Why Drink Green Juice: My Top 5 Reasons

 

I love making green juices and I’m always telling people to juice and drink them too. So, what I decided to do here was create a list of my top reasons to drink green juice so that my online friends could read my reasons as well.

Face it, if you’ve never had a green juice before, it might be a bit daunting. Not everyone is used to drinking fresh vegetable juice, not to mention not everyone knows how to make it. So, what I did here was to breakdown my top 5 reasons for making and drinking green juice.

 

#1 Less Fiber, More Nutrients

The number one reason that I suggest people drink green juice is because there is less fiber and more nutrients. Basically, you can get more of the benefits of dark leafy greens and other vegetables when you juice them.

Think about it, how likely is it that you’re going to sit down and eat an enormous bowl of spinach and kale and celery for breakfast! That would just be too gross and filling. The amount of fiber in the meal would just make it a no go.

But if you take those same leafy greens and other vegetables and juice them, well you get a really nice and easy to digest green juice. And while the same principal applies to all types of juice, I find that green juice, especially those made with dark leafy greens such as spinach and kale, are the best to juice.

Of course, I totally endorse eating kale and spinach, but if you’re not going to eat big kale or spinach salads every night, it would be beneficial to make those juices.

You can get the nutritional equivalent of several leaves of kale by juicing them and having it in the morning instead of coffee!

 

#2 Green Juice Gives You Energy

Since I just mentioned coffee in the previous section, I figured it would be a good starting point to discuss another of my top reasons to drink green juice: energy!

Drinking green juice is a great and healthy way to get energy. It can be a way to wean yourself off of caffeine and onto something that’s healthy and good for you.

Let’s face it, unless you’re a moderate drinking of pure organic black coffee, then you’re not doing yourself any favors. Most people who drink coffee load it up with sugar and creamers and drink low quality coffee. That’s just pumping you up with artificial energy and will result in a cycle of crashing and recovery with caffeine.

So, while black coffee in moderation (or organic green tea not from China) is healthy, I prefer to drink a green juice for energy.

The green juice won’t flood you body with caffeine. But it will provide you with vitamins such as vitamin B (this is a super important vitamin, and if you’re a caffeine addict you need to supplement or eat more foods higher in vitamin B since caffeine and stress reduce the amount of vitamin B in your body).

So what I recommend to people is that they start by making a green juice in the morning and either drinking it at home, or else bring it to work. You will see vast differences after a week or so.

My personal morning green juice energy recipe would include: celery, kale, green apple, and lemon.

 

#3 Alkalize Your Body With Green Juice

You probably have seen a lot of newspaper articles and reports that cover alkaline and acid levels. The PH of water and food is important because it keeps your body from being acidic.

And green juices are perfect for this because green vegetables are among the highest alkaline vegetables. Things such as broccoli (not really what you want to juice) kale & spinach (perfect for green juices) and parsley are highly alkaline. By drinking green juices, therefore, you are creating a perfect alkaline environment and counteracting the highly acidic foods in your diet such as beet, chocolate, peanuts, and pasta. Notice, that not all acidic foods are bad for you (chocolate, for instance is really healthy) and beer in moderation isn’t terrible.

 

#4 Green Juice Helps Lower Blood Pressure

If you’re concerned about high blood pressure, or simply want to keep it in check, then you should love my next reason for drinking green juice!

Drinking green juice, especially when it is made with celery, helps to lower blood pressure. There are a few reasons for this.

First, celery in particular has a chemical compound which has been linked to lowering blood pressure. This compound is called NBP or  n-butylphthalide. So, drinking green juices that contain celery is a great way to get a lot of NBP in your diet. Because, honestly, celery is a bit tough to eat a lot of. So, I recommend anyone looking to get the health benefits from celery to juice it in a green juice.

One thing to remember is that any fiber in your diet, and a reduction in sodium and caffeine, will improve your blood pressure. So, in addition to the benefits of green juice with celery, you get an overall health benefit by eliminating caffeine (that morning switch out I recommended!) and also adding in some fiber.

The take away here is that by drinking green juices with celery, you’re going to help lower blood pressure. If you combine that with limiting your caffeine intake, then you’re going to do great!

 

#5 Green Juices Are A Great Source Of Antioxidants

Finally, one of the best reasons to drink green juice is that they are loaded with antioxidants.

Now, for those who aren’t aware of what antioxidants are, here’s really brief overview.

Free radicals damage the cells in your body. Free radicals come from environmental toxins, smoke, stress, junk food, and lots of other normal things that you have to encounter in the modern world.

The way in which you can combat these free radicals is to eat foods rich in anti-oxidants. These prevent the oxidation or damaging of your cells.

Antioxidants include some of the more popular vitamins (Vitamin C, A, and E) but they also include some other things that you might not have heard of. For instance, dark leafy greens are rich in flavonoids and lutein and zeaxanthin. These are powerful anti-oxidants.

So, in addition to your morning vitamin supplement, I think drinking green juices is a great way to boost your antioxidant intake.