Juicing for Health

Hi RangerMom,

I haven't done it in years, but boy it sure helped. I was really sick for a long time (bad pancreas) and my brother had me juicing.  We had a recipe book that we used, I remember peppers were good for clearing acne, and so on.  I always started with organic carrots (about 40 lbs a week) and added whatever I felt like that time.  I'm not big on veggies, so I always preferred adding fruit.  Bananas, apples and strawberries were my favorites.  Sometimes it almost tastes like a smoothie.  Breakfast lunch and dinner without fail, tall glass and drink it right down, don't let it sit.  I would take vitamins in the morning too, along with spinach pills and garlic.  I don't know why, that was my brothers idea.  Totally healed my pancreas for about 15 years....

Let me know if you have a really yummy new recipe, I may just try it again. 

I started juicing while in treatment, just finished in January.  I felt more energetic on the days I juiced. I basically started with carrots and spinach and added whatever fruit and veggies I had in the house. I tried to do mostly veggies with only one or 2 fruits for taste.  

Ranger mom..wishing you luck during all the staging tests...I found that one of the most stressful times, so glad you have found this website for help.  I was like you...information hound, and I couldn't really relax until I had a treatment plan in place.   I'm done chemo and rads, but have mastectomy and reconstruction to do stilll, now waiting for that to get scheduled.  Re the juicing  - my hubby is diabetic too!  I do find it helps with energy, and since I have trouble digesting fruits and veggies (colectomy 10 years ago due to ulcerative colitis) i love that I can get the vitamins in with out the fiber.  I didn't start juicing until after chemo, so can't comment on how it would work during chemo.  I found that all I could eat was comfort foods - mouth sores, no taste buds, so the important thing for me was mouth feel - mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, stuff like that.

Wishing you best of luck...

 Pam 

i am more a veggie than fruit type, but absolutely love mint, parsley and pineapple green stuff.

There are studies that have been done regarding beet juice and adriamyacin chemo - mice that were fed the beet juice had a more rapid reduction in tumors.  I juiced beets througout my chemo and I think it really helped with the side effects too.  I juiced wheat grass and threw in anything green I could find.  My oncology nurse was absolutely shocked that I never had any signs of any neuropathy when I had four rounds of Taxol.  I attribute it to the high amounts of B vitamins I was getting in whole food form by way of juicing. 

I do have a super power Omega brand juicer that I got sevearal years ago and used to use pretty heavily.  However it's  a pain to clean.  Insted, I throw everything into my Oster blender, which is a higher end Oster - a six point blade, all metal and glass parts and a super motor!  I just add in some water and drink the whole thing, pulp and all.    Some juicing recipes call for adding the pulp back in anyhow, as added fiber, and during chemo, added fiber helps!

Now I juice kale in an almost daily basis.  Any of the cruciferous veggies are really good for cancer, and Kale is cruciferous but more mild tasting that jucing broccoli or cabbage.  Sometimes I add in a handful of blueberries or some frozen papaya.   Sometimes I throw two or three large carrots into the blender with some water.  Depends on what I feel like doing.  But juicing is the best.  I notice an immediate boost in my mood many times just by juicing something super green!  

Hi Everyone:  I just bought a juicer yesterday and felt better immediately. A recipe leaflet came with it so I tried carrots & celery (equal amounts) Delicious!  I never thought of carrots as being sweet. I had NO craving for sugar the rest of the day, which is really interesting because two weeks ago I cut out sugar in tea and really missed it.

I am hoping juicing will give me more energy and make me lose some weight.

My friend recommended either the Jack LaLanne or the Champion. I got the Jack LaLanne at Sears for $99.99.  Since I didn't do any research, I don't know about any of the others, but this one seems fine.

Green Smoothie Revolution is a good book on smoothies for better health . . . I think there is a website and blog. I splurged on a Blendtec when I got diagnosed; I'm not sure it is worth the money (over $300), but I love it and I'm glad I have it.

One of my favorite combos is greens (kale, chard, or spinach), cucumber, ginger,  and avocado (if I have it). It really helps to have the greens prepped & ready to go. The book recommends rotating greens; if I have more than I can use up, I chop them and freeze for later, same with cucumber. Greens with frozen mango or frozen pineapple is good.

I love the idea of chopping everything up and freezing since freezing should not cause them to lose any of their "good stuff."  The part I hate about juicing is preparing all the veggies!  Pineapple is also a good tip!

I usually juice a big colander of spinach, carrots, broccoli, +/-beets, 1/2 an apple, and lemon.  This is my staple.  I chug it though as I don't love the taste!

Lori

Yes absolutely!!! Ginger can settle the nausea, add it and a bit of lemon. I juice constantly and did all the way thru chemo. I had to force it down, but knew it made me feel better. I learned to make a veggie soup from the juicer, and warm it a little. I just made it brothier and therefore much more palatable. I think the juicing helps keep the blood work humming along. I own the omega and the blendtec. The omega is a serious pain to clean, but I feel like I am getting all my enzymes. The blendtec I tend to do with fruit juices. Good luck!

Green Lemonade is the best.  I drink it daily.  Started juicing 3 weeks ago, feel more energy and hope to continue throughout chemo. 

A bunch of kale

one large fuji apple

one lemon

Thanks everyone for the kale suggestion.  I just started adding kale this week and can't even taste it.  I am assuming it is very good for you!  I like it better than the broccoli in the juice.

Lori