Why Juice? 为什么喝蔬果汁？

这是我们几乎每天喝的蔬果汁。以前同事问我，我又没病，干吗喝蔬果汁？要我说呢，没病的人应该喝蔬果汁，有病的人则是不能不喝蔬果汁。

This is the juice we drink almost every day. An ex-colleague was perplexed and asked me, you're not sick, why do you drink juice? Well, people who aren't sick should drink juice, while those who are, can't afford not to drink!

是不是觉得，喝蔬果汁多浪费，费时费力费钱，还留下一大堆残渣，不如把整个水果或者蔬菜吃下去？我以前也这么想。不是说纤维很重要吗？

Perhaps you might think, isn't it such a waste to drink juice, a waste of time, effort and money, and you'd be left with so much pulp! Wouldn't it be better to simply eat the fruit or vege whole? I used to think so too. Isn't fibre supposed to be very important?

纤维为什么对我们这么重要？其实，纤维本身并没有什么营养，但是，它就像我们人体里面的清道夫一样，帮我们把里面的垃圾扫出来，是我们身体的大功臣，不可或缺。我们每天应该摄取大量的纤维，确保排便通畅无阻。

Why is fibre important to our health? In actual fact, fibre itself is a nutrient that doesn't really have much nutritional content. What it does is, it acts as a broom in our body to eliminate waste, so it really is indispensable. In order to make sure that we clear our bowels well, we need to have a high intake of fibre.

那好端端地干嘛把这么宝贵的纤维取出来？

If fibre is so important, why remove it just to get some juice?

我们要确保健康，除了需要纤维帮我们把垃圾清扫出来以外，还需要很多养分。这些养分从哪里来？从我们摄取的食物。但是，我们平常所吃的东西，真的给我们足够的养分吗？如果我们吃的，都是煮熟的，煮烂的，那恐怕养分都消失殆尽了。

In order to maintain optimum health, apart from fibre to clear our body waste, we also need to have adequate nutrients. Where do we get the nutrients? From the food we eat. However, do we really get enough nutrients from what we eat every day? If we only eat cooked food, then we probably have lost most of what nature meant for us.

我们身体需要酵素，酵素是我们生命的源泉。当我们把所有的食物都煮熟以后，酵素都死了，我们吃进去的东西，就没办法给我们充分的滋补。所以，我们需要每天都摄取足够的生菜、水果。

Our body needs enzymes. It is said that all life depends on enzymes. When we cook our food, the enzymes are dead, and what we eat are not able to nourish us anymore. Therefore it is necessary that we have enough intake of raw salads and fruits every day.

只是，光吃生菜水果，养分还是不够。固体食物需要消化，因此，要经过一段时间以后，我们的细胞才接收到养分，效果远远不如蔬果菜汁，它一点也不给消化系统带来负担，并且在第一时间把养分输送到我们的细胞。

However, it's not enough to only consume raw vege and fruit. Solid food requires digestion, and it would be quite some time before our body receives the nutrients. In this respect fresh juices are much more effective. A glass of fresh juice does not cause any burden to the digestive system, and its nutrients are therefore made available to the body very quickly.

特别是生病的人，喝蔬果汁效果极佳。现在我们生病，都不看医生，也不吃药，我的良药，就是断食，就是蔬果汁。有一次我感冒，一开口讲课把学生吓坏了，我的声音就如青蛙一样，喉咙疼得很，难受极了。那天我就做蔬果汁断，记得喝了六杯吧，哦，好像还吃了一点水果呢，根本不算断食……到了下午，喉咙奇迹般地不疼了，虽然还没有完全恢复平常甜美的声音（?!?），但是说话已经觉得跟平常一样舒服，根本不像感冒，康复得这么快速，我都觉得难以相信！

Sick people especially would benefit tremendously from fresh juices. When my husband or I fall sick, we no longer go to the doctor's, nor take any form of medication. My best medicine is a juice fast. Once, I was down with a cold. As I started to speak in class, I gave my students quite a startling shock, for I sounded like a frog. My throat hurt, terribly. I did a juice fast that day, I remember I had 6 glasses of juice, I think I had some fruit even, so in effect it wasn't much of a fast I guess... Miraculously, by the afternoon, my throat no longer hurt. Although I hadn't completely regained my natural voice, I was already speaking like normal, with no discomfort whatsoever, I didn't feel like I was having a cold. I recovered with such miraculous speed, I was totally amazed!

我们家里榨的蔬果汁以红萝卜为主，搭配一般是:

红萝卜、黄瓜、甜菜根

红萝卜、青苹果、甜菜根（俗称“ABC” - apple, beetroot, carrot）

红萝卜、西芹、甜菜根

红萝卜、西芹、青苹果

The juice we have every day is carrot based, usually in the following combinations:

Carrot, cucumber, beetroot

Carrot, green apple, beetroot (usually called "ABC")

Carrot, celery, beetroot

Carrot, celery, green apple

说实在我并不清楚这些蔬菜我各别用多少。红萝卜因为是一箱一箱地订购，一箱20公斤，一般10天左右就用完，所以我估计一次我就用上将近2公斤。黄瓜呢，如果是超大的，我就用1根，如果中的或小的，就用2、3根。至于甜菜根，一般认为不用太多，1人1拇指般大小的分量就够了，而且甜菜根虽然有它独特的甜味，有些人并不喜欢那味道（好在我和我先生都蛮喜欢的），我一般用大概一个大葱大小的分量吧。以上的搭配，最好喝的，当然是有青苹果的，但是我最常喝的黄瓜、甜菜根搭配，也很好喝哦。

Frankly I am not sure how much I use of each. Because we order our carrots by the carton, each carton being 20kg, and since I usually finish everything in about 10 days, I reckon that I juice nearly 2 kg of carrots a day. For cucumber, if it is a very large one, I would use 1, if it is medium or smaller, I'd grab about 2 or 3. As for beetroot, what I've heard is that about one thumb size per person is enough. Some people can't take the peculiar sweetness of beetroot. Luckily my husband and I seem to quite like it. I use about the size of an onion each time. Of course the best tasting ones are those with apples, but my staple, that is, that with cucumber and beetroot, tastes wonderful too!

甜菜根喝了尿会变红，不用惊慌。至于红萝卜呢，摄取多了皮肤可能会变黄，就像我一样！=) 这也不需在意，除非你特别爱美。我就常常被人问，怎么这么黄？哦，我姓黄嘛，而且是半个黄脸婆，哈哈……。但是这确实让我觉得有点意思，因为我虽然每天照镜子，却从来不怎么觉得自己黄，就是黄也不怎么放在心上，但是别人怎么这么在意？甚至买东西的时候，不认识的店员也会问，你为什么这么黄？哇，对不认识的人，而且是顾客（还是女性！），竟能这么……这叫坦率吗？？？佩服！现在我是不是还很黄，我也不知道，但是被这样问的次数少得多了。

Consuming beetroot would make your urine red, so don't be alarmed. As for carrots, if you consume it in bulk, your skin would turn yellow. This, again, isn't a cause for fear, unless you are extremely conscious about your appearance. I was very frequently asked, why are you so yellow? Well, because my surname is Yellow (Huang means yellow in Chinese), and because I am already half an old hag ('yellow faced old woman' in Chinese refers to wives who are bogged down by household chores and have no time to take care of their looks)... I actually found these episodes quite funny. I looked into the mirror every day, but I hardly noticed that I was yellow. Or even if I did, I couldn't care less. Why were others so bothered by it? I had even been asked by shopkeepers whom I hardly knew. I would always be quite taken aback by the sudden, why are you so yellow? Wow, I think this is quite something, to ask such a question to a lady customer whom you don't know! I'm not sure if I am still yellow, but I don't get such questions that frequently anymore.

有的朋友担心我是不是有病。有一回，聊天的时候顺便请一位中医朋友给我把把脉，把完脉以后，她颇为惊讶地说，你看起来脸色不太好，但是把了脉好像身体还挺不错呢。我有生以来第一次有大夫给我把脉以后说我身体还不错呢！颇有点胜利者的得意忘形，真想跑两圈运动场！

Some friends were worried if I was sick. Once, while chatting with a Chinese physician friend, I asked if she could take my pulse, which she did. After taking my pulse, she told me she was quite surprised, because my pulse fared much better than how I looked. That was the first time in my life that I was told my health was quite good by a physician! Try imagining me showing you a big V sign with a broad broad broad smile! =)

我从来不因为喝红萝卜皮肤变黄而担心。最黄的那段期间，总是有人劝我，也劝我先生，少喝点吧！我可是如如不动，对红萝卜非常非常有信心。为什么皮肤会黄呢？不是因为身体排斥红萝卜，而是红萝卜帮助我们把肝脏的毒素排出来，因为是大量地排除，来不及以排尿或排便方式清除，于是就靠淋巴系统，从皮肤排出来了。尽管我告知这是我身体在做排毒，还是有很多人劝我，先停一下吧。我不明白，这是非常好的现象，我在做打扫啊，我身体还有这样的精力我高兴还来不及，我扫得不亦乐乎，干吗要停？是因为我黄得实在太难看了吗？我宁可外表难看，也不要内脏败坏。

I'd never been worried about being yellow from carrots. When I was at my yellowest, there'd always be people who would discourage me from continuing with my carrot juice. I never bulged, I had very deep faith in Mr (or perhaps Ms?) Carrot. Why does the skin turn yellow? This is not because our body rejects the carrot, but because the carrot is helping us to remove the toxins from the liver. According to Norman Walker, 'this (the material clogging the liver) is released so abundantly that the intestinal and urinary channels are inadequate to care for this overflow, and in a perfectly natural manner it is passed into the lymph for elimination from the body by means of the pores of the skin.' Despite my assuring them that this was a sign that my body was undergoing a good cleansing, many people still advised me to stop taking carrots. I couldn't understand why. My becoming yellow was such a wonderful phenomenon, I was doing spring cleaning, I was fortunate that my body was still capable of such a chore, I had better be grateful for that, why stop? Did I look that terrible being yellow? I'd rather look terrible on the outside than be truly terrible from the inside.

据说，红萝卜汁的分子结构跟人体血液的非常接近，实在是多喝无碍哦。

The carrot juice molecule is exactly analogous to that of the blood molecule, no need for any worry about taking loads of it.

目前，我把早上榨好的蔬果汁分成两半，存进冰箱，下午再喝。也许你会担心这样营养不是流失了吗？确实，马上喝是最理想的，但是，喝总比不喝好，不喝的话，你一点营养都摄取不到，喝的话，至少摄取得到80%吧？营养流失多少，也得看你用的是什么样的果汁机。而且，这一杯可能流失了些许营养的果汁，远远比你喝的可乐、美禄、咖啡，以及市面上任何灌装饮料，甚至是家里的清水，都来得安全、健康、营养！

Currently, I save half of what I juice in the morning in the fridge, and consume it in the afternoon. Perhaps you might worry if the nutrients might be lost. Of course, ideally we should consume it straight after juicing. How about thinking it this way, if you don't drink any, you don't get any nutrient at all, but if you drink some, you'll at least get maybe 80%. How much nutrient is lost also depends on the juicer you use. In anycase, a glass of juice that has lost some nutrients is definitely safer, healthier, and more nutritious than a glass of coke, milo, coffee, or any canned drink you can find in the supermarket, or even your water at home...

我喜欢把所有的渣都去除掉，外面买的果汁一般渣还很多，我喝过的最顺滑的果汁，就是家里的果汁了！不只是因为没有渣更好喝，也因为好不容易弄了果汁，何必留渣影响身体吸收？我的纤维是从每天的沙拉水果摄取，不是从蔬果汁。把渣去掉的另一好处是，大部分的农药都会残留在纤维里，所以要是你喝的不是有机蔬果汁，也许去掉比较好吧？

I like to remove all the fibre in my juice. What we find outside is usually quite full of fibre, the smoothest juice I've ever had is my self made juice. I prefer it smooth, not only because it tastes better, but also, since freshly squeezed juice is so precious, why retain the fibre so that it slows down absorption? I have my daily intake of fibre from the salads and fruits that I take, not from my juices. Another plus point about removing the fibre is, most of the pesticides are retained in the fibre, so if what you're having is not organic, at least you manage to remove the bulk of the pesticides along with the fibre.

来吧，为我们的健康，干杯！！！

（要慢慢喝哦，吃东西要细嚼慢咬，身体才能好好吸收，喝饮料也一样！）

Cheers to our health...

(Do drink slowly, sip it. Just as we should chew well when eating so as not to tax our digestive system, don't gulp down your drinks...)