As far as fruits are concerned, they should be washed properly in the fresh water, their outer skin and seeds or other hard parts should be severed. This should be used either orally or juice extracted from them. Juice is the easiest way to digest contents of a fruit. Tinned fruit juices should always be avoided, as far as possible because, by their processing and canning procedures, most (if not all) nutrients are destroyed.
On the fruit cans, bottles etc. it will always be found written that the canned product ‘does not contain any pulp or juice’ which clearly implies that such commercially made so-called fruit juice (?) products are made from synthetic devices, artificial colours and some other ingredients which, though may be less harmful or not harmful at all, cannot compensate or provide nutrients to our body.
Further, fruit or vegetable or a mixture thereof, available at shops is not only unhygienic but also carries infectious germs and bacteria which are capable of causing untold health problem for the users. Hard skin and seeds also get crushed with the fruit while juicing through a machine. Health and hygiene are the main casualties at such fruit juice shops/jaunts.
Glasses, tumblers or other vehicles used are not washed properly, what to speak of freeing such cutlery from infection. Quite often, juice sellers mix the previously extracted juice with the fresh one which is more harmful for the body. So, those who are really conscious of proper hygienic and upkeep of their health, should always have the fruit juice extracted at their homes and it should also be ensured that the quantity required to be consumed, must be in consonance with the extracted quantity and the left-over must not ever be re-used.
Moreover, the cut-open fruits and also some vegetable remain open and exposed to flies, insects, dust, heat of sun and other harmful and unhealthy elements and such a situation must never by overlooked. The best way is to eat the fruits and green vegetables (generally used for a salad) in their natural form after proper washing. Fruit and vegetables juices are beneficial both for the aged, the young, the healthy and the patients alike, provided necessary precautions are observed scrupulously and closely.
There is no harm in adding some salt or sugar (if not medically prohibited) to taste to the juice or some spices too. But, the best way is to take (use the fruits) vegetables or their juices in the same natural way as the nature has produced them for everyone.
The father of modern system (s) of medicine was Hyppocrales who had advocated/propounded the maxim; let living food (i.e. natural food) be thy medicine’ speaks of volumes in support of natural food as a mean to get rid of disease. Man is essentially the best product of nature which has produced various types of vegetables, fruits and cereals to satiate hunger and allied physical requisites for the benefit of humanity. There is plenty of nature’s products for all other living beings, whether big or small.
Nature never starves a living being though man, in his effort to possess maximum of luxuries, lias never lost any opportunity to defile, destroy and distort nature which despite all this, continues to be kind, humane and benevolent, rather it .(Nature) forgets and forgives sins of human beings and still continues to bestow whatever- best and beneficial it has.
Uncared, free and stray animals, who are not under control of any person, often rarely encounter any health problem and if, per chance, they are infected by some disease they always take recourse to self-therapy, natural food and plantations. On the contrary, pet and much looked after animals often fall ill and are given medical treatment. Free animals are nearer to nature and, thus, hardly do they fall ill. Let us say, without fear of being contradicted, that much pampered, extremely cared and looked after children, especially belonging to rich affluent, Neo and/or Pseudo rich parents, often fall ill, as pet animals do. But children of labourers and working class rarely suffer from any disease and if, at all, they fall ill, they are easily cured by home-remedies.
Fruits outnumber vegetables, as far as their juice output is concerned. There are plenty of fruits from which juice could be extracted but vegetables are not many for juice therapy. Onion, Lemon, Bitter-gourd, Cucumber, Tomato, Garlic, Beet, Carrot?. Radish, Spinach, Basil’ Peppermint etc. have plenty of water content, though in varying degrees, but juice can be extracted from them for use in health and diseases. Such juices are both preventive, curative and health-giving properties.
Fruits such as orange, Papaya, Wood-apple, Apple, Pineapple, Banana, Coconut, Pomegranate, Grapes, mangoes, Lichis, Sugarcane, Musk-Melon, Watermelon, Guava, Cherry, Apricots, Peaches, Lime (Mousambi) etc. are abundant in nutritious elements and, thus, beneficial for maintaining health, warding off diseases and to cure diseased states. They are rich in sugar, Vitamins (especially the Citrus ones in Vitamin ‘C’) like ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C, and ‘D’. They help to formation and excretion of enzymes, amino-acids and other essential elements required to help digestion of food. There are people who prefer to keep themselves on juices of vegetables/ fruits.
Dry fruits, as the name indicates, do not contain much water content, hence it is not feasible to extract juice from them, since they have more oily content in them. Chestnut, dry grapes, (currant) figs, cashew nuts, almonds, date, dried apricot, etc. are all useful for maintaining health and also used as medicine, either alone or in combination with other dry-fruits. All of them, being quite costly, are not within reach of the common man. Moreover, since they abound in heavy protein; oily and sugar contents, they are considered unfit for gouty and diabetic patients or those who have circulatory problems like hypertension and various heart problems. Old persons cannot chew and digest, and infants, normally, have their digestive system disturbed.
Green Leaves and Vegetables
Leaves of green vegetables are generally not used but those are full of and rich in nutrients. Some of the leaves are used in salads and other recipes. Skin of some of the vegetables, though often removed by peeling off, are not waste products. For instance, it is held that skin of potatoes should never be severed.
Potato is abundant in starch and if skin is removed, it may cause disturbances in digestive system, because skin and its roughage is necessary for peristaltic movement of bowels and constipation does not set. In the same manner, green leaves are an abundant source of roughage, as bran is of cereals. Leaves of bathu, Mustard, Radish, Spinach, Sag of Chaulai, Cabbage, Bitter-gourd, Coriander, Mint etc, have both food and nutritive values; hence the leaves should be used and never destroyed.
Modern generation of young fellows have some sort of repugnance for use of green leaves and their use in food-menu, hence they shun their use. Moreover, if leafy vegetables are cooked and fried, their food utility is almost lost. Use the leaves of vegetables in their natural form or still better extract their juice(s) and then use as an appetising device. The leafy vegetables can be mixed with other vegetables, for instance, carrot, beet and radish can be blended and juiced together, adding some mint to the liquified, recipe. Beet should not be eaten by diabetics because it has plenty of sugar content in it. So, diabetics should abstain from its use.