How Can I Juice for Health when I'm Diabetic?

 

So, before we get into the details of juicing, let me share something that happened to me last week. I was working on some set materials with a friend and our youngest daughter, for our church fellowship’s annual KiDZ Adventure Week. Due to the theme we’re doing this year, we were doing everything from airbrushing backdrop, to cutting apart pool tubes and carving them just a little to create sponge coral.  Long story short version; we have 140 square feet of coral to build.  (Just for the record, I think I am enjoying making the sea fans most of all….

Anyway, at some point that day, my right forearm came in contact with a substance I must be allergic to.  By evening, I had hives from the inside of my right elbow down into my hand. And they itched like crazy.  I was so tired; I didn’t have the energy to go into the adjacent room to find the “right” oil. I certainly didn’t want to take something that was going to dry up my sinuses.  (That’s how my immune system got in this condition…. right? Doing something to just “fix” it – quickly?)

It was evening. Bill and I were sitting in the Living Room, debriefing our day, catching up. Our living room diffuser sits on top of a cabinet about three feet away from the chair I was sitting in. Next to the diffuser, a small bottle of therapeutic grade essential lavender oil sits, waiting for evening dispersion.  I didn’t really think about it, to tell the truth. And lavender wasn’t exactly the oil I would have gone to look for, (like chamomile, calendula, or tea tree). Still, lavender is really one of my personal “go-to” oils for anything that comes up. When I’m not sure which oil to use, I’ll grab lavender or frankincense.  Did you know there are more than 30 different kinds of lavender? Not only does this magnificent substance have antifungal, antiseptic, antibacterial, and antibiotic properties, but it smells heavenly! (Personally, it is one of my all-time favorite oils for massage and bath oil too.  And it helps me get sleepy, naturally, at bedtime, without leaving me “out of it” the next morning!)

Now, this is what continues to amaze me about essential oils – any of them I have used! Just like using a hand lotion, I put a few drops on the inside of my forearm, and rubbed them in where the hives were making themselves known. It only took a few drops.  There was no oily residue. Within two minutes, all of it had soaked in. Almost immediately, the itching stopped. And within 20 minutes, all of the hives had completely disappeared! 

That situation is just one evidence of how essential oils are helping me to pursue healthy living in a holistic manner.

So, let’s talk about today’s subject. Can a person drink juice if they are diabetic?  Until a year ago, I wouldn’t have thought so. But now I have found something that works.

For the record, I love fresh juices; cranberry, orange, pineapple, apple. One juicing memory I still hold onto took place during our trip to Israel. I remember drinking freshly squeezed pomegranate juice from a street-side stand. I picked the fruits I wanted, and the juice was extracted in front of me…. It doesn’t get any fresher than that… There's nothing like fresh juice.... and its so good for you too! When I was a small child, my mother made fresh orange juice in the mornings. It was the best!! Freshly squeezed, with no sugar added!!  That is the real thing!

But then, in 2010, when I was diagnosed with diabetes, part of the nutritional information I received warned against drinking fruit juices. Not only that, but I was told to limit the amount of fresh and dried fruits I allowed myself to eat.

That secondary loss was difficult for me. I remember going to the Green Grocer in the market when my parents were overseas in my childhood. I loved apples! Raisins, dates, fresh pineapple, clementines, kiwi, bananas, fresh coconut, mangos .....

After the diagnosis, I was told to begin to consider them unhealthy for my own consumption. I found myself grieving that loss. In fact, as a therapist, I came to realize that the day of my diagnosis had become a traumatic day for me. Over time, I discovered I had actually divided my memories into two categories:  "before" the diagnosis, and "after" the diagnosis. (We all do this, don't we? It is a denial mechanism that detaches our thinking patterns from including that traumatic event into our daily considerations!) 

Presently, however, I have been able to grasp a conclusion. This physical condition is, as our family doctor told us, generational. As such, it seems to be subject to the problems and difficulties of this realm. I cannot just "get over it," or "make myself do things anyway." Such thinking is not healing for me. It is destructive. My grandmother dealt with diabetes, for years, and she lived in days when the understanding of the condition's confines and effects was limited. Not much hope for change was extended in those days.

Then, my grandmother's daughter, my mother, for her part, I must say, has walked through the genetics of this condition from the hypo-glycemic angle.  She used natural foods and supplements to overcome. Looking back, I remember teasing her for not using sugar in her coffee. She made a switch to honey. In my youth at the time, it seemed like a really nasty option. But now? 

Now I get it. I really do.

These days, we are hearing stories describing how depleted our nation’s farming soils are. Synthetic nutrients and fertilizers are routinely added to our soils. The motive is to hopefully insure the quality of the foods grown to feed us all. Additionally, insecticides, herbicides and pesticides are sprayed and dusted on those fields and foods as well. In some instances, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) are added to our tomatoes, peppers, and other crops, some for cosmetic appeal, some for taste appeal, and so on. I recently read, in one health-focused publication; the nutrients contained in our fresh produce in the 21st century are half, or less that half, in quality of what it was at the beginning of the 20^th century. What that means is that in order to ingest the daily nutrients and minerals needed by the human body, a person would have to eat two carrots these days, just to receive the value contained in just one carrot a hundred years ago.

What I have discovered is this: Our physical bodies need fresh fiber to keep the intestinal tract healthy. And we need clean water every day. Filtered. Alkaline is better. My personal goal is 100 ounces per day. 

We also need enzymes, and elements present in raw fruit and vegetables each day.  Such properties are not present in canned or dried fruit or vegetables. Such foods have been exposed to heat, and the fresh-ness is depleted. For my own health, I made another personal decision based on this information. I eat one piece of fresh fruit every day (ie. an apple, or a small orange, or a 1/2 cup of berries.)  Each time I do so, I try to balance the natural fruit carbohydrates with some cheese, nuts, or peanut butter. In this way, the protein balances out the carbs. (If I don’t balance the fruit out with protein, I have learned the hard way that some sort of unpredictable "sugar crash" will overtake me in my near future. And no one wants that!) 

These days, I have learned to juice vegetables. It isn’t difficult to find healthy combinations these days. There are so many recipes out there. For the past few months,  I have been on a green juice kick. And, although I do the actual “juicing” chore just one day a week, I drink it every morning. Setting a "juicing appointment" for myself that one day a week, helps me to make time for doing something for myself that will help me become healthier.

If you would like to try green juice, will include it here. After trying several recipes, I came to this combination. If, when you try it, it tastes too strong, add another apple, or some cucumber.  If the juice tastes too plain to you, why not add a little extra lemon or ginger?  

Here is my current green juice recipe. It works as a liver/gall bladder cleanse, and provides healthy vitamins and enzymes needed for digestion.  (For the record, I have always just loved Spicy V-8 juice. I cut my freshly juiced greens half-and-half with V-8 each morning, after downing my lemon-water.)

                                GRAAFSMA GREEN SUPER-JUICE

                                5 Granny Smith apples, (cored and quartered)

                                1 entire bunch of celery, (cut off stem end and use greens and all)
                                2” peeled fresh ginger root
                                10 oz baby carrots, peeled
                                4 cucumbers, peeled
                                2 lemons, (outer skin peeled, leaving as much of white zest as possible)
                                1 large bunch kale (20 leaves or so, well washed, with stems)
                     

                Juice all of the above. Combine in a one gallon, covered, pitcher. Sometimes, when I

                remember, I might stir a couple tablespoons of lemongrass powder into the gallon when

                all the ingredients are combined. Refrigerate. Stir before pouring each time, as this juice

                separates.

                For healthy living, each of us should consume 8-10 ounces of vegetable juices each day. If    

               desired, pour 8 ounces of green juice into a glass, and combine this recipe with 8 ounces of 

               V-8 juice (spicy or regular).  Enjoy!!

  Extras I add: For my own added health benefits, I also add the following. I order each liquid 

  from Amazon, and they are delivered in their own 2-4 oz eye dropper bottles.

2-3 milligrams of Lugol’s Iodine (for endocrine balance)
½ dropper of cayenne extract (also known as capsicum. good for heart, blood
                                                       Pressure/circulatory health)

                          ½ dropper of grape seed extract (antioxidant. Good for heart, health, skin & brain)

Next up:  What's Inflammation Got to do with it?

©2016 Debbye Graafsma/Awakened to grow. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

Disclaimer: Although I am a counselor, and hold my doctorate, I am not a medical doctor. So, the views and suggestions which have helped me in my own healing journey may or may not work for you. While I hope that my stories and suggestions will help and encourage you, nothing I post here should be taken as a diagnosis or medical opinion. If you are concerned about your health, please seek the advice of a professional.