Make Juicing Part of Your
Healthy Eating Lifestyle

Juicing and The Hallelujah Diet

According to Rev. George Malkmus in The Hallelujah Diet, it is difficult to eat a large enough quantity of raw fruits and vegetables to restore and maintain optimum health. One way to help get the needed nutrition is by making juice, which assists with the first part of digestion by beginning the breakdown of the food. Then, drink it promptly for the best nutrition.

These healthful drinks provide the key to The Hallelujah Diet, feeding the body’s cells and quickly providing nutrition on the cellular level without causing the body to use up energy in the digestive process. Rev. Malkmus states that the nutrients of the fruits and vegetables are locked up in the liquid.

Vegetable juice—which is two-thirds carrot and one-third celery, cucumber or leafy greens—is the most essential drink in The Hallelujah Diet. It contains an array of vitamins and minerals and trace elements. In particular, the nutrients in carrots strengthen the abdominal wall and cleanse the liver.

Peel the Carrots

Dr. Malkmus recommends scrubbing or peeling the carrots (peeling makes for a sweeter drink). One pound of carrots will produce about eight ounces. Drink eight ounces two to three times daily; more if fighting illness.

The best way to ensure you’re getting all of the precious nutrients is to drink it immediately. But let’s say you want to take it to work and want to minimize the loss of nutrients. You could strain the beverage into an eight-ounce jar all the way up to the top and then tightly screw on the cap. This will help to minimize oxidation. (Oxidation reactions happen when chemicals in food are exposed to oxygen in the air. Oxidation of food is a destructive process, causing loss of nutritional value and changes in chemical composition.)

Jay Kordich

Jay Kordich, formerly known as the Juiceman, is still going strong in his 80s. He was injured playing college football in 1947 and during his recovery discovered he had bladder cancer. Instead of going the medical route, he decided to practice Max Gerson’s juice therapy. As a result, he was healed of cancer.

He changed his lifestyle and consumed primarily raw vegetables, fruits and their juices.

I have the book, Live Foods Live Bodies, written by Jay and his wife Linda. It’s a well-presented hard-cover book, and it’s full of photographs of recipes and Jay and Linda. I enjoy just leafing through the book and finding a new juice or dinner recipe, or simply getting inspired by Linda and Jay’s glowing, healthy appearances.

In the book, Jay recommends a drink made of 80% carrots and 20% apples (six carrots, two golden delicious apples). He states that this was Dr. Gerson’s anticancer drink.

He suggests buying freshly made drinks outside if you can’t make them freshly at home. These are available at my local natural foods grocery along with smoothies.

Similar to Rev. Malkmus, Jay Kordich states in his book that the life-giving nutrients in fruits and vegetables become “body-active” in about 15 minutes after ingestion.

SAD Hard to Digest

He says the key to good health is fast elimination. The typical American meal of steak, potatoes and salad can take more than 6-1/2 hours to digest. That means that the bulk of the hard-to-digest sinewy meat stays in the system up to three days or longer, preventing nutrients from being absorbed and putrefying while being stuck in the intestines…

…as opposed to fresh juice, which the body doesn’t have to work hard to digest, leaving us with more energy. Compare how you feel after a heavy meal (think Thanksgiving dinner) with how you feel after you drink a glass of fresh vegetables.

This process provides the highest density of nutrients per calorie. Many of the nutrients are just below the surface of the vegetable or fruit, so you’re getting more nutrients that might be otherwise thrown away (or cooked away).

I’m not sure where this quote came from, but I like it. I found it online and it was attributed to Jay Kordich:

“I allow the Almighty to open my heart to new ways of living and new ideas. My fear of change will disappear and love will be replaced with a new me which will fill my heart and soul with each breath I breathe in, now and forever.”

It’s a beautiful affirmation for anyone starting a new healthy lifestyle.

Wheatgrass

Dr. Ann Wigmore popularized the use of wheatgrass juice. Brenda Cobb in her book Living Foods Lifestyle stated that Dr. Ann started growing it indoors in 1962.

How to Grow Wheatgrass

I’ve grown it, and it’s easy to do. Soak hard winter wheat berries for 8-12 hours, then plant in 1-2” of good soil. (Brenda Cobb suggests sprouting it before planting, but I just plant the soaked wheat berries and it works fine for me.) Keep the growing wheatgrass in the dark and covered for the first few days, and then place in a sunny place. When the wheatgrass is 6-7” high, it’s ready to harvest.

My cat Cleo loves wheatgrass. I plant a little container of it just for her. She rubs her face against it and nibbles on the blades. When it starts looking gangly and unkempt I’ll trim it back with scissors, and she is thrilled by the newly released scent of the wheatgrass. It's better than catnip!

It’s loaded with nutrients… chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and all of the amino acids. Wheatgrass cleanses and rebuilds our bodies and neutralizes toxins. It can even help with heavy-metal detoxification. When I stayed at Optimum Health Institute in Lemon Grove, California, we made and drank our wheatgrass drink every day, at least twice a day, 1-2 ounces.

They also recommend implanting liquid wheatgrass in the colon following a colonic. It cleanses the colon walls, pulls out toxins and nourishes the body.

A good friend who was also staying there used wheatgrass juice on her psoriasis to great benefit.

Greens and Energy Soup

Some of the best drinks for cleansing and nourishing are made from greens. Brenda Cobb says this is one of her favorites: kale, cucumber, celery and parsley.

If you’re drinking a lot of green drinks, your body may go into detoxification too quickly. Ann Wigmore warned against too much green juice at first. She suggested using energy soup instead.

Ann Wigmore's Energy Soup

Dr. Ann’s recipe consisted of rejuvelac (a fermented sprouted grain drink), dulse or kelp, sprouts, greens, buckwheat sprouts, sunflower sprouts, avocado and apple.

I have my own simple version that I often make when I’m working at home, hungry and want something nutritious and easy. I put the following in my blender and blend until creamy: apple, greens, avocado, a little dulse, and water (to desired consistency). If you’ve never tried this mixture, it might sound strange, but it’s quite delicious and a beautiful creamy green color.

Click here to learn about my favorite blender for making smooth and creamy energy soup and green smoothies.

Watermelon

Not long ago I spent a few days juice fasting. My favorite breakfast drink was made from watermelon, using the rind and all.

Watermelon is one of the most alkaline fruits, which can really help balance over-acidity caused by improper eating, stress, and pollution. It’s easy to digest and is an excellent source of natural water. It’s wonderful for the kidneys, bladder and urinary tract. Don’t neglect to include the rind too, if the watermelon is organic. The rind is rich in protein, enzymes, minerals and chlorophyll.

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