For many years I opposed the use of juices for health, as I maintained that the whole fruit or vegetable was better than the juice and, therefore, the whole fruit or vegetable should be eaten. However, time has taught me a few things .... and I have slowly come to realize that health juices do have a place in the diet of most of the people in America. Not only do they have a place but in many cases they are essential, especially where dentures and old age are factors.
I have witnessed, heard of and read about many miracle cures that have taken place due to the use of various fruit and vegetable juices, especially carrot juice. However, while I have seen dramatic recoveries through the use of these fresh juices and read of many, many more, I do not now and never will state that juices contain any magic powers. They simply supply the missing nutrients that are required for good health.
One might ask, "If fresh vegetable and fruit juices are so great and produce such remarkable results, just how does this take place?"
The answer is comparatively simple. To start with, the juices are always taken raw; second, they are always taken fresh; third, they are not mixed with any preservatives; fourth, they are always taken in concentration — never diluted — and in fairly copious quantities, such as a minimum of six or eight ounces at a time. Then, too, the juices can create what might appear to be miraculous results because the average individual has, for most of his lifetime, lived on a diet of cooked cereals, bread, cooked meat, fish or eggs .... in fact, a diet that probably consisted of 95% cooked foods, which means that most of the nutritive and assimilable values were lost. In using fruit and vegetable juices in their raw state, the values are there without being mitigated and the body can utilize them almost completely.
Changing to a diet of fresh fruit and vegetable juices is like going from the ridiculous to the sublime .... from a diet of abject poverty, nutritionwise, to one that is complete in most of the essential minerals and vitamins so necessary for good health. Therefore, it is not surprising that people get what they term miraculous results after a few days on a juice diet or a diet that includes these fresh fruit and vegetable juices.
Live vegetable and fruit juices have worked wonders for many people and no doubt they can for you, too, if you will give them a fair and square chance. I have never known a condition that was not improved by their regular use.
Try juices fairly before you attempt any risky or troublesome procedure. It costs very little and no sacrifice is involved, no risk is taken and the flavor is pleasant. Further, in a matter of days or at the most a few weeks, the results will be manifest clearly. Juices will not fail you!
I don't take or recommend taking juices frivolously. Of course, if you enjoy them, that's a good enough reason for taking them because they can only do good. However, if you are a healthy, active person, don't take them as a substitute for your meals because therein lies a danger. Juices are so delightful that folks might shirk their responsibilities and try to take the easy way out .... and I want no casualties. So if you are healthy, use juices for pleasant sipping but use your raw food diet to maintain your health.
One of the major reasons why fresh juices can be so helpful and so effective for older people is because so many have permitted themselves to reach a condition of health in which they have poor digestive powers and a minimal supply of the necessary body enzymes, as well as a weakened quality of hydrochloric acid. Therefore, we have a combination of poor digestive powers, poor teeth, absence of essential body fluids and lack of enzymes .... all of which tend to steadily weaken the body and cause tissue and cell degeneration, which in turn leads to serious chronic conditions.
The body's one and only means of correcting these various conditions and rebuilding or regenerating itself is through the bloodstream. Therefore, if one can put new fresh nutrients and new life-giving qualities into the blood, the blood in turn will distribute them to all the functional organs that require rebuilding and regenerating. Thus, the use of raw, live juices can be a vital, comprehensive factor in regaining health.
I would like to quote what Albert J. Bellows, M.D., says in his book, "The Philosphy of Eating":
"The phosphates of succulent vegetables and fruits, where nourishment is mostly in their juices, are of course soluble ... They also contain the acids which are needed every day ... and the amount of refreshing nourishment in them is much greater than would at first appear as the result of analysis."
I will agree that it is not too difficult to get hold of foods containing a wide variety of nutrients but the big trick is to get the nutrients into your body in a form that the body will be able to metabolize or assimilate. I stress that assimilation is the problem and also the answer. You can buy vitamin pills containing the essential nutrients but in most cases the body, for any one of many reasons, is unable to assimilate and distribute them as necessary. Live, fresh, wholesome juices will put nutrients into your body and into your bloodstream in a form that the body can assimilate and disseminate.
I have been asked which I would recommend, vitamin pills did supplements or juices. I make my position clear. I do not believe in the use of supplements or vitamin pills nor do I normally suggest the use of juices. Both are strictly emergency measures. However, I would prefer juices to pills as I believe they are more effective and more natural.
I feel certain that all of the vitamins that are in foods have not as yet been isolated or discovered by researchers and you can't buy a supplement containing a vitamin that as yet has not been discovered. However, by ingesting the fruit or vegetable or the juice, all the inherent vitamins are there and are available to your body. That is why I feel that juices are more valuable than supplements or vitamin pills.
I always advise variety in juices. Stay away from the use of one kind of juice — carrot juice or celery juice, for example — but mix different kinds of vegetable juices for various taste sensations. You will quickly learn how to make them pleasing and palatable .... but don't forget that the big idea is for health and optimum nutrition. Some juices by themselves are not pleasing to the taste but if they contain factors that your body needs, then put up with a bit of displeasure. However, this is where sensible mixing comes in. Put your intelligence and ingenuity to the test — your body will be the big winner.
According to scientists no blood cell in the human body is more than 14 days old .... so the sooner you start on a proper diet of wholesome raw food or juices, the sooner your bloodstream will contain the health-giving ingredients so essential for long life. Juices lead the way as a fast, safe, dependable way to get results. Until you try fresh fruit and vegetable juices, it is difficult to believe that they can perform the miracles accredited to them.
Again I wish to emphasize that a whole carrot is better than the juice of a carrot, a whole orange is better than the juice of an orange, a whole apple is better than the juice of an apple, a whole beet is better than the juice of a beet and so on, but the big problem in eating the whole fruit or vegetable is the quantity required to get the desired results. It must be recognized that when people undertake juice therapy they are usually suffering ill health. Therefore, they are in no position to start eating a sufficient quantity of carrots, celery, beets, apples or other valuable nutrient-laden vegetables and fruits.
Carrots are recognized as being an excellent food but who among us would eat more than two or three carrots every day? Further, even if we like carrots and want to eat half a dozen, most of us past forty or fifty are apt to have a chewing problem. I have good teeth and I have repeatedly tried to eat my raw carrots but I have found that after one or two my jaws begin to ache and often my teeth hurt, too. We are just not accustomed to eating very much of anything as crisp and hard as carrots and stalks of celery. However, it is easy to run half a dozen carrots through a juicer and drink a nice tall glass of sweet, refreshing and pleasant tasting carrot juice.
While reading a booklet compiled by R. D. Pope, M.D., I came across this note that may be of keen interest and value to those suffering from impotency:
"The endocrine glands, especially the adrenals and the gonads, require food elements found in raw carrot juice and sterility is sometimes overcome by its use."
Speaking of carrots, I would like to quote Ragnar Berg, who was a director of the Laboratory of Physiological Chemistry at Weisser Hirsch and one of the great early scientists who did some wonderful work on vitamins:
"They have some protein, are rich in carbohydrates, potassium, sodium and calcium, there is a high alkali excess, a trace of iodine and a good proportion of all vitamins. They constitute a powerful cleansing food. A large amount of carrot carbohydrate is one of the most effective means of changing the intestinal flora from a putrefactive to a non-putrefactive type."
Carrots are widely used for juicing and are mentioned in practically every bit of writing about juices. It is simply that they are more palatable than most of the others. They are sweeter and they have an attractive color and a pleasant aroma. Also, they are readily procurable at a reasonable cost. However, I do not believe, nor do my studies and research indicate, that carrots have any special virtue over parsnips, beets, turnips or other root vegetables.
I am not deprecating the great value of carrots but, when compared to other vegetables, it is my belief that carrots hold no special attraction nor are they of any special value nutritionwise. For example, beets contain more potassium, more sodium, more chlorine, more iodine and more protein than carrots, but no one can drink much straight beet juice because it is not very palatable. Carrots, on the other hand, contain a great deal more Vitamin A (carotene) than beets. Thus, I advise the use of a broad variety of vegetables in your juices.
The famed name, "Dr. Bircher-Benner," should be known to every person who is interested in or striving for health. Almost 100 years ago he was a pioneer in the field of raw food for health .... and, remember, he was a qualified medical practitioner, too. He opened his famous raw food institute in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1897 and this sanitarium is still functioning today under the direction of his son, Dr. Ralph E. Bircher.
The principles and practices Dr. Bircher-Benner advocated are still being followed closely by hundreds of thousands throughout the world. One of his most memorable statements was, "Raw vegetable food is the most potent healing factor that exists."
Dr. Bircher-Benner says in his book, "The Essential Nature and Organization of Food Energy," published in 1936:
"Absorption and organization of sunlight, the essence of life, takes place almost exclusively within the plants. The organs of the plant are therefore, a kind of biological accumulation of light. They are the basis of what we call food, whence animal and human bodies derive their substance and energy. Nutritional energy may thus be termed organized sunlight energy. Hence sunlight is the driving force of the cells of our body."
Arnold De Vries upholds Bircher-Benner's theory in his book entitled, "The Elixir of Life":
"At the First Medical Clinic of the University of Vienna, two scientists, Eppinger and Kaunitz, tested the Bircher-Benner raw food diet as a means of improving the interchange of energies and substances between the ends of the blood vessels (capillaries) and the tissue cells of the body. Under normal conditions of life, the blood gives up its nutritive substances, and the cells give up their waste substances in this interchange through two fine membranes and a narrow dividing interstice. Often, however, the cells lose a part of their 'selective capacity' because of salt penetrating the cell wall, distortion and spasms of the capillaries, a sticky coating of blood globules, waste products being scattered around the cells, and reduction of the chemical, physical and electrical tensions which promote the nutritive interchange. When this happens, cells cannot rejuvenate fast enough; bacteria tend to multiply too rapidly, and the general cause of many clinical symptoms of disease is in existence. Eppinger and Kaunitz studied this condition and tried every possible means of restoring normal selective power in the cells once this had been lost. Only one measure was found to be successful. This was the application of an exclusive raw food diet 'exactly according to the prescriptions of Dr. Bircher-Benner.' Under the influence of this diet, the life-giving tensions between capillaries and cells grew and the capillaries were slowly restored to, a normal, vigorous condition."
Here is a report concerning work done by Dr. Cheney, as taken from the San Francisco Examiner:
"A remarkable speedup in the healing of peptic ulcers when treated with raw cabbage juice was reported today by Dr. Garnett Cheney of the Stanford. University Medical School.
"In the first test of its kind on human beings, 13 patients, some with ulcers of long standing, received the cabbage juice treatment. In 11 cases the ulcers disappeared in six to nine days, Dr. Cheney said. He reported the tests in California Medicine, an official journal.
"Seven of the patients had ulcers of the duodenum, the part of the small intestine nearest to the stomach. The other six had ulcers in the stomach.
"Each patient drank about a quart of raw cabbage juice a day. Raw celery juice was added to make the drink more palatable for some of the patients.
"This was the only raw food they were allowed to have. The diet of the patients included nearly everything except pork and fried foods. Milk had to be boiled, not pasteurized. Eggs, ice cream, nuts and alcoholic drinks were not allowed."
We learn about Dr. Gerson's methods from "Natural Raw Vegetable and Fruit Juices" by R. E. Horvath:
"Does his therapy really work? In his book, Dr. Max Gerson lists one case history after the other in which he snatched his patients from the clutches of cancer by an astonishing therapy which is devoted almost exclusively to raw juices made from raw fruits, vegetables and liver. His treatment is basically dietary. He uses no X-ray, no surgery, no radium. In his own words, Dr. Max Gerson says, 'The liver is the center of the restoration process in those patients who improve strikingly. If the liver is too destroyed, then the treatment cannot be effective ... It is generally known that in cancer, especially in advanced cases, all the various metabolic systems are impaired.
"'Diet and medication serve the purpose of restoring potassium and the minerals of the potassium group to the tissues until they are completely saturated and, conversely, of reconveying sodium and its group out of the cells and into the circulatory fluids, the connective tissues and other tissues where they belong. The retentive surplus of sodium must be eliminated. It is only on this basis that further recovery of the organs can take place.' ...
"In order for the body to rid itself of accumulated poisons, Dr. Gerson's treatment consists of radical changes in the diet in order to return metabolism to normal. Two functions are performed in Dr. Gerson's cancer therapy which largely consists of raw fruits and vegetables in juice form:
- It destroys the conditions necessary for the life of the cancer cell.
- It returns to normal the biological functions of the damaged cells.
"The end result is to return the body to its physiological functions as they existed before the development of cancer. In this state of normal metabolism, abnormal cells are absorbed and disappear. When the body is healthy and has normal metabolism, there is no chronic disease or cancer.
"'A normal body has reserves to suppress and destroy malignancies,' writes Dr. Max Gerson in his book. 'It does not act in that manner in cancer patients where the cancer grew from the smallest cellular unit freely, without encountering any resistance. What forces can suppress such a development? My answer is that this can be accomplished by the oxidizing enzymes found in fresh, raw vegetables and calf's liver juice and the conditions which maintain their activity.'"
Dr. Gerson believed that the ideal task of a cancer therapy was to restore the function of the oxidizing systems in the entire organism and to achieve this he employed a diet containing large amounts of raw vegetable juices as part of the treatment for cancer. Some of his patients were given as much as 16 glasses of fresh raw juice each day but most of them were given somewhat smaller amounts, including daily doses of 4 glasses of carrot and apple juice, 4 glasses of green leaf juice, 2 to 3 glasses of calf's liver juice, and 1 glass of orange juice. About 75 per cent of Dr. Gerson's cancer diet, including all juices, was unheated or raw; the balance consisted of vegetable broths and other foods which were cooked by the least destructive methods. Dr. Gerson reported gratifying results in about 50 per cent of his cancer cases, with many complete recoveries. Dr. Gerson's experience in treating cancer at the Gotham Hospital in New York was so successful that he was called upon to testify before a subcommittee in the U.S. Senate in 1946.
To quote Owen S. Parrett, M.D., from a medical journal, "Life and Health":
"Fruit is like medicine to the kidneys. Last week I delivered a small woman patient of triplets. The total weight of the three was twenty-one pounds, nine ounces. This patient showed albumen before pregnancy. Since multiple birth predisposes to toxemias of pregnancy and she showed increasing albumen, I asked myself whether she would carry through without losing her babies or jeopardizing her own life.
"Fruit was the answer, and she came through with no complications. Fruits and juices are kind to the liver and kidneys, which bear the brunt of childbearing. I cut out meat and eggs from her diet, giving her some milk, cottage cheese and heaps of fruit and juices. The three lads were big and husky and any one of them would do credit to his mother....
"Many people find themselves waking in the night because of what they ate for supper. Fruit will let you sleep."
Here is another interesting bit of information from R. E. Horvath's book, "Natural Raw Juice":
"Ludwig W. Blau, M.D., writing in Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine, Vol. 8, found that a large cherry intake is helpful in the treatment of gout and arthritis. A dozen cases of gout responded with astonishing success to cherries. The blood uric acid of the patients lowered to the usual amount. 'No attacks of gouty arthritis have occurred on a non-restricted diet in all twelve cases, as a result of eating (the equivalent in juice form) about one-half pound of fresh ... cherries per day.' Dr. Blau supports his evidence by describing his cases as responding to either sour, black, Royal Anne or fresh Black Bing varieties of cherries.
"If you will squeeze the juice of approximately two pounds of cherries (pitt the cherries before juicing) and drink it while it is fresh, you will be deriving immediate benefits from the high supply of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)."
This is the story of one Mr. Brown, a lawyer from a neighboring city in Ontario, who came to see me about buying a juicing machine. His teeth were all loose and he was having trouble with his gums which were bleeding at the least touch of the tooth brush.
After some discussion, he decided to buy a juicer and start raw juice therapy by following the instructions given in the direction booklet that came along with the juicer. While telling me how loose his teeth were, he sought to demonstrate by touching and moving his teeth with his fingers. He inadvertently pushed too hard and out came one of his front teeth. Then we all realized just how bad his mouth was .... as well as how bad his general health must be.
As promised, he returned to report a few weeks later and said that his gums and teeth had improved greatly. Again he demonstrated by tugging at his teeth but now they were as firm and solid as they could possibly be. He also informed me that his general health and his outlook on life had improved and that he had accepted a top ranking position with the City of Toronto.
Lindlahr says, "We would be surprised if we knew how little food is actually required to keep the human organism in good condition. The majority of people are food poisoned, even those who believe they are eating moderately."
Don't be afraid to make a meal out of a couple of glasses of juice occasionally. You won't go hungry or starve by missing a meal. As a matter of fact, I suspect you may benefit by missing a meal and taking the juice instead, especially if you are not feeling too well. Some healers, in fact, recommend juice fasts but I do not call the taking of juice a fast by any stretch of the imagination.
Another important aspect to consider is, if you are going to sit down and consume a large bowlful of raw vegetables — carrots, cabbage, peppers, celery, lettuce, parsley cucumbers, radishes, etc. — it will take you at least two hours. You just can't sit down to a big raw vegetable salad and consume it in 15 minutes or even half an hour. You can gobble down a couple of hamburgers or a big bowl of soup and a mushy dessert in 10 to 15 minutes but it is an entirely different story with whole raw vegetables.
Some authorities say that you get all of the nutrient value found in the vegetable in the juice and some say not. My studies reveal that you do not get 100% of the nutrients out of the vegetables. However, I am not as much concerned with getting all of the nutrients out of the vegetable as I am with getting enough of each and every one of the minerals and elements contained in that vegetable or fruit.
Bear in mind that these fresh juices go to work for you within minutes after being ingested. As the nutrients find their way into the bloodstream, they are able to go into all parts of the body by way of the capillaries to regenerate the cells .... and all of this can be accomplished within a short time and without any strain upon your digestive system. Therefore, I suggest that you carefully consider the tremendous therapeutic value of raw fruit and vegetable juices.
While fruit and vegetable juices are perhaps not nature's way, they can be most beneficial and perhaps life-saving for someone who has for many years been denied the bountiful benefits of the whole fruits and vegetables. By getting the nutrients in the form of juices, where the concentration is great, many benefits are the result.
The best and quickest way to ascertain the value of juices in the treatment of ill health is to follow the type of advice that Packard gave many years ago, "Ask the man who owns one!" Go out and talk to people who have used fresh raw juices to regain their health. There are thousands of such people throughout America. Seek them out and ask them!
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