Find it hard to get your five-a-day?
It’s time to dig out your juicer and try a glass of pure vitality.
Actress Sadie Frost claims it’s the secret
to looking fantastic at 45. Gwyneth Paltrow and Miranda Kerr both swear by its
skin-boosting benefits, while Salma Hayek uses it to get her body red-carpet
ready. No, it’s not another anti-ageing cream but a humble glass f green juice.
Packed with vitamins, minerals and live enzymes, and with less sugar than its
fruity cousin, green juice is the new star on juice-bar menus.
‘Have
a juice instead of a coffee – you’ll feel much more energized’
Blends of greens such as kale, spinach and
chard boast an array of impressive healthy benefits, from detoxing and
alkalizing your body, to strengthening your bones and improving your skin.
‘Drinking green foods as a juice means the nutrients are in a form that’s easy
for your body to assimilate,’ says Claire Neill, founder of juice delivery
service Radiance Cleanse (radiancecleanse.com). ‘Try a green juice instead of a
morning coffee and you’ll feel much more energized. Once you’ve seen its
positive effect, you’ll want to make it a regular part of your diet,’ she says.
Hayek was os impressed by the benefits of drinking
green juices that she approached NYC juicing expert Eric Helms to create her
dream blends. And together they now run juice-cleanse company Coolercleanse
(coolercleanse.com). And in the UK, new juice bars, such as those at Planet
Organic, Wholefoods and Sanderson Hotel are becoming increasingly popular.
Green revolution
Using a juicer to extract liquid from fruit
and vegetables became popular in 2000, with a juicer being the trendy kitchen
item to own. But it fell out of favor. ‘Some people criticized juicing because,
by removing the pulp and skin from fruit and vegetables, it removes the fibre,’
explains H&F nutritionist Amanda Hamilton. ‘And you need fibre to help you
feel full and to digest your food properly.
‘Others pointed out that by condensing a
large volume of fruit, you’re getting a big hit of fructose – so a glass of
fresh juice provides fast-release energy and calories.’ Using vegetables, you
don’t get much a sweet hit, plus you get the added dose of nutrients. ‘Green
ingredients help lower the GI and slow the energy release,’ says Hamilton. And
whether you juice green vegetables or add in green super food powders – for
example, nutrient-dense wheat grass or spirulina, such as Pure Synergy ($65,
glowgetter.co.uk) – you’re helping to alkalise your body.
The
deeply nourishing and cleansing foods in Pure Synergy
Many healthy experts believe the key to
optimum health and vitality lies in maintaining a predominantly alkaline pH in
the body, to counter the acidity of modern diets. And green vegetables are one
of the easiest ways to do this. Then, of course, there’s the powerhouse of
vitamins and minerals that greens contain. ‘Some people take vitamin
supplements, others juice,’ says Hamilton. ‘I think of it as a medicine or a
tonic.’ Green juices are also thought to help curbs cravings for sugary and
processed foods; because they’re so packed with nutrients, your body stops
searching for something of fill it up. ‘It’s fine to stick to fruit as first as
you get used to juicing,’ says UK juicing expert Jason Vale, aka The Juice
Master (juicemaster.com). ‘But don’t shy away from vegetables. A good rule is
to juice what wouldn’t eat – it often tastes better in liquid form and it’s a
great way to get your greens. Adding apples takes away the bitterness.’ Other
vegetables which yield surprisingly delicious juice include celery, beetroot,
cucumber and sweet potatoes.
