Once you start juicing you are going to hear lots of people talk about kale juice benefits and why you need to start making green drinks. If you are new to juicing then this will sound weird. Kale Juice? Really? It sounds gross. Right?

 

Nah. Kale actually has a very mellow flavor when you juice it. There are some “strong” leafy greens like wheatgrass. Wheatgrass has a very strong flavor and smell and it is something that you have to get used to. This is not the case with kale.

 

I’ve juiced several Kale varieties: curly kale, lacinato (Dinosaur or Tusacn) and flat leaf as well as microgreen kale. I never had a problem with the taste. I often mix in a lemon or green apple into any juice I make with leafy greens,  but even on its own a kale drink is not overwhelming.

 

So why drink kale? Why not eat it?

The reason is simple. You can’t eat enough kale to get the benefits from juicing. Picture a bowl of kale. Now eat that 3 times a day. That’s too much. You would get full. Kale has fiber. That’s good. Fiber is healthy. But you don’t need to eat all that fiber.

The juice in leafy greens, and kale is a leafy green, has super powerful antioxidants. These are not in the fiber. They are in the liquid, or the juice. You want to have lots of antioxidants and you won’t get the high amounts that are therapeutic if you limit yourself to eating Kale. You have to juice it.

Here are some of the Anti-Oxidants:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K

Special Antioxidants:

Lutein

Zeaxanthin

 

These two are very powerful and not found in most foods. They are especially important in eye health. You know the old adage about eating carrots for your eyes? Well, it should be eat your kale. These carotenoids are important in protecting against macular degeneration. The Linus Pauling Institute has a piece about the importance of carotenoids in the diet.

 

Health Benefits of Kale

 

Good for your Eyes

Anyone who has a history of macular degeneration in their family should make kale drinks. The Lutein and Zeaxanthin are the two caratenoids in leafy greens such as Kale that help protect the eye. They are arguably more important than beta-carotene for eye health.

Prevent Wrinkles

Wrinkles are caused by oxidation and the way you combat that is by taking anti-oxidants. One of the best benefits of kale juice is that it is loaded with anti-oxidants. You have the popular ones like Vitamin C and A, but you also have the caretanoids Lutein and Zeaxanthin. You won’t find this in most other fruits or vegetables.

Cancer Prevention

There is a lot of news about Cruciferous vegetables being good for cancer prevention.Glucosinolate and Sulforaphane are two of the antioxidents that are believed to be extremely beneficial in cancer prevention.

Good for Bones

What do you think of when you think: “Good for Bones”? Milk, right? That’s what everyone has heard. Calcium is good for bones. And the number one promoted benefit of milk is calcium.

Well, Kale is also really good for bones. It has lots of calcium. And it doesn’t have any of the downsides of milk.

This is perfect for people who are Vegans, or are trying to lower their intake of dairy for any reason.

Kale actually ha more calcium than milk. If you add Kale to your juices, you be getting lots of calcium.

This is one reason why Kale is such a popular food with Vegans and Vegetarians. It supplies you with something that you might normally get from eating lots of dairy.
Heart Health

One of the hidden benefits to kale is heart health. The popular reasons to juice kale is to get the anti-oxidents, but it is also very good for your heart.

Kale has Omega Fatty Acids. This is not something you normally hear about leafy green vegetables. But Kale is a great source of Omega Fatty Acids. But, you want to juice it to get the full benefit. Cooking it will destroy some of the benefits. A nice raw juice with kale as the leafy green ingredient is a great choice.

Remember, when juicing, you want to choose a  SLOW and COLD PROCESS juicer. That means an auger style juice. I like the Omega, but the GreenStar is another good pick.

 Alzheimers Prevention

Finally, many physicians believe that Kale is good for preventing Alzheimer’s.  They are not sure as to why, but some believe it may be due to vitamin K and the micronutrients that are present in Kale.

 

It is easy to add a few leaves of kale to a juice. You can mix it with apples, celery and lemons to make it taste really good.

Here are my recommendations for the best juicers to use.