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In my last article I talked about the enjoyment and vitality that comes from eating the ‘right’ types of bacteria, as in live yoghurt and fungi, as elements of Ambrosia Therapy.

In this article I take a look at humble plants, humble yet splendid in their service to man and woman. Plants truly keep the planet, and us, alive, in their diversity of forms and tastes, and in their diversity of preparation methods for eating.

In addition to our eating plants in their ‘solid’ form, we also can consider them as Plant Ambrosia when eaten in the form of fruit and vegetable juices, herbal tisanes, true teas and even red (as well as white) wines.

Fruit and Vegetable Juices

Drinking freshly made juices and eating enough whole foods to provide adequate fibre

 is a sensible approach to a healthful diet.

Jay Kordich (1923- AD)

For thousands of years people have recognised that consuming specific fruits and vegetables in juice form is a very effective approach to achieving and maintaining a positive state of health. The expression ‘juice therapy’ is frequently referred to and regularly practiced by millions of people around the world today, as it has been in the Ayurveda medicine tradition for at least 5,000 years.

Juice therapy is defined by one medical dictionary as being: ‘The use of concentrated nutritional elixirs of fruit and vegetable extracts for nutritional maintenance; illness prevention; detoxification; and adjunctive treatment of allergies, digestive disorders, rheumatoid arthritis, skin diseases, and other conditions such as hypotension, bronchitis, obesity and insomnia’.

During juice therapy, the cleansing and eliminating functioning of the bowels, kidneys, liver, lungs and the skin improves and increases amounts of accumulated metabolic waste and toxins that are eliminated. At the same time, the juices provide a physiological rest to the digestive system, whilst still supplying a diverse range of concentrated nutrients for energy and restoration.   

The benefits of juice therapy include:

• Fruit and vegetable juices are extremely rich in antioxidants, carotenes, enzymes, flavonoids, minerals, sugars, trace elements and vitamins, which exercise beneficial effects in normalising all body functions. They supply needed elements for the body’s own healing activity and cell regeneration, thereby preventing and/or curing a variety of ailments. The antioxidants counteract free radicals that can cause cellular damage, ageing and susceptibility to cancers.

• Fruit and vegetable juices require little digestive processing and nearly all nutrients are assimilated directly into the blood stream.

• Fruit and vegetable juices are extremely high in water content and rich in alkaline constituents. This is beneficial in providing the body with the water it needs and in normalising the acid-alkaline balance in the blood and tissues, as there is over-acidity in most conditions of ill health.

• There are substantial amounts of easily assimilated organic minerals in fruit and vegetable juices, especially calcium, potassium and silicon, which help in restoring biochemical and mineral balances in the tissues and cells, thereby preventing premature ageing of cells and disease.

• Fruit and vegetable juices contain natural therapeutic chemicals, botanical hormones and antibiotics, e.g.: string beans contain insulin-like substance; certain natural chemicals needed by the pancreas to produce insulin are present in cucumber and onion juices; garlic, onion, radish and tomato juices contain antibiotic substances.

• Fruit and vegetable juices have a laxative effect, which is more pronounced for fruit juices, which helps rid the body of toxins. Detoxifying the body, especially cleansing the digestive system, helps to clear the mind and balance the body. Cleansing also causes the body’s metabolism to be more efficient. 

• Fruit and vegetable juices provide natural sugars, bundled with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other phytochemicals, thus providing the same energy as refined sugar, without the disadvantages of refined sugar.

• Fruits and vegetables provide the body with chlorophyll, which is found only in plants and which enables the body to better produce haemoglobin, which enhances the delivery of oxygen to cells.

In addition, research has shown that fruit and vegetable juices reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease, among other maladies.

Fruit and vegetable juices have very good cleansing and purifying effects, which commences as soon as the juice is consumed. Due to the highly effective eliminating property of juices, some symptoms related to the cleansing and purifying processes may occur in some people — these symptoms are temporary; they are a part of the process and will disappear as the toxins are eliminated from the body.

Whilst most juices are relatively mild in their effects on the body, the symptoms of drinking more juices than perhaps you usually do may include: abdominal pain, bad breath, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, mild fever, sleeplessness and weight loss. However, there is nothing to worry about; just ease up on the juices until you get used to drinking them in the quantity you want.

Herbal Tisanes

Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage.

Kakuzo Okakura, Book of Tea

More than 60,000 years ago, Neanderthals began using healing herbs, and today more than 4 billion people use healing herbs as their primary medicines. Medicinal herbs are available to prevent, treat symptoms or cure almost all chronic ailments — after all, up to 25% of all prescription medicines contain active plant ingredients.

The simplest, yet still a very effective, way to experience the enjoyment and therapeutic benefits of healing herbs is by drinking tisanes, which are infusions made with hot water and the dried parts of plants that are not from the Camellia sinensis tree, from which true teas (black, green and white) are made. A tisane can be made using the dried parts of the chamomile, ginger or peppermint plants, for example.

Herbal tisanes may be utilised for a range of health benefits, including: to achieve a more calm and relaxed state of mind; support cardiovascular health; promote efficient digestion; enhance the elimination of toxins and waste products; increase energy levels; and for overall wellness.

True Tea - Black, Green, White

Drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary.

Chinese Proverb

True tea, from the Camellia sinensis tree, is one of the healthiest beverages, owing to the polyphenols contained in the leaves, which have very powerful antioxidant properties while many likewise possess anti-cancer properties.

Polyphenols comprise different groups of substances, such as anthrocyanins, catechins, flavonoids and isoflavones. These lower blood cholesterol, blood sugar, the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, stimulate metabolism and release dopamine for improved mood and relaxation.

Red Wine

Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616 AD)

Red wine contains resveratrol, a polyphenol also found in cranberries and blueberries, which is a powerful antioxidant known to reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease in addition to containing anti-ageing properties.

The optimal consumption of red wine has indicated a reduction in the risk of heart attack in middle-aged people by 30 to 50 percent; the optimal consumption of red wine is one glass per day for women and two glasses per day for men.

Recent research indicates there appears to be a direct link between the incidence of drinking alcohol and breast cancer in women; however, if a woman consumes sufficient amounts of folic acid (Vitamin B9), the risk of breast cancer reduces and even disappears.

If you would like a pdf copy of this article, please contact me at Premchit@ExperiencePremchit.com.

Next article I will share with you my ‘Enjoy Much More Ambrosia List’ — the ambrosias to eat for a long life of joy and vitality.