It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables can play an instrumental role in the proliferation of beneficial bacterial species living in our intestinal microbiome. Our microbiome is the community of bacteria and other microbes living within our bodies.
A large percentage of the bacteria living in our gut microbiome are from
two major classifications known as Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes
(Jandhyala et al., Henning et al.).
Does diet have an effect on the
balance of these two types of bacteria?
The general
trend in the scientific literature shows that Firmicutes prevalence in our
microbiome is associated with a standard western diet (Henning et al.,
Glick-Bauer et al.), while Bacteroidetes has been linked to a more whole food-focused
diet.
So, what about plant-based or vegan
diets?
A member of
the Bacteroidetes classification known as Prevotella was found to be linked to
a whole plant food-containing diet (Losasso et al., Hollister et al.) such as a
whole food vegan diet (Franco-de-Morales et al.). An increase in beneficial
bacterial species in the microbiomes of plant-based diet enthusiasts has been
observed (Kumar et al.) and high fiber diets tend to increase the abundance of
Bacteroidetes and decrease the abundance of Firmicutes.
To
summarize, one can expect to find a prevalence of Firmicutes in the microbiomes
of standard western diet eaters, while one tends to find a prevalence of
Bacteroidetes in the microbiomes of people who eat more whole foods, including those
who eat plant-based or vegan diets.
How does the prevalence of certain bacterial
types in our microbiome relate to our health?
Prevalence
of Bacteroides and Prevotella are “associated with human health” and “may serve
as key indicators of GI microbiome wellness” (Hollister et al.).
But what about fruit and vegetable juices?
Since whole plant
foods and the fiber they contain tend to be associated with an increase in
Bacteroidetes, specifically Prevotella, and a decrease in Firmicutes, then what
would happen to the bacterial composition of one’s microbiome if they drank
fruit or vegetable juice? And what
would the bacterial species in their microbiome look like after a few days on
juice?
A group of
researchers (Henning et al.) enrolled 20 adults to consume fresh vegetable and
fruit juices only for 4 days. On day 4 of the juicing plan, the abundance of
Firmicutes was significantly decreased, while Bacteroidetes was significantly
increased in comparison to baseline. Bacteroides, a type of bacteria that is a
member of the Bacteroidetes classification, is known to degrade plant fibers
from fruits and vegetables. In this study, 8 Bacteroides species were
significantly increased after 4 days on the juice-only diet.
It would be
very interesting to have a side by side comparison between the effects of consuming
juice only versus a whole food plant-based diet on our microbiome. But as we
can see here, even a short-term fruit and vegetable juicing program, despite
being lower in fiber than whole food, can have a beneficial effect on the
bacterial composition of our microbiome!
People often
think of fruit and vegetable juices as being completely devoid of fiber, but
anyone who has made their own fresh juice knows that some of the fiber from the
ingredients makes it into the juice. After a little while of sitting, you can
easily see that the fiber has separated from the liquid. The fiber that we can
see is known as insoluble fiber. Another type of fiber that can be found in
fruit and vegetable juices is known as soluble fiber.
Of course,
there are other nutrient considerations with juicing versus eating whole foods.
Nonetheless it was really interesting to see the beneficial shift in microbiome
composition from fruit and vegetable juices in such a short period of time!
Franco-de-Moraes AC, de Almeida-Pititto
B, da Rocha Fernandes G, Gomes EP, da Costa Pereira A, Ferreira SRG. Worse
inflammatory profile in omnivores than in vegetarians associates with the gut
microbiota composition. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2017;9:62.
Glick-Bauer M, Yeh M. The health
advantage of a vegan diet: exploring the gut microbiota connection. Nutrients.
2014 Oct 31;6(11):4822-38.
Henning
SM, Yang J, Shao P, et al. Health benefit of vegetable/fruit juice-based diet:
Role of microbiome. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1):2167.
Hollister EB, Gao
C, Versalovic J. Compositional and functional features of the gastrointestinal
microbiome and their effects on human health. Gastroenterology. 2014 May;
146(6):1449-58.
Jandhyala
SM, Talukdar R, Subramanyam C, Vuyyuru H, Sasikala M, Nageshwar Reddy D. Role
of the normal gut microbiota. World J Gastroenterol. 2015 Aug
7;21(29):8787-803.
Kumar M, Babaei P, Ji B, Nielsen J. Human gut microbiota and healthy
aging: Recent developments and future prospective. Nutr Healthy Aging. 2016 Oct
27;4(1):3-16.
Losasso C, Eckert EM, Mastrorilli E, et al. Assessing the
Influence of Vegan, Vegetarian and Omnivore Oriented Westernized Dietary Styles
on Human Gut Microbiota: A Cross Sectional Study. Front Microbiol.
2018;9:317.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and
educational purposes only. It is not
intended to be used as medical advice and should not be used to diagnose or
treat any medical condition or as a substitute for individual health care. This
information is given with the understanding that the presenters and authors are
not liable for misconception, misuse, or adverse effects resulting from its
use. Any type of dietary change, juicing program, or nutritional therapy should
always be undertaken with the supervision of a qualified health care
practitioner.
I have shared this recipe on my blog in the past and now I have a short video explaining how I make this juice:
This juice has been one of my favorites for years because of its simplicity, nutrient content, and versatility. I find it to be a great introductory juice recipe for people new to juicing, since it has a lighter taste than green juice that contains darker leafy greens. I personally love the taste of dark leafy greens, but for some, the taste may need some “getting used to”. I can certainly appreciate this, given that when I became interested in health years ago, I did not even know that dandelion greens were edible. Now, they are one of my favorite leafy greens!
Here is the recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
2 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 32 ounces of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Light Green Juice ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
165.9
Calcium
246.2
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
2.83
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
1.67
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
120.2
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
1832.9
4700 mg
The mineral content of such simple ingredients is amazing to me, especially calcium and iron. The sodium content of these ingredients is 270 mg, most of which is found in the celery. Cheers!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
In this video, Rick explains his experience with juicing:
Here is one of Rick's favorite green juice recipes:
Here is another of Rick's favorite juice recipes:
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Wow, what a busy summer it has been for us. We spent a good part of the summer traveling and teaching and now we are getting ready to head out on the road again for our fall Science of Raw Food Nutrition I tour. Next weekend (September 29th and 30th, 2012), we will be teaching in Portland and the Seattle area and in October we will be teaching in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. This coming Wednesday, September 26th, 2012, we will be doing an evening talk at the Chaco Canyon Café in Seattle. More information on our fall tour, please click here. We hope to meet you at a future event!
Now on to our blog post: One of the highlights of our summer was the Woodstock Fruit Festival. This event was incredibly enjoyable with great food, fun activities, and a warm community of people. I was amazed with the amount of fruit available for the participants, as well as a variety of fruits that I rarely see in stores, such as longan and lychee. Of course, the festival provided plenty of common fruits such as watermelon, apples, and oranges. In fact, on many of the mornings I found numerous people making fresh squeezed orange juice, which was not unusual, except for the amount that some people were making: 32 ounces, 48 ounces, etc…
In the 22+ years that I have been eating a mostly raw, plant based diet, I have not consumed this much orange juice in one sitting, however it is not unusual for me to make 32 – 48+ ounces of green juice at once. I thought it would be fun to do a nutrient comparison between the ingredients used to make 32 ounces of fresh squeezed orange juice and the ingredients in 32 ounces of a favorite green juice recipe of mine.
Here are the ingredients in my juice recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
2.5 medium cucumber, 8” long
1 cup dandelion greens, loosely packed
This recipe made a little more than 32 ounces of green juice. Please note that there is definitely some variation in the amount of juice that one can make from whole foods due to variability in natural products. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Green juice ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
213
Calcium
373.1
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
4.96
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
2.20
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
159.5
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
2272.4
4700 mg
Vitamin C
94.8
75 – 90 mg
Folate
192
400 mcg
Beta carotene
4424.8 mcg
Protein
9.51 g
This is a very strong nutrient profile, particularly notable is the calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and protein content of these ingredients.
Here are the ingredients for the freshly squeezed orange juice:
8 medium Valencia oranges, cut in half and juiced with a manual citrus press.
This recipe made a little less than 32 ounces of orange juice. Once again, natural variation in ingredients may yield different amounts of juice. I got as close as possible to 32 ounces by using whole ingredients for ease of replication.
Here are some of the nutrients found in these 8 oranges:
8 medium Valencia oranges
Adult Daily Values
Calories
474
Calcium
387.2
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
0.87
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
0.58
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
96.8
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
1732.7
4700 mg
Vitamin C
469.5
75 – 90 mg
Folate
377.5
400 mcg
Beta carotene
Not reported
Protein
10.1 g
I have heard many people over the years talking about fruit being low in minerals. In all of the research I have done on the nutrient content of foods, I have seen numerous exceptions to this notion. Oranges are a great example. As one can see, per serving oranges contain more calcium, vitamin C, folate, and protein than the green juice ingredients. The green juice ingredients are superior in iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium content. Imagine that - more protein in oranges than greens??? Hmmm……
It is important to note that this comparison is per serving, if I were to make this an isocaloric comparison, which is a comparison where both samples have an equal number of calories, the green juice would be superior in most nutrients. It is important to consider how much juice one is willing to consume, which is why I did this comparison with equal volumes. Per calorie, green juice ingredients are richer in most nutrients, whereas per serving the green juice and orange juice ingredients are each superior in certain nutrients.
Let us look at an isocaloric comparison between oranges and the green juice ingredients. To get close to 474 calories, we will have to add more ingredients to our green juice formula:
8 stalks of celery (12” long)
2 lemons, peeled
6 medium cucumber, 8” long
3 cup dandelion greens, loosely packed
This recipe (version 2) contains more than double the ingredients as the previously discussed green juice recipe. This is a great example of the fact that greens contain fewer calories, by volume, relative to fruit. Fruits are in general more calorie rich than greens. Simply stated, one would have to eat a much greater volume of greens to get the same number of calories as the original volume of fruit.
Here are some of the nutrients found in the ingredients of version 2 of our green juice recipe:
Green juice version 2 ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
476
Calcium
846
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
12.2
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
5.05
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
363.9
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
4872.9
4700 mg
Vitamin C
213.2
75 – 90 mg
Folate
374
400 mcg
Beta carotene
11859.4 mcg
Protein
21.6 g
It is important to note that the nutrients reported in these nutrient analyses are based on the ingredients used to make these juices. Information on the actual nutrient content of fresh vegetable and fruit juices is very limited at this time, and I look forward to research being more complete in this area in the future.
Overall, I was AMAZED with the nutrient content of oranges, since they contained greater amounts of important nutrients than I had anticipated. Not surprisingly, an almost isocaloric comparison of 474 calories of oranges and 476 calories of green juice ingredients showed that the green juice ingredients were superior in all nutrients reported with the exception of vitamin C and folate, which were higher in the oranges.
The green juice ingredients were more nutrient dense than the oranges and the oranges were more calorie dense than the green juice ingredients. Each of these foods has their nutritional strengths and weaknesses, which is good information to know when making food choices.
Additionally, these juices were so beautiful and literally glowed when Rick and I placed them in the sun for photographing. There is something to be said for the appearance of foods and their appeal – needless to say these juices did not last long in our house. Cheers!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Whew, what a sense of accomplishment! Rick and I spent a large part of this weekend working on a front yard garden project – planting lemon bushes and a lime tree! We have wanted to do this project for so long, and finally took some time out of our very busy work schedule to do some landscaping that yields these two of our favorite fruits.
When we moved into our house, our front yard had numerous rose bushes with lovely flowers. After a period of time, we noticed that the blooms started to disappear. I would notice rosebuds on the verge of opening on one day, only to find the bud gone the next. Puzzling – why would a rosebud disappear? This occurrence became increasingly frequent, to the point where it was rare to see flowers or buds on our front yard rose bushes. We had a hunch about what was happening to our roses, but it wasn’t until one morning when I woke up for no particular reason around 4 am. I looked out one of our front windows to find a large deer feasting on our rose bushes! Just as we suspected, which hardly surprised us, given that we live near open space.
We have always loved lemons and limes, so we thought that they would make an attractive addition to our yard and replacement for the roses. About a month ago, we purchased 4 lemon bushes and a lime tree and set aside this past weekend for planting. Since our purchase, the lemon bushes have flowered and have small lemons growing on them! We really like the idea of landscaping that is both attractive and productive. Our neighbors with citrus plants have not had a problem with deer eating them, but we will see what happens. In the meantime, we are excited about the new additions to our yard! To celebrate, here is a recipe for green lemonade (aka my favorite green juice):
8 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 medium lemon, peeled
3 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 48 ounces of juice, depending on the ingredients. Here is a nutrient analysis of the juice ingredients:
Green lemonade ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
241.7
Calcium
371.1
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
4.1
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
2.5
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
180.4
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
2774.5
4700 mg
Vitamin C
85.7
70 – 90 mg
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
0.38
1.1 – 1.2 mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
0.61
1.1 – 1.3 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
2.61
14 – 16 mg
Folate
256.8
400 mcg
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Whew! Rick and I recently returned from teaching 17 days in a row! As always, it was a joy to teach our information to such a fun and enthusiastic group of students. After a short rest, we are now in the process of preparing our raised beds for planting. Here is a photo of our beds filled with compost, awaiting the arrival of new starts:
We still have some frisée greens growing in our beds, so I made a green juice with them and some ingredients from our local natural food market:
7 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
4 cups frisée greens
Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Green Juice Ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
175
Calcium
353
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
3.9
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
2.8
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
125
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
2351
4700 mg
Protein
8.5 g
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
This past weekend Rick and I taught our Science of Raw Food Nutrition I class. As always, it was a joy to teach our information to such a fun and enthusiastic group of students!
Since Rick and I have a LOT of frisée greens (curly endive) growing in our garden now, I made this juice with frisée greens and variety of other popular green juice staples:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
4 cups frisée greens
½ head romaine lettuce
1 apple
Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Green Juice Ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
304
Calcium
416.4
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
6.9
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
3.4
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
164.4
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
2990.4
4700 mg
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
A couple of months ago, I posted a recipe for light green juice composed of celery, cucumber, and lemon. This recipe is a great introduction to green juice since it has a lemony flavor without the bitterness that green juice can have when certain dark leafy green vegetables are used to make the juice. I happen to love the flavor of most leafy greens, so here is a recipe for one of my favorite juices:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
3 cups frisée greens
5 cups dandelion greens
This recipe makes about 3 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Dark Green Juice Ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
270
Calcium
790.3
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
11.8
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
3.4
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
202.6
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
2953.1
4700 mg
As one can see, the dandelion greens and frisée greens contribute quite a bit of calcium and iron to this juice when compared to the light green juice recipe from October:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Light Green Juice Ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
120.7
Calcium
198.0
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
1.99
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
1.07
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
81.05
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
1390.39
4700 mg
Dandelion greens and frisée greens are both members of the sunflower plant family (Asteraceae), cucumbers are in the squash family (Cucurbitaceae), celery is a member of the carrot family (Apiaceae), and lemons are in the citrus family (Rutaceae).
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
A family member recently asked me about green juice, and expressed an interest in recipes and tips for making it tasty. I LOVE green juice and have many recipes that I enjoy, which I am happy to share. There is one challenge, this family member does not like the taste of dark leafy greens: raw, steamed, juiced, in a green smoothie, etc. This is by no means unusual, since I have met many people over the years that are turned off by the taste of greens, especially when they are new to healthy eating.
I can understand that the strong taste of such greens is often an acquired taste, and may take some “getting used to”. Since this loved one is just getting started with juicing, I shared a recipe for “light” green juice with milder-tasting ingredients, such as celery, lemon, and cucumber. This is actually the base juice that I use for my green juices with more ingredients. Here is the recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
1 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
Light Green Juice ingredients
Adult Daily Values
Calories
120.7
Calcium
198.0
1000 – 1200 mg
Iron
1.99
8 – 18 mg
Zinc
1.07
8 – 11 mg
Magnesium
81.05
310 – 420 mg
Potassium
1390.39
4700 mg
I love the lemony taste, but there is much one can do with green juice – the sky is most certainly the limit. I have sampled many creative and delicious green juices over the years. This one is quick and easy to make, I spend about 20 minutes from start to finish, including set up and clean up time!
One of the best ways to keep in touch with us is to join our email list. You’ll receive a free copy of Our Top 12 Strategies for Long Term Success on A Raw Plant-Based Diet eBook along with regular information about raw food and plant-based diets and periodic promotions for our classes, events, and other offerings!
Several months ago, I was at my local farmer’s market and saw some Swiss chard starts for sale from a local garden plant vendor. I have never grown chard before, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. Well, now Rick and I have LOTS of chard growing in our garden and have the opportunity to use it in different recipes. Yesterday, I had a couple of
chard leaves in my morning smoothie and today I thought I would try it in a green juice.
Swiss chard in our garden
My favorite green juice recipe contains celery, cucumber, the juice of one lemon, and some type of leafy green. For the green, I like to use either kale or dandelion greens, but since I have fresh chard from the garden I used 3 leaves of it in my juice.
Here are the ingredients of the juice: four stalks of celery, one large cucumber, one peeled lemon, and 3 leaves of Swiss chard. I used our twin gear juicer to make the juice and it was really good! I really love the tart lemon taste. One can add apple or some other fruit for a sweet taste, or leave out the lemon for a “green” taste.
A nutrition note: Raw Swiss chard is NOT a rich source of calcium, due to its high oxalic acid content. I do not rely on it as a source of calcium, nor do I make juice out of it often. Swiss chard is in the goosefoot plant family, the same family as spinach and other foods that are high in oxalic acid.
Kale growing in our garden
Leafy greens that are lower in oxalic acid include cabbage family plants such as kale and bok choy. There are plenty of plant food sources of calcium that we cover in our course the Science of Raw Food Nutrition Level I and will cover in future blog posts.
Garden lettuce
Some non-cabbage family leafy vegetables that I enjoy in salads include dandelion greens, endive, escarole, frisée greens (curly endive), and lettuce, of course. We’ll leave my salad contents for a future post. 🙂
A couple of months ago, I posted a recipe for light green juice composed of celery, cucumber, and lemon. This recipe is a great introduction to green juice since it has a lemony flavor without the bitterness that green juice can have when certain dark leafy green vegetables are used to make the juice. I happen to love the flavor of most leafy greens, so here is a recipe for one of my favorite juices:
