Juicing vegetables is one of the healthiest things we can do for ourselves. Although fruit juices are also very healthy, vegetable juicer recipes can be a better choice for those who want less sugar in their juices or have health conditions like diabetes. Also, the color of vegetables can tell us what kinds of health benefits they provide.
Orange Colored Vegetables
Beta-carotene and other carotenoids are what gives the orange color to vegetables like carrots, yams and squash. The more orange the fruit the more beta-carotene contains, this is why carrots are one of the most abundant sources of beta-carotene.
Beta-carotene is converted by the liver into vitamin A, a vitamin that is necessary for eye health. Without vitamin A we will develop night blindness and eventually become completely blind.
A diet high in carotenoid such as beat-carotene can also help prevent us from developing heart disease. In a study of 1,300 elderly people, those who ate a daily portion of carrots or squash were 60% less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who ate less then one portion of these vegetables per day.
Yellow Colored Vegetables
Carotenoids are also responsible for the yellow colored pigments of vegetables. It is hydroxy-carotenoid in particular that imparts such a vibrant yellow tone. Carotenoids generally are good for the eyes and for protecting us from heart disease, but specific research into the health benefits of hydroxy-carotenoid is limited at presenst.
Green Colored vegetables
Cholorphyll is the plant pigment that provides the green color in vegetables. The darker the green the more chlorophyll it contains. Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale are among the best sources of chlorophyll. One amazing benefit of chlorophyll is its ability to help build up the blood. Chemically, cholorphyll is almost identical to the hemin in our red blood cells and when we eat sources of chlorophyll it actually becomes hemin through the digestive process.
Red Colored vegetables
Lycopene is the plant pigment that puts the red in vegetables like tomatoes and red peppers. Research on lycopene has shown it to be a potent antioxidant at protecting us from cancers – especially prostate cancer.
Vegetable Juicer Recipes #1 – Carrot Juice
8 carrots
Top and tail the carrots and juice! Carrot vegetable juice recipes are the highest source of beta-carotene that you will ever come across.
Vegetable Juicer Recipes #2 – Carrot and Cucumber
1/2 cucumber
4 carrots
No need to peel the cucumber if its organic – the skin is a great source of chlorophyll.
Vegetable Juicer Recipes #3 – Super Greens
1 cup of collard greens
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of kale
1 green apple
Dark leafy greens taste very bitter when juiced, so the apple is added to sweeten this vegetable juice recipe and make it more palatable.
Mark Brown
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