Beating the Colds of Late Winter

Pretty in Pink is the name of my new favorite juice concoction. I guess the true color of it is not pink, but rather a deep beautiful magenta. It is filled with many amazing fruits and veggies that can keep the late winter blues at bay. Not only full of vitamin c due to oranges, apples, pears, and lime, it has an even deeper healing effect with the beets, turmeric, and ginger.

Beets are amazing, not only are they beautiful but they also carry a punch of health. Beets are full of phytonutrients called betalains, responsible for their vibrant color, which have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. Usually destroyed by longer periods of heat (roasting, steaming), using them raw keeps the betalains intact. If you choose to cook or roast, heating for 15 minutes or less reserves the majority of betalain integrity. 

Why beets? Well, Betalains act as anti-inflammatory compounds in their ability to inhibit the activity of the enzymes responsible for triggering inflammation. Today's diseases such as heart disease, atherosclerosis, and diabetes are all associated with chronic unwanted inflammation. Also Betalin pigments support Phase 2 detoxification of our body. Phase 2 is a metabolic step that our cells use to eliminate unwanted toxic substances via our urine. Great, right? And to top if off, beets are great sources of vitamin c and manganese, both antioxidants which help rid the body of free radicals and help benefit our eye and nerve tissue health.

Turmeric is another great addition to this juice. It is full of curcumin, the pigment responsible for its bright orange color. Turmeric is a potent and safe anti-inflammatory root, that helps in controlling daily issues such as flatulence, menstrual difficulties, toothache, bruises, and chest pain, as well as common diseases. Curcumin helps relieve pain and swelling in rheumatoid arthritis patients, and has shown to inhibit cancer cell growth and metastases. Also, it is an excellent source of your daily iron and manganese. 

Finally, the ginger root, tops off the healing attributes. Alleviating gastrointestinal stress, motion sickness, dizziness, and vomiting, it is often used in the natural kitchen. Ginger also a potent anti-inflammatory root like turmeric and beets, helping patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis to relive pain and swelling. The gingerols responsible for this response, also induce cell death in ovarian cancer through apoptosis (programmed cell death). Due to its spiciness, ginger also boosts the immune system through healthy sweating. Sweat contains powerful germ fighting agents that may help keep infections at bay.

WOW!! All that in today's juice?? Yep! So, ready, set, go! Get your juicers out of the cupboards, wipe off that dust, and make yourself some Pretty in Pink juice.

PS. please don't make the same mistake I did, and wear your favorite clothes while juicing. Otherwise you will have beautiful red, orange, and yellow marks on them from the pigments in the beets, turmeric, and ginger. Cheers to your health!

Pretty in Pink

Makes about a quart of juice. 

INGREDIENTS 

2-3 medium small beets

3 navel oranges

2 granny smith apples

2 pears

1 thumb sized piece of fresh turmeric root

1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger root

Juice of 1/2 lime

DIRECTIONS

Wash all produce and place into strainer. Cut all the produce, except the lime, into small enough slices/chunks in order to fit into your juicer. It is okay to leave the skin on all produce except the oranges. Place into a large bowl.

Juice each separately and pour into a large glass jar. Add the lime juice and stir. Cover jar and refrigerate.

I like to drink 4 oz of this juice in the mornings prior to breakfast. It wakes me up and energizes from within. Its sweet and spicy and refreshing to boot!