Antioxidant-Rich Beet & Blood Orange Juice
Antioxidants are beneficial to your health and important to consume because they neutralize potentially harmful compounds in your body called free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive and may damage healthy cells, which can lead to an increased risk of cancer and other diseases. A simple solution would be to reduce the number of free radicals we are exposed to, but it isn’t that simple. Free radicals are produced from basic metabolism (the digestion of foods in our gut) and also by the environment (tobacco smoke, radiation, exposure to UV light, pollution and toxic substances). Free radicals are all around us and are actually utilized by our immune system to destroy harmful substances, but it is when we are exposed to too many that the risk for health issues may occur.
Consumption of foods with the 4 main antioxidants will drastically decrease the number of damaging free radicals in your body. These 4 antioxidants include: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Beta-Carotene (a precursor to Vitamin A), and Selenium (a mineral). Of course, these vitamins and minerals have numerous other health benefits besides acting as antioxidants, but this post is only going to focus on their antioxidant properties.
Why am I going on and on about antioxidants? The fruits and vegetables in this juice are absolutely loaded with them! All the major antioxidants I mentioned previously are present in this juice in varying amounts. Vitamin C is the most abundant and has a very high bioavailability (meaning our bodies are able to absorb almost all the vitamin C we consume), which is not always the case for vitamins. For example, Vitamins E and A are fat-soluble, meaning absorption will increase significantly if consumed with a small amount of fat, but are otherwise not readily absorbed. Vitamin C is water-soluble; therefore it is more readily absorbed because water is naturally occurring in almost all foods. So here is an insider tip - adding a drop of oil to your juices will increase the bioavailability of the fat-soluble vitamins you are consuming!
Ingredients:
3 good-sized beets (with their greens if possible)
3 blood oranges
1 inch ginger
1/2 inch turmeric
1 apple
1 lemon
1 drop of oil (hemp, flaxseed, avocado, olive, etc.)
Peel oranges and lemon, rinse beets, beet greens, ginger and turmeric (peel if not organic), and rinse your apple. Cut up your fruits into the size that will fit in your juicer and go for it. This recipe makes enough juice for 2 people - enjoy!
*Try your best to get organic produce and always rinse before using.
