Juicing Red Cabbage

Ready to juice carrots, cabbage, beet, asparagus, apple, celery

Not long after my mom was diagnosed, we started juicing. There's so much literature on the benefits of it, but we're also careful to not overdue it because of the sugar content. Of course some people only juice vegetables and drink green juice, which is an option, but just not for us. We drink a large glass of the concoction once a day and that's enough for us.

We use a masticating juicer which churns/ chews the ingredients leading to much less pulp. While the pulp is dry, the prep time is at least 20 minutes. That's because we pretty much have to chop everything into bite-size pieces. Through trial and error, we've found what fruit and vegetable combination worked best for us in terms of the health benefits and taste. The main juice ingredients are carrots, an apple, half a beet, celery, and asparagus. Most recently, we added red cabbage because it serves as a digestive aid. The amino acid called glutamine that is prominent in cabbage has a cleansing effect on the entire digestive system.

Cabbage juice has been known to heal peptic ulcers, but if you've ever tried cabbage juice alone- well, it's kinda yucky tasting, bitter with an unpleasant after taste. As a result, I've added either tomato or blueberries to counter it and the yucky cabbage is concealed. We also add kale or spinach when it strikes out fancy...and kale like cabbage is certainly not my favorite vegetable.

Has it made a difference in my mom? I really can't say though I'd like to think it has. In any case, perhaps it gives us a sense of control, a way of being proactive in the face of something deemed uncontrollable. In addition, there are very good benefits to these ingredients:

• Celery: vitamins B1, B6, B2 and C within the stem
• Beet: vitamins A, B-1, B-2, B-6 and C, as well as folic acid, potassium, calcium, iron and fiber.
• Asparagus: lots of vitamins including vitamin C, iron and calcium.
• Carrot: beta-carotene, Vitamin A, and Potassium
• Apple: helps with memory
• Kale: vitamin K, A, C, and Calcium
• Blueberries: Vitamin K, Manganese, Vitamin C, Calcium
• Tomato: lycopene, Calcium, potassium and Vitamins A and C
• Link to Benefits of Juicing Red Cabbage