. . . for my kids. . . and good friends
 

Health -- get a juicer!

 
Though first make sure you have decent sewers!

It's widely accepted that the biggest single advance in public health came with mains drainage and the realisation that it wasn't so clever to empty your chamber pots out of the upstairs window into the streets below.

So assuming, you have the basics in place, then I wish to suggest that the next biggest advance will be seen in the future to be the invention of the juicing machine!

A robust, simple centrifugal juicer is all you need, along with the foresight to buy plenty of seasonal veggies and fruit and patience to clean it every time you use it.

This is the first of what I envisage to be a series of posts about health, putting on paper for my kids what I've picked up over the years. I intend that these 'articles' will be less pompous than many of the others here and more practical, just trying to give bits of useful guidance for survival.   Little of it is likely to be technical, my general approach to health is summed up in two simple statements:

*            if you want to be ill go to hospital, or (less so) see a doctor;

*            never forget that the main business of the 'food industry' is to make money! in practice this means selling the cheapest crap for the highest prices, and making consumers feel superior for having bought and consumed the rubbish!

A juicer helps to liberate you, which is a good feeling in itself. It gives you easy, tasty access to a range of vegetables you won't bother with (or don't really like) but which are very good for you! like raw beetroot, broccoli stalks (don't bin them, juice them!), pak choy, celery, ginger, kohlrabi and brussel sprouts. Leaven these outpourings with whatever fruits are cheap and cheerful and you have an incredibly palatable way to start the day with three or four of your obligatory five portions!

My biggest juicing regret, living now in the river in the middle of a city (where rats make compost bins impossible), is that I hadn't discovered the thing before, when the pulp could have fed the garden. It's sad not to be able to recycle pomegranate skin, or pineapple tops, or pomelo peel and make the most use of these exotic imports, often from countries that should be conserving not exporting their scarce water!

One juicer doesn't guarantee good health. You need to drink the juice as soon as you make it for maximum benefit; its goodness deteriorates fast. There are certain crops that aren't suitable, like bananas and mangos, squash, avocados -- they clog up the machine and produce very little juice anyway. But that makes sure you still eat some fruit from time to time, necessary to keep up your fibre intake.

And you should try to aim for variety. Sometimes in Jordan, all that's on easy offer at the roadside are tomatoes and cucumbers -- they make a great, tasty juice with Worcester sauce; but not five days in a row! The alternative can be spectacular occasionally, mixing the unexpected, because it's available -- carrots, beetroot, plums and peaches was pretty good!

For me, far fewer colds and a general feeling of good health are among the benefits. It seems to reduce snacking, as you feel full with a pint of vibrant red juice inside you. And I get a smug sense of satisfaction, when I've washed up the machine, thrown away the waste and lifted the glass to my lips, having given two ice-cubes a couple of minutes to cool it all down from its natural warm-blood temperature.

For my kids -- let me know if you like the idea, and I'll get you your very own juicer for your next birthday! seriously!

  (It's only just occured to me what a great subject this is, for a blog with this title!)

Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 January 2013 16:34  

Comments   

 
0 #1 Pete 2013-01-13 11:38
You've persuaded me!

A propos the rats, and on the subject of your previous blog, not only do people need somewhere to keep their stuff (rule of law, property rights?) but also somewhere to store the produce of thrir hunting and farming and - should they want and need to - a safe means to get it to a market (exchange relations).

Of course, generating an agrarian surplus raises many other difficult questions...
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