Many individuals believe that juicing is either a waste of time or not beneficial in achieving a healthier lifestyle. Well, I believe in going up against those odds. It came to a certain point in my life that I wanted to feel better internally and externally while consuming nutrients that would guide me toward that goal. It was then that I thought about juicing my way to health.
My passion for juicing began with the enthusiasm of my sister. About two years ago, she told me to watch a Netflix documentary called “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead.” The documentary shed some light on how Joe Cross was struggling with serious illnesses while taking medications to combat his obesity. After realizing his life was on the line, he decided to take on the hobby of juicing while traveling across the United States of America. His achievement was extraordinary. That was when I realized that if he can push himself to eat healthier in order to be healthy, then I should be able to do the same.
On March 9, I decided to finally buy my own personal juicer. I wanted a juicer that was quick when it came to clean up time as well as capable of producing a lot of juice from all of my fruits. After buying my juicer, the only thing I needed was to get all of my food–fruits! I planned ahead of time by writing down recipes of what vegetables and/or fruits that would go together. I later found out that some recipes were nastier than others, but after a few more days, I began figuring out the right ones. I tried juicing only vegetables and it was a disaster. After a while, I started mixing some fruits together with vegetables and finally figured out my own recipes. The few extremely delicious recipes that I pulled together are: carrots, lemon, honey crisp apples, ginger and carrots, grapefruit and ginger. These two recipes have helped me out tremendously and I would definitely recommend trying them. I try my best to have green juices as well, so I incorporated juicing celery, pineapples, lemon, spinach and ginger. In the morning, I always make sure that I have some juice that is citrus-based, which can be just oranges. I consume about four to five 32 ounce containers of juice per day. Some differ from others, so I may have three drinks rather than five. It all depends on how your body is feeling that day.
Many individuals in the U.S. don’t realize that the food we consume on a daily basis is processed, some of which marketers say are “organic” but can contain pesticides. In order to fully reap the benefits of juicing, I went to a local natural market called Martindale’s in Springfield, Pennsylvania. I’ve known this market for a few years now, so I trusted that the fruits and vegetables that they displayed were true to being organic.
What many individuals don’t understand is that juicing is not seen as the norm in society, but with an adequate amount of research and motivation, juicing can be easy and very beneficial. For the first few days, I experienced a lack of energy with minor headaches. I believe it was from me adjusting to a different style of eating. Within two or three weeks, I had all of my staple recipes, my juicer and a new exercising regime. Juicing and exercising can really help with weight loss.
As of right now, I have been juicing on a daily basis for the past few weeks and I can attest that I am seeing results. I noticed that my face is getting slimmer while my entire body is trying to catch up with the process. Juicing your way to health is an amazing process and I recommend that everyone should try it. Just make sure that you do your own research ahead of time, buy a juicer and do your homework on where to buy your fruits and vegetables. The rest is in your hands. Good luck!
Jennifer Odiatu is a fourth-year student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. ✉ JO820471@wcupa.edu.