The wife and I have recently been juicing like crazy. It’s been a few months now and the health benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables are huge.
Today I am going to show you a video of one of the many recipes that we have use.
Of everything we’ve done over the last few years, juicing has been one of the most important steps I’ve taken to achieve bigger gains and feel like a million bucks. Plus juicing is very beneficial to athletes; those that want to build muscle, weight loss or burn fat.
Funky Detox Madness
The beet, cucumber and carrots in this blend work like maniacs at cleaning your digestive tract and your kidneys.
• 4 1/2 large carrots
• 1 piece of ginger
• 1 large beet
• 3 cucumbers
• 2 pears
Remove the stem end of the beet (unless it’s organic) and the tops from the carrots before juicing.
Top 10 Juicing Benefits and 101 Great Recipes (Video)
This post is a bit lengthy but it’s essential you understand the top ten benefits of juicing and why juicing can have such a huge impact on your muscle building and fat loss goals. These aren’t in any particular order – they’re all essential so get focused and lets dive in.
1. Wider range of micronutrients
Very few men get anywhere near the micronutrients they need from whole foods, specifically whole vegetables and fruits. We are very good about watching that protein intake, but take in far fewer than the 16-20 daily servings of vegetables and fruits we need for optimal health. Instead, we load up on hundreds of dollars’ worth of highly processed nutritional supplements.
Unfortunately, those nutritional supplements are often made with inferior ingredients and even those end up being largely destroyed by the digestive process, never making it to our muscles, immune systems and organs where they’re needed.
Juicing allows you to get those 16-20 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits in as few as two servings a day and to get a huge variety of those whole foods. This supplies your body with a huge dose and variety all of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that you need to optimize both health and growth.
2. Improved immune system
Those antioxidants that you will get through juicing fresh vegetables and fruits will have an enormous impact on your immune system. You might not think your immune system has much to do with building muscle, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Our immune systems work on a triage system. They take the resources they have available (such as antioxidants) and distribute them based on priority.
Unfortunately, building bigger biceps is not very high on that list of priorities if you’re not getting an abundance of micronutrients. Your immune system is more concerned with fighting infection, battling the effects of stress and free radicals, getting rid of toxins, wastes and bacteria in your digestive tract and several other more urgent tasks. If you have any resources left over, then your immune system may spare them for repairing and rebuilding muscle fibers. Juicing gives you that surplus of micronutrients so that your immune system has plenty left over for muscle recovery and muscle building.
3. Improved digestive health
The typical Westerner has a digestive system that is functioning far below optimal levels. Not only do we eat a ton of junk, but we also just don’t eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables to detoxify our bodies or clean out our digestive tracts. This causes a few serious problems that affect not only our overall health but our muscle-building goals as well.
First, we’re in an almost constant state of malnutrition. Not only do we not take in enough vitamins, minerals and antioxidants; we also don’t absorb the micronutrients we do eat. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are absorbed in the small intestine. If that small intestine is packed with toxin and waste build-up, the body isn’t able to absorb those micronutrients before they’re pushed right out of the body. In effect, all of those micronutrients are going right into the toilet.
If you’re not sure what this has to do with building muscle, let’s look at Vitamin C. Vitamin C is the key micronutrient used to repair and regenerate your body’s cells. But our bodies don’t make Vitamin C and they don’t store much of it, either. You have to get plenty of it every day. Unfortunately, your body is going to use that triage system we talked about earlier and since it needs that Vitamin C for every one of your body’s trillion or so cells, repairing muscle fibers broken down during your work out this morning may be low on the list.
A sluggish digestive system also hampers the balance of hormones such as insulin, testosterone and cortisol and makes it difficult for the body to burn stored fat as energy. Correcting your digestive system through mega-doses of vitamins and other micronutrients is essential to being able to lose fat and build new muscle.
4. Juicing provides micronutrients that are more bio-available
Juicing doesn’t just provide you with a huge supply of micronutrients; it also provides them in a more bio-available form. The process of juicing removes most or all of the fiber from whole fruits and vegetables. Because there’s no fiber, the foods don’t have to be broken down in order to extract the micronutrients. They hit your bloodstream immediately and are able to be used right away to nourish your muscles and the rest of your body. Also, because the fruits and vegetables have been juiced in a raw state, there’s no degradation of the nutrients through cooking.
5. More energy, from a healthy source
Juicing is one of the best things you can do to increase your energy levels. Because all of those B-vitamins and other micronutrients have a straight shot to your body’s cells, drinking a glass of juice is like downing an espresso. This means you have the energy to make it to the gym even after a hard day and that you can work out harder when you get there.
6. Fighting inflammation and winning
Our poor diets and sickened digestive systems have resulted in most of us suffering from some degree of chronic inflammation. Inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses, such as heart disease and stroke, but also interferes with your muscle-building goals. It can seriously slow down the muscle recovery process and can also lead to metabolic syndrome, which will result in fat storage rather than fat loss.
Two of the biggest causes of inflammation are oxidative stress and high blood sugar. Juicing helps with both. The antioxidant content in all of the fresh vegetables and fruits help battle the free radicals caused by oxidative stress and increased insulin sensitivity prevents metabolic syndrome.
7. Hormone balance and regulation
I’ve already talked about the positive impact juicing can have on insulin levels and insulin sensitivity. But the antioxidants in your juices, especially those from deeply colored produce such as beets, red peppers, berries and carrots, are also known to help lower cortisol levels. Less cortisol in your bloodstream stimulates your body to let go of stored fat, turning it back into glycogen to be used as fuel for your muscles.
8. Faster recovery for faster gains
Because of the immediate and regular supply of antioxidants you will be getting through juicing, you will experience a huge improvement in muscle recovery. Not only will your immune system have the resources to rebuild muscle tissue, but corrected insulin levels mean better oxygen uptake by your muscles, speeding the recovery process even more.
9. Increased testosterone levels
The same antioxidants and phytochemicals that decrease cortisol also help to increase testosterone levels. Increased testosterone means bigger gains and greater strength to keep achieving those gains.
10. A multi-step attack on body fat
As I’ve explained in several other points, juicing can be a huge help in helping you to burn stored fat so that you uncover those muscle gains and see serious definition. Lower insulin and cortisol levels signal your body to turn stored fat back into glycogen and burn it as fuel. A digestive system working at optimal levels means faster metabolism and greater nutrient absorption, which speeds fat loss and prevents new fat from being stored as well. Higher energy levels help to power you through your workouts and propel you to the next level.
In addition to these muscle-building benefits, you’ll feel cleaner and lighter, have much better memory and focus, have more stable moods (due to blood sugar regulation) and even better erections from the increased testosterone. As an extra bonus, you’ll save a ton of money on supplements that you no longer need.
This is why I’m so excited about introducing you to fitness expert, Vince DelMonte and what’s he’s done with health expert, Drew Canole, to bring you
Get Juiced: 101 Muscle-Charging Juicing Recipes for Men, Women & Athletes
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to start juicing and you don’t have to spend a lot of time doing it once you do get started. A couple of minutes a couple of times a day are all it takes to see serious results in just a week or two.
I’ve showed you ten great reasons to make juicing a part of your training, fat loss or muscle-building program. I can’t think of a single reason
not to include it.
Now that you know the benefits, it’s time you learn the best juicing recipes. Pick up a copy of their brand new recipe guide, Get Juiced: 101 Muscle Charging Juicing Recipes
Get Juiced: 101 Muscle Charging Juicing Recipes (+10 reasons you’ve STOPPED building muscle) 