Vital Guidance to The Incredible Benefits of Juicing

We are all familiar with juice. We begin our mornings with orange juice or grapefruit juice. We give our children apple juice at snack time. And now manufacturers have offered us a variety of juice blends and juice cocktails to drink day or night.

And of course, we all know that juice is far healthier than soft drinks, sweet teas, creamy coffee, and alcohol. However, for those of us in search of an even healthier alternative, juicing is the key. Naturally derived vitamins and vital enzymes abound in fresh fruits and vegetables, and by juicing daily, you can significantly increase your vegetable and fruit intake.

According to the CDC, just 1 out of 10 people are getting the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables. The federal guidelines recommend that adults eat 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruits and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. Consuming fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce the risk of several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, some cancers, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Joe Cross, from the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, states, “I believe that juicing is a great way to supercharge your body with the incredible nutrients found in whole plant foods – and the volume you’re able to take in when juicing is far more than you would be able to eat.” Joe lost nearly 100 pounds and healed his autoimmune disease by juicing across America.

So, What is Juicing?
Basically, juicing is the method of extracting juice from raw fruit and vegetables and drinking it. And the results are incredible for your health.

What are The Benefits of Juicing?
In this article, the focus is not on a 60-day body cleanse or a temporary diet. In this case, the emphasis is using juicing as a supplement to your daily diet, increasing the number of nutrients from fruits and vegetables that you otherwise wouldn’t get.

If you are interested in juicing to detox or cleanse your body for more than a few days, there are many books and articles available online for guidance.

Here are some of the incredible benefits of juicing to help you obtain a healthier lifestyle:

Juicing Ups Your Nutrient Intake
Juicing lets you absorb more nutrients from fruits and vegetables. Because of the fiber found in fruits and vegetables, consuming the recommended daily amount is difficult. By juicing, it is easier to incorporate them into your diet.

Two to three cups of fresh juice contain the same number of enzymes and vitamins as 14 apples, 2.5 pounds of carrots, and 9 pounds of spinach. Because the fiber is cut out, the body can focus more on the absorption of these vital vitamins and minerals.

Juicing Gives Your Digestive System a Break
Toxic foods and medications can impair the digestive systems ability to function at its best. It takes a lot of work to break them down. It is estimated that 65% of your body’s energy is used in the digestion process after eating. Possibly more if there are processed foods involved.

By juicing, you can give your digestive system a break so your body can heal and repair itself. Juicing is “pre-digested,” giving your system a much-needed rest. Drinking a phytonutrient dense juice allows pure nutrition into your digestive tract that your body can absorb rapidly.

It is Loaded with Antioxidants
Fruits and vegetables are packed of antioxidants that protect against disease. Antioxidants aid in preventing oxidation of molecules and fight against free radicals within the body which contribute to a range of diseases and illnesses. There are loads of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables that offer different benefits to different parts of your body.

Therefore, it’s vital to get a wide variety of these antioxidants in your diet. By juicing, you can combine several different types of fruits with vegetables to obtain a great combination of antioxidants.

Juicing Can Help You Lose Weight
As you juice, you will begin to feel better and have more energy. Juicing increases your metabolism while removing toxins from your cells. Having a glass of fresh juice as opposed to snacking on empty calories or right before a meal is a great way to reduce cravings while increasing your nutritional intake.

It Can Give You Better Skin
Fruits and vegetables are loaded with plant ingredients that can balance hormones, strengthen collagen, stimulate circulation, and reduce wrinkles. Vitamins A, C, and E are particularly beneficial for protecting your skin against harmful UV rays.

Juicing Can Improve Athletic Performance
The nitrates and potassium found naturally in fruits and vegetables can help your body recover after a workout, helping repair damaged tissue faster. Other nutrients such as vitamin A, C, and E, and minerals such magnesium play a role in maintaining the immune system, easy muscle contraction, and increasing strength. They destroy free radicals that can increase the destruction of healthy tissues and muscle cells, thus decreasing the athlete’s performance, strength, and endurance.

Juicing before and after allows the body to absorb vital nutrients and minerals needed to maintain or increase overall athletic performance.

Final Thought:
Juicing is a wonderful complement to living a healthy lifestyle. It should not be considered a diet or long-term detox but should be incorporated into your daily or weekly diet. It is about adding more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based ingredients, so you look and feel your very best.

Mushrooms Boost Physical & Mental Performance

Every athlete strives to get an edge over the competition and food is a powerful way to improve not only health but athletic performance. What you consume affects your immune system, inflammatory response, the ability to recover quickly and train harder, and how mentally sharp you feel.

We are told to eat a healthy diet consisting of fruit, vegetables, nuts, lean protein, clean carbohydrates, etc., but rarely is the tiny, nutrient-packed powerhouse, the mushroom, mentioned.

Often thought of as a vegetable, mushrooms are part of the fungi family. They are neither fruit nor vegetable. For thousands of years, medicinal mushrooms were an important part of traditional Chinese medicine because of their remarkable health-boosting powers. Their use in Western medicine has only started to increase over the past several decades.

Whether you eat them cooked or raw, here are six ways the mighty mushroom can impact your health and performance. The magical mushroom can:

1.    Increase Stamina and Endurance
By increasing the amount of time you are physically able to exercise, and at the level your body can tolerate during a workout, will help you achieve your goals faster.  Medicinal mushrooms aid in transporting oxygen flow from the lungs through the blood vessels to your muscles.  Cordyceps, Shitake, and Chaga mushrooms, for example, are known as the anti-aging mushroom because of their ability to transport oxygen more efficiently and to help produce ATP, the fuel our body runs on. In traditional Chinese medicine, they were believed to act as a stimulant and used to increase energy and decrease fatigue.

2.    Boost Metabolism
Mushrooms contain a considerable amount of vitamin B and vitamin D, which is what the body uses to convert glucose into fuel. They aid in metabolizing the fats and proteins in your diet.  Because of this, they help the body maintain a healthy and efficient metabolism. The most sought-after mushroom for boosting the metabolism is the Cordyceps mushroom.

3.    Reduce Inflammation
Mushrooms are loaded with anti-inflammatory properties. They contain phenols, polysaccharides, ergothioneine and other antioxidants that aid in reducing body-wide inflammation in athletes. By reducing swelling, recovery time will speed up, thus boosting your performance and overall stamina.  The mushrooms containing the highest levels of anti-inflammatory properties are Turkey Tail, Reishi, Shitake, and Oyster mushrooms.

4.    Increase Antioxidant Levels
Studies suggest that high levels of free radicals damage various structures of our body’s cells and reduce cellular turnover. Cellular damage increases the risk of developing many problems, including those that are associated with recovery and aging.  Fortunately, scientists have discovered that medicinal mushrooms can fight these free radicals that can drain your body of energy. For example, the medicinal mushroom, Cordyceps, referred to as the anti-aging mushroom can help endurance and stamina because it prompts the body to produce more ATP.

5.    Improve the Immune System
Athletes are more prone to having a compromised immune system. After a session of strenuous exercise, the athlete will enter a short period in which the immune system is weakened. They are more vulnerable to viral and bacterial infections.  Several varieties of mushrooms have natural properties to help boost the immune system and help it ward off viral infections and diseases, such as the Maitake, Reishi, and the Turkey Tail mushroom. They contain beta-glucans which increase the immune system’s T-cell levels, which leads to lower inflammatory responses caused by stress or environmental factors.

6.    Enhance Mental Focus
For athletes who need to be mentally strong as well as physically strong when competing, some varieties of mushrooms fight against the decline in cognitive functions. The potassium and selenium found in mushrooms increase brain function because they increase blood and oxygen flow to the brain, thus stimulating neural activity.  Lion’s Mane and Maitake are a favorite, within the mushroom family, because of their neuroprotective properties.

Foraging for Mushrooms – Warning!
There are more than 135,000 species of mushrooms in the world. However, many species are not edible. Modern science is only familiar with approximately 10%, and only about 100 species are currently being studied for health benefits and medicinal purposes.

Most species are highly poisonous and not edible, yet they strongly resemble their edible counterparts. Eating the wrong mushroom can result in stomach pain, vomiting, and in some cases, death. So, if you are planning on foraging for mushrooms, it is strongly suggested that you consult with an expert for the proper guidance.  They can help you distinguish between what is safe and what is dangerous for consumption.

Article by Ellen Carleton
Independent Writer

Proper Nutrients Equals Peak Performance On & Off Field

We often look at premier players and other people that seem to have limitless energy with a sense of wonder. The way a LeBron James or a Patrick Mahomes is able to operate at peak performance over a season that stretches for months on end is nothing short of remarkable. One of the major reasons for this is that these players are in tune with what their bodies need, taking on just the right amounts of important nutrients to stay at their best.

We can learn a lot from these athletes in this regard. While we may not lead lives that depend on our athletic abilities and skills to earn a contract, we should all be looking to perform at the peak of our personal performance in our work and personal lives. Taking in proper nutrients on a daily basis is part of a much bigger overall picture to make sure that our lives are being led to their fullest.

There is literature all over the internet about which vitamins and nutrients are the most needed for performance and recovery. These are especially needed by people that are active in their lives, even if being active means church league softball or hiking as opposed to playing in the NBA Finals or fighting to take your team to the Super Bowl.

Optimal performance is also important in making decisions on a day to day basis. While the wear and tear of intense activity is going to cause levels of all nutrients in the body to drop faster than in those less active, everyone loses minerals through sweat and other aspects of daily living.

Think of this as an investment in your future. By making sure you are keeping your body balanced with calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and more, your life will be happier in the long run. Standard improvements to health such as stronger bones and less tiredness in the mind and body will result in a better, and healthier, form of living.

The ability to retain important nutrients and minimize fatigue is particularly important. Nothing is worse as a fan than seeing your team fall apart in the fourth quarter because they are tired. There is a reason why Gatorade has become such a well-known business, such a big brand in American sport, and that is because it refuels players with the nutrients they need to mount a huge comeback or hold onto a lead late.

As a parent, an investor, a social athlete, a premier player or a common worker, that same principle applies to you. If you are dragging during the day at 4pm, it is more than likely because your body minerals aren’t in balance. Sure, a coffee is an easy fix, but by adding in more exercise and a better understanding of nutrition, it is amazing how quickly you feel like a newer, and younger, version of yourself.