Drink Your Carrot Juice!

It's not very difficult to make carrot juice if you have heavy-duty juicer. For every 8 ounce glass, you'll need a pound of fresh carrots. The carrots you use preferably will be organic and have a deep carrotty color. When juicing, to only use organic fruits and vegetables to avoid toxic build-up of pesticides The carrots must also be firm and straight. If the carrots are bendy, or if they have sprouted roots, don't use them, as nutritionally, they're way past their prime If your carrots are organic, just scrub them with a vegetable brush and trim off the ends. There are phytonutrients under the transparent layer. However, carrots that have been grown commercially need to be peeled to ensure a pesticide-free product. Thinner carrots are easier to juice.

The group of pigments called carotenoids, of which beta-carotene is among, gives the carrots their orange-y color. These pigments have powerful cancer-fighting abilities. A review of 206 human studies showed that carrots led the group of pigmented vegetables as a power anti-oxidant against cancer cells.

Fresh carrot juice has no fats, saturated fats or cholesterol. One cup of juice is 90 calories, with 2 grams of dietary fiber and 2 grams of protein. Make carrots the core element in your raw foods or juicing diet. By drinking in excess of 3 cups of juice per day over a long period of time, the skin will acquire a condition called carotenoderma, a condition in which the carotenes in the vegetable color the skin an orange hue. This is a temporary condition and will go away when the carotene levels decrease. It is not harmful.

To make carrot juice, the first thing you have to do is either grow your own carrots or buy fresh organic produce. You must also have a juicer capable of handling the tough cells of the carrot. Carrot pulp is very hard. It's important that the juicer can handle separating the pulp from the juice. Make sure your pulp cup can be cleaned easily. The addition of an apple, a piece of ginger and some lemon makes for a very refreshing a nutritious breakfast drink.

Drink your juice immediately. Otherwise let the juice run into sanitized, screw-cap preserving jars and refrigerate immediately. Consume with 24 hours for optimum value.