When raw juices are unlocked from the cells of plants, pure and vital liquids of great healing power are released, and their infinitely gentle action can coax our bodies back to normality. Raw juices have none of the potentially dangerous side effects of many potent drugs, yet they can eliminate health problems arising from many of those deficiencies created by the bustle and pace of modern life.

The regular addition of such juices to a wise diet is also a great strengthener of bodily function, assisting in the prevention of the prema¬ture degeneration of skin, flesh, glands and organs that causes so many who should be enjoying a long and active prime of life to lapse into early senility.

For effective therapy you need to know which fresh vegetable and fruit juices are needed to benefit the body. We will try to explain the best for each condition, with the most important points of each therapy and the best ways of extracting the precious juices, both mechanically and by hand.

Sunshine and good healthy soil enlivened with refreshing rain allow plants to develop to a rich maturity, and the raw juices they yield are the quintessence of nature's handiwork. Readily available and easy to digest, they contain a wealth of nutritional factors needed to supple¬ment the diet. The ancient Romans knew this when they added honey, crushed or juiced fruits, aromatic plants and scented flowers to their drinks.

When used swiftly after extraction, raw fruits and vegetable juices are an incomparably effective way of rapidly utilizing the powers of the plants to protect you from illness. The composition of juices is so com¬plex that analytical procedures give only a part of the truth. In addition, it is not only the compositions of the individual juices which create their profound effects, it is the subtle natural balance between the con¬stituent parts.

On the face of it, juices do not seem likely to be very energizing, but, as experts point out, the calorie content of a litre (1¾pt) of grape or pineapple juice is between eight and nine hundred. To achieve the same you would need 1.5 litres (2¾ pt) of milk or a dozen eggs, 1. 4kg (3lb) of potatoes or 650 grams (1½ lb) of meat. Apple juice contains 500 calories per litre; pear juice 420; cherry juice 450; orange juice 400; strawberry juice 220.

The descriptions of plants and vegetables many times mention the wide variations found in their vitamin and mineral contents. What is sure is that storage and cooking are major factors in reducing what is present naturally. Therefore, raw fruits, vegetables and their juices are ideal ways to obtaining maximum nourishment.

The therapeutic uses of juices require that all the factors that are normally present are consumed in sufficient quantities to be efficacious. It would be impossible for most people to consume the amount of raw cabbage needed to give the pint or two a day needed for the treatment of a gastric ulcer. But it is not difficult to take the cabbage in the form of juice.

Remember, juices are never dangerous. But, some drugs are so dangerous that the side effects are almost as bad as the condition they are supposed to treat!

About the author:

Kevin Pederson has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which have information on home based natural cures and remedies for some of the most common illnesses and some tips on raw juice therapy.