Green Juicing Diet (5 page)

Celery

• Color:
Light green

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 to 1¼ cups juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light, refreshing, slightly peppery

• Health Benefits:
It's not just a great partner to blue cheese — celery is a good source of vitamins A, B, C, and K, as well as potassium, manganese, calcium, magnesium, and tryptophan. It's been used for centuries as a natural diuretic, and also promotes arterial health, lowers your bad cholesterol, and helps keep your immune system strong by protecting you from free radicals.

Chard

• Color:
Dark green

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Grassy and mildly sweet

• Health Benefits:
The leaves of chard are packed with phytonutrients, calcium, vitamins A, B complex, C, and K, iron, manganese, sodium, potassium, and copper. It's great for protecting you from anemia, osteoporosis, heart disease, cardiovascular disease, prostate and colon cancers, arthritis, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and high cholesterol. In addition, it gives your immune system a real boost. These are just a few of the multitude of benefits you obtain from adding chard to your juice.

Collard, Dandelion, Mustard, and Turnip Greens

• Color:
Deep green

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Grassy and earthy

• Health Benefits:
These greens are packed with calcium, vitamins A and K, and omega-3 fatty acids, and contain lesser amounts of practically every vitamin and mineral. The large array of antioxidants serve to protect you from the signs of aging, cancer, heart disease, and other diseases caused by the inflammatory effects of free radicals. Greens also help keep your blood pressure normal, and the high amounts of calcium and vitamin K promote bone health, protecting you from osteoporosis and arthritis.

Cucumbers

• Color:
Light green

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 to 1½ cups juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light, mildly sweet, and refreshing

• Health Benefits:
Rich in phytonutrients, antioxidants, and vitamin K, cucumbers are a great base for almost any juice, whether you're using vegetables or fruits. They help protect you from cancer and other damage and diseases caused by free radicals, and they also contain lignans, which may help protect you from estrogen-related cancers such as breast, prostate, ovarian, and uterine cancers. Plus, cucurbitacins, which are unique to cucumbers, block signaling pathways that some cancer cells need to grow.

Kale

• Color:
Dark green

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Rich and grassy

• Health Benefits:
As with other leafy greens, kale is rich in calcium, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It's great for detox support at all levels and helps prevent many forms of cancer as well as other diseases and ailments caused by free radicals. The anti-inflammatory properties protect you from heart disease and atherosclerosis, and the calcium and vitamin K work together to keep your bones strong.

Kohlrabi

• Color:
Green

• Yield:
1 pound = ¾ to 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Extremely rich and leafy

• Health Benefits:
Kohlrabi, like other leafy green vegetables, contains calcium, a wide array of vitamins and minerals, and large amounts of chlorophyll. It's a common ingredient in weight loss juices, and it's excellent for skin conditions such as eczema.

Loose Leaf, Butter, and Romaine Lettuces

• Color:
Light to dark green, depending upon variety

• Yield:
1 pound = 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light and refreshing, and grassy with the greener lettuces

• Health Benefits:
The greener a lettuce leaf is, the more chlorophyll and other phytonutrients it contains. Lettuces are packed with vitamin A and carotenes, which are fantastic for your eyes and skin. They also protect you from lung and mouth cancers.

The vitamin K helps with bone growth and strength and it fights off Alzheimer's, too. The folates and vitamin C are powerful antioxidants that fight free radicals. Lettuces are also a good source of minerals, such as magnesium, iron, calcium and potassium, which help your body maintain a healthy metabolism.

Potatoes

• Color:
Milky

• Yield:
1 pound = ⅔ to 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light and mildly earthy

• Health Benefits:
White potatoes are known in the juicing world for their efficiency in clearing up acne and other skin blemishes. With the exception of vitamin A, they also contain nearly every vitamin, especially vitamins C and B6, potassium, iron, and copper. A special note about the vitamin C: You really only reap its benefit when you eat a potato raw or in fresh juice, because it's lost during the cooking process. Potatoes help support your immune system, promote heart health, work to keep your blood pressure low, and help maintain your electrolyte balance.

Spinach

• Color:
Dark green

• Yield:
1 pound = ½ to 1 cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Rich, grassy, and pungent

• Health Benefits:
Spinach shares the same health benefits and nutrients as other leafy greens and is also extremely rich in iron, which helps keep your blood healthy. Popeye wasn't wrong when he said to eat your spinach — it helps keep your bones strong, your muscles functioning well, and prevents several types of cancers. In addition, it's rich in chlorophyll and antioxidants.

Spirulina

• Color:
Bright green

• Yield:
1 pound = ¾ cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Extremely grassy and strong

• Health Benefits:
This blue-green algae turns your drink a bright green and packs an amazing 60 percent vegetable protein. It's also a great source of iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, calcium, and vitamins E and C. It has quality beta-carotene and gamma linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid. Spirulina is excellent for helping protect you from cancers, heart disease, gastric disorders, inflammatory disorders, and other diseases caused by free radicals.

Sprouts

• Color:
White

• Yield:
1 pound = ½ to ¾ cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light with almost no flavor, making them great as a base for more pungent greens

• Health Benefits:
A good source of vitamins C and B complex, sprouts are rich in antioxidants and help keep your body alkaline, which deters cancer growth.

Summer Squash

• Color:
Yellow

• Yield:
1 pound = ¾ cup juice

• Flavor Profile:
Light and earthy

• Health Benefits:
Summer squash provides a great source of vitamins A, C, K, and B complex, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect your eyes from disorders such as macular degeneration and cataracts. It also contains omega-3 fatty acids, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, tryptophan, potassium, and zinc, promoting cardiovascular, heart, digestive, and prostate health, as well as helping to stabilize your blood sugar. Finally, the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties in summer squash assist in preventing cancer.