Juicing and Menopause

At 39 I was a single mom, stressed to the max, diagnosed with asthma, entering back into the work world, already starting to have hot flashes and adrenal problems and my immune system was shot. One of my girlfriends was learning something called "Live Blood Cell Analysis" and she took a drop of my blood and put it under a microscope. She said I had "rouleau" and my blood cells were clumped together (a sign of lack of oxygen and a run down feeling). No argument there.

We talked about juicing and she highly recommended it. After about 3 months I came back and we did the test again. This time the results looked much different. There was a lot more movement. My blood cells were not clumped together. They looked .... alive...more indicative to how I was feeling which was much better.

So, I decided I would continue juicing and I've been juicing almost daily since then.

Some cool facts about juicing:

· What we put into our systems determines the health of every cell and organ in our bodies. Fresh extracted juice is totally different from store bought juice. Made fresh and consumed on the spot, juices instantly release nourishment to the body through the bloodstream.

· Juicing allows you to consume the daily required amount of fruits and veggies in a very easy and delicious way.

· Juicing helps you to raise your pH especially if you juice dark leafy greens and add things like chlorella and spirulina to it. Raising your pH can be extremely helpful if you tend to have candida, yeast infections, or bladder infections.

You will see improvement in a very short time. You will also become very conscious of what you put into your body.

Some things to be aware of:

· Be careful with juicing fruits, beets and carrots. The extracted juice has a high sugar content. If you have blood sugar or yeast issues than use mostly celery and some leafy greens and add a little apple, carrot or beet for sweetening because you never want to drink juice that is bitter. Apple is very compatible with vegetables. A simple recipe would look something like this:

3 celery ribs, 1 carrot, handful of spinach, half of an apple

· Our fruits and vegetables these days are not what they use to be because they are so laden with pesticides and chemicals. Organic is always best. An alternative is to soak your produce in a mixture of baking soda and apple cider vinegar. When I'm ready to juice my produce I put everything in a little plastic tub in my kitchen sink and I sprinkle baking soda over it and then pour some apple cider vinegar on top. The combination "fizzes" and helps to pull out some of the pesticides and chemicals. I add some water and let it sit for a little while and then rinse thoroughly with warm water and proceed to put it through my juicer. I don't like cold fluid in my stomach and rinsing them in warm water helps to make my juice a perfect temperature.

Basically, if you start juicing, just let the creative part of you come out and "play" and you will know as you go along what works for you and what doesn't.

Start slowly

· Be careful not to use too many carrots, beets, fruits if you have yeast or blood sugar issues
· Try adding a little bit of bok choy, kale, romaine, green leaf, swiss chard. (Use sparingly if it tastes bitter)
· Then later on you can experiment by adding a little parsley or cilantro
· If you like a "kick" try adding garlic or ginger
· Don't forget to add things like green powders (chlorella & spirulina)

There's no comparison to having a glass of fresh liquid POWER to start your day!