Cold Kicker: Alkalizing Juice

So. Today was SUPPOSED to be a fun fashion post, but since our family is still under attack by whatever funky cold/flu bug there is, I’m dedicating today to a juicing and health post, because it’s been far too long since we had one of these. This is a favorite post from back in the early days of the blog (think November 2013) and since it’s been a while and because this is still one of my fave juicing recipes, it seemed fitting to bring it back. PS – pray for us, Little C was up from about 11:45pm last night until 5:15am or so this morning, and the Big C and I are both WRECKED. Ahhh parenting.

OK. On to the info. The vast majority of the foods that we consume as a nation (namely commercial processed foods) are acidic, throwing our body’s delicate pH balance out of whack.  Acidic. overly processed food is often addictive and contributes to over-eating, obesity and overall health issues.  An acidic environment within the body not only makes you susceptible to microforms like fungi, molds, and yeast, over time it even has the ability to corrode your arteries and veins. Quite literally, a long-term acidic environment within the body has the potential to interrupt everything on a multi-cellular level, from the neural function in the brain to the beating of your heart; it can be a killer.  So-clearly we want to try to combat the damage caused by the acidic nature of some foods, and to do that we need to ingest foods that have alkalizing properties; we need certain alkalizing minerals such as potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium to eliminate the acids safely. Enter the lemon! As I discussed in THIS post, lemons are superfoods with numerous beneficial properties! Aside from the glorious benefits of lemons, the fabulous juice creation above also packs the heat (literally and figuratively) with cayenne pepper. Did you know that cayenne boosts immunity and aids in weight loss? How about the fact that just two measly teaspoons of the bright red powder provides you with 47% of your daily vitamin A intake? Pretty impressive right? If you are looking for a juice that packs a flu-fighting, fat-reducing, vitamin-enriching punch, then this is it.

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Benefits of lemons:
• Blood sugar stabilizing properties
• Brimming with vitamins (including Vitamin C that fights colds-hello flu season!)
• Contain the minerals needed to balance pH levels in the body
• Aid in weight management
• Help lower cholesterol
• Can help dissolve kidney stones
• Antioxidant and flavonoid rich with cancer fighting properties

Benefits of ginger:
• Aids in digestion
• Increases circulation and boost metabolism
• Can aid in weight loss
• Rids the body of toxins
• Boosts the immune system
• Soothes upset stomach (and great for morning sickness if you’re a mommy-to-be)

Benefits of cayenne:
• Contains high concentrations of capsaicin, which has pain-reducing effects and cardiovascular health benefits
• Clears nasal passages
• Excellent source of Vitamin A
• Contains the antioxidant beta-carotene
• Reduces blood cholesterol
• Allows body to better dissolve fibrin (which lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke)
• May help with sensory nerve disorders like arthritis and psoriasis
• Capsaicin aids in weight loss by increasing your body’s thermogenic (burning) abilities and increases oxygen consumption for up to 20 minutes after consumption

Okay, enough of the boring benefits, let’s get to the JUICE!

Ingredients:
• 2 apples
• large piece of ginger
• 1 lemon
• cayenne pepper

How to do it:
• Peel ginger
• Cut apples small enough to fit into mouth of juicing
• Cut lemon into slices (leave the peel on-the pith and lemon rind have the highest concentration of antioxidants and flavonoids)
• Juice ‘em!
• Sprinkle juice with cayenne pepper
• Drink it!

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