Green vegetable juices are the most nutritious of  juice recipes. When we juice green vegetables we provide ourselves with an abundance of antioxidants like chlorophyll, lutein and zeaxanthin

Health Benefits of Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is the plant pigment that puts the “green” hue in green vegetables. The darker green the vegetable the more chlorophyll it contains. Green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale are among the best food sources of chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll has a unique ability for a plant food – it helps build red blood cells and therefore raise our red blood cell count. Chlorophyll’s chemical structure is extremely similar to the structure of a component of red blood cells called hemin. When we eat green vegetables or drink green juice recipes, our digestive system actual converts the chlorophyll into hemin.

Health Benefits of Leafy Green Vegetables
Lutein and zeaxanthin are two potent antoxidants that are found abundantly in leafy greens. Lutein and zeaxanthin promote eye health and protect our eyes our from diseases. They are found in great concentrations within the retina of the eye, where they function as antioxidants protecting the retina from free radical based cell damage. Free radicals are harmful oxygen molecules that come from several different sources including UV light. The free radicals in UV light can be particularly damaging for the eyes if we don’t have lots of antioxidants in our diets. So, a diet high in the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin have been found especially effective at preventing eye diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataracts.

Eating green leafy vegetables has been associated with slowing down the degeneration of mental functioning as a result of aging. One study conducted in Chicago found that elderly people who eat at least 2.8 servings of green vegetables a day displayed, on average, a 40% slowing down of mental decline.

Green leafy vegetables are also a good source  heart healthy antioxidants such as beta-carotene and vitamin C. Vitamin C protects LDL ‘bad’ cholesterol cells from the damaging effects of free radicals. Such damage is a leading cause in the development of atherosclerosis – the #1 risk factor of heart disease. Studies also show that eating a daily portion of beta-carotene rich foods lowered the risk of suffering a heart attack by 40% in elderly volunteers.

The following green juice recipes are all a great source of chlorophyll, lutein, zeaxanthin, beta carotene and vitamin C.

Green Juice Recipes #1
1 cup of kale
1 cup of spinach
1 cup of collard greens
1 green apples

Green Juice Recipes #2
1 handful parsley
1 cucumber
4 carrots
2 stalks celery

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Tagged as:  green juice · green juice recipes · health benefits of chlorophyll · Juice Recipes