frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
I'm going to throw out a warning here... Several years ago after juicing some very healthy ingredients....apples, carrots, fresh from the garden beets, I had a very severe reaction. Everything I used was organic and/or home grown.
It was a very hot day and I had been outside mowing, weeding and was overheated and thirsty. I made juice. What could be more healthy, right? Within a minute or so of my first drink of "healthy" juice my throat started feeling scratchy... so I drank more juice. Another minute goes by and I'm dizzy, nauseous, feel like I'm about to pass out and can't even call out for DH. I managed to get from the kitchen to the living room and still can't speak so I knocked on the wall to get his attention. Being the nurse that he is - he takes one look at me and says we're going to the ER. Being the stubborn person that I am - I said no - I just want to get in a tub of cool water (because I'm thinking I'm hot and I want to cool off). Or maybe not thinking, lol. I get in the tub - start shaking violently, vomit in the water, get out and off to the ER we go.
I had oxalate poisoning from the fresh beet juice. Oxalates are the same thing in the house plant "dumb cane" (which accounts for the vocal cord problems) and in rhubarb leaves. Excess oxalates can also do kidney damage.
Let me just say that you DON'T want to experience what I experienced.
I am a firm believer in healthy eating - and I still think juicing has its place for some folks. Just be careful.
Further research seemed to indicate that my ratio of beet juice was too high and the beets were too fresh. The beets you get in a grocery store are usually ok - because they are anything but fresh, lol.
A lot of times I'll say I had an allergic reaction to beets - but in reality - that's not true. I had a reaction to the oxalic acid in the beets.
It was a very hot day and I had been outside mowing, weeding and was overheated and thirsty. I made juice. What could be more healthy, right? Within a minute or so of my first drink of "healthy" juice my throat started feeling scratchy... so I drank more juice. Another minute goes by and I'm dizzy, nauseous, feel like I'm about to pass out and can't even call out for DH. I managed to get from the kitchen to the living room and still can't speak so I knocked on the wall to get his attention. Being the nurse that he is - he takes one look at me and says we're going to the ER. Being the stubborn person that I am - I said no - I just want to get in a tub of cool water (because I'm thinking I'm hot and I want to cool off). Or maybe not thinking, lol. I get in the tub - start shaking violently, vomit in the water, get out and off to the ER we go.
I had oxalate poisoning from the fresh beet juice. Oxalates are the same thing in the house plant "dumb cane" (which accounts for the vocal cord problems) and in rhubarb leaves. Excess oxalates can also do kidney damage.
Let me just say that you DON'T want to experience what I experienced.
I am a firm believer in healthy eating - and I still think juicing has its place for some folks. Just be careful.
Further research seemed to indicate that my ratio of beet juice was too high and the beets were too fresh. The beets you get in a grocery store are usually ok - because they are anything but fresh, lol.
A lot of times I'll say I had an allergic reaction to beets - but in reality - that's not true. I had a reaction to the oxalic acid in the beets.
Just to clarify - what I experienced wasn't from a large quantity of nutrients - it was due to the oxalic acid (oxalic acid = poison) contained in the food. Oxalic acid is also implicated as contributing to kidney stones and is considered to be an "anti-nutrient."
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