Are you like me and want to nourish your child to the best of your ability? I do it by relying on fresh, RAW juice.
We are a whole-foods home and although my son eats processed food away from home from time to time, I make sure what he consumes at home, matters. After all, adult health starts in childhood, and at nearly seven years old he is setting up his body for a future of either health or illness.
Nutritional Enzymes are Key to good digestion
To be healthy we need to nourish our bodies. We gain our nourishment from food. Right? But fewer people understand that the nutritional enzymes in our food are the reason we can be nourished by it.
Enzymes are invisible to the eye, yet necessary for our bodies to unlock and utilise the nutrients in food. They make it possible for us to digest food and absorb the goodness from it into our blood stream.
Living energy
Like magnetism or electricity, enzymes are not a substance but rather an energy, which promotes reactions within a living thing. Enzyme energy is contained in every atom of our bodies, plants and every other living thing on earth.
Sensitive to Heat
However, enzymes are damaged by heat above 118 Fahrenheit or 47 Celcius (approx). Just as we do, enzymes become sluggish in heat and are unable to perform their job of unlocking nutrients and delivering them to our body.
Enzymes love RAW
Considering that our bodies rely on enzymes to digest our food and are sensitive to heat, it makes sense there is a strong interest in the RAW food movement.
It is not surprising that the Western World population, living mainly on processed foods, (which are heated as part of the processing) suffers greatly from indigestion, gut related issues and malnourishment, even though, on average, we are overfed.
Dr. Edward Howell, a noted pioneer in the field of enzyme research said “a diet composed exclusively of cooked food puts a severe strain on the pancreas, giving the consumer a shortened life span, illness and lowered resistance to stress of all types.
Considering our health is fundamental to every single thing we do – eat, breathe, sleep – it is worth taking steps to support it. Juicing with fresh fruit and vegetables is an easy way to do this.
Fresh, RAW Juice for Kids
Our kids are relying on us (unknowingly) for their future health. Fresh juice is a simple way to add enzymes into a child’s system, giving it the support it needs in a world full of processed food and drink .
Make sure the juice is consumed as soon as possible after making it, as the nutrients are not long lived in fresh juice. See How to Drink Juice for more tips.
An additional digestive boost is using Fennel. It is well known for aiding digestion and is a great addition to a fresh, raw juice. It has a slight sweetness to it, making it a useful ingredient in kids juices. A juice recipe is attached to the top photo and is a winner with my son. Each time we have it he tells me it is ‘Super delicious’.
Good digestion and Happy Juicing.
References
Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices – What’s Missing in Your Body by N.W. Walker D. Sc.
http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/edward-howell-md/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/21/enzymes-special-report.aspx
Juicingkids.com helps parents and carers create life-long juicers out of their children.
As a child I stood at the juicer with my mother and now my son does the same with me. Experience has taught me how to start a child drinking fresh, raw nutrient dense vegetable juice and then keep them doing it as a daily habit.
In our home now we make a daily vegetable juices with a little low sugar fruit added for taste. Kids need parents and carers to to guide them lovingly through this over processed and hyper marketed world of foods to teach them how to love and nourish their bodies.
www.juicingkids.com
