels of energy, fighting the effects of time, and even reducing your need to conventionally medicate conditions such as high blood pressure, metabolism, and even acne! The cleansing power of juice makes it clear that the body knows what its doing. Adding the good stuff helps get rid of the bad. Thats a health insurance plan nobody can afford to turn down.