Carrot juice: how to drink it and what to mix it with

FRESH AND RAW ONLY
We are talking about fresh raw juice, made just before you drink it. A shop-bought drink from a carton is no substitute for living juice: pasteurisation destroys exactly what we drink it for. And do not make juice in the evening for the morning — the living substances break down within hours.

Three proven formulas

The volumes are given for a large glass of about 480 ml — Walker's measure, one pint. You can make half a portion.

• Carrot 300 ml + beetroot 90 ml + cucumber 90 ml — the classic of cleansing: support for the liver, the kidneys and the gall bladder.
• Carrot 300 ml + spinach 180 ml — nourishment for the bowel and the nervous system.
• Carrot 210 ml + celery 150 ml + lettuce 120 ml — gentle mineral support for the whole body.

How to drink it properly

Start with one glass of carrot or carrot-and-vegetable juice a day, between meals. Drink it straight after pressing, in small sips, as if "chewing" it — that way the juice mixes with saliva and is absorbed more fully. Take less beetroot at first: it acts strongly, and its share is increased gradually.

And an important rule for the first weeks: juice is an addition to your food, not a replacement for it.

Why carrot in particular

Carrots are rich in vitamin A in a form the body absorbs quickly, and they give vitamins of the B group, vitamins C, D, E and K, and living mineral salts. Properly made fresh carrot juice nourishes the bowel and the liver and supports the skin, the eyesight and the mucous membranes. The old school of juice therapy valued it even in the gravest, most drawn-out illnesses — as food that takes no strength to digest.

Walker's measure: how to read the formulas

Norman Walker, the father of juice therapy, measured his blends by the pint — 16 fluid ounces, about 480 ml, where one part equals one ounce (roughly 30 ml). Hence my figures: "carrot 300 + beetroot 90 + cucumber 90" is Walker's 10:3:3. My book "The ABC of Health" contains the full reference: 75 conditions and 78 formulas, all converted into millilitres.

The small practical things that decide everything

The juice should be drunk within the first minutes after pressing. Use the freshest vegetables, ideally with their greens; limp carrots make limp juice. Introduce beetroot at one or two spoonfuls of juice in the blend. For children the juice is diluted half and half with water. And do not sweeten it: the job of juice is to nourish, not to entertain the tongue.

A word of caution

If you have diabetes, gallstones or kidney stones, or an active ulcer, introduce juices only after agreeing it with your doctor: in these cases the doses and the blends are chosen individually.