Off the Meds & Onto Green Juicing
 

A few weeks ago my wife started trying to get me to drink fresh green juices she was making with our juicer. At first I refused, but then decided to go ahead and try it...I mean, the meds weren't really helping, so I figured "I'll try anything if I can just feel better!"

As I started drinking them, I began to feel better. It's been two weeks now and all I can say is that green juicing is the way to go. Two or three times a day. This will raise your ph levels and help you heal faster. You also may want to check into drinking alkaline water as well.

What kind of juicer do you use?
And do you like it, easy clean up etc?

there's a thread on another forum here asking about recommendations for Juicers.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread151258.html

I have a vitamix -- which blends the entire "green" or veggie/fruit. I have a great book called the Ultimate Smoothie book and another Juicing book..but didn't think to take this route.

I'm on too many meds and would love to be off them. Please tell me what you're drinking...good mixes, etc.

I am losing weight from lack of interest in food...down to 116 lbs and 5'7 so I can't afford to lose anymore!

(ok, this is his wife replying, cause I'm the one that makes them for him)...

you might wanna start with some fruity ones first, then ease into greens:

"Breakfast Blend": Handful of strawberries (green tops removed), one mango (pit removed), 1/4 fresh pineapple, one orange (peeled)...super delish! (we have this one as our fruit one every single day!)


"Afternoon Refresh": about 4 large carrots and 3 celery sticks (the full things, but not the entire stalk)...just blend all of that together...carrot makes it sweet, celery makes it veggie-ish...pretty good. :)

"Mean Green": 3 romaine lettuce leaves, one lime (peeled), 3 sprigs of celery, (not stalks, just tear off 3 sticks), small handful of celantro, about 4 sprigs of parsley, if I have collard/mustard greens, i throw in 2 or 3 of them, 3 sprigs (not full bunches) fresh spinach, one decent sized cucumber, and two sprigs of rosemary (can be sort of dried if needbe)...

I've also found that rosemary is an herb that helps your brain, so I put that in his green juices. Lavender & Chamamile Tea is something he drinks during the day and that helps calm him, keeps the nerves calmer...he really doesn't take his meds since we started this either. He still struggles, has pain usually at night with headaches and nausea, but this has seemed to alleviate a whole lot of the pain. it does take some time though, so try to be paitent with results.

Hope that helps. again, sorry so long. hope this helps.

My wife adds a bit of ginger to her green juices. It really enhances the flavor.

We use a Champion juicer. It is a masticating juicer. It tears and squeezes the veggies to break down the cells to get everything out. The pulp that is expelled is very dry. Shredding/blending juicers don't get all of the finest bits out in most cases. Clean up isn't too bad. We have been juicing for maybe 20 years.

Freeze a few bananas and strawberries and you can make fruit sorbet. My grandson loves it. It is like ice cream.

My wife buys the black grapes at Costco and makes the best grape juice. We usually have fresh squeezed grape juice at Thanksgiving.

You can freeze most fruits so you can juice them later. Bananas are real cheep when they are at the end of the ripeness. Peel them then freeze them. Cut larger fruit up before freezing it. Trim out seeds and such before you freeze if you are going to make sorbet.

She got into juicing because she cannot swallow vitamin pills.

The Champion Juicer sells for about $200, more or less. There are good deals to be had online. They last FOREVER. The household model is more than adequate to juice anything.

We had other juicers but none worked as well as the Champion.

I've been doing lots of green juices as well. I have noticed an improvement in some of my symptoms that seems to correlate with the juicing (I actually did a juice fast for about a month-it wasn't my first time, I wouldn't recommend a beginner try it for that long). I carefully phased back to solids and plan another juice fast for later in the summer. If you don't want to lose weight, you would be better off just adding the juice to a healthy diet.

I have an Omega juicer, probably not the best out there, but what I could afford when I bought it 10 years ago. It still works, so I haven't felt a need to upgrade. I agree with Mark about the Champion, that'll probably be the brand I get when I need a replacement.

I juice kale and collard greens as well as spinach, parsley, celery, cucumbers and lettuce. I like to mix the greens with lemon and/or lime juice, sometimes ginger as well, they take the edge off the stronger flavored greens. I also usually add some apples, sometimes grapes to my green mix to make it more palatable. I think you just have to experiment and see what tastes good to you. There are many great combos using a wide variety of fruits and veggies. I don't juice every day, usually every 2-3 days, but I bottle portions individually so they keep longer. There is loads of information online about juicing.

Ive also started drinking veggie and fruit smoothies since the accident and swear it has helped with my symptoms. I also add a green super food supplement in that has every nutrient possible. I never thought this much about my nutrition until i wasnt eating much after the accident and a friend brought me a green smoothie a week after and i felt the best that day. Since then, ive made one everyday with spinach, carrots, banana, strawberries, blueberries, rasberries, mango, pomegranate-blueberry juice and greek yogurt plus the supplement. Glad to see others doing the same!

I can't do the spinach in my drinks...and kale...it makes them foamy and I just can't drink it...I can do the romaine ...and I can eat spinach but not drink it.