Plum and Apple juice

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]imple and delicious plum and apple juice is a year round favourite and should be enjoyed often. Unfortunately, some of these plain old original juice blends often get overlooked but don’t make the mistake of missing out on this beauty because making juice isn’t just about making complex superfood combo’s?

Plum and apple juice is a  favourite with us for two very good reasons, plums and apples are now readily available all year round and are super tasty too, they contain the difficult to find antioxidant zeaxanthin which is found in the dark red colour pigments of the skin.  The human body cannot make this protective antioxidant so we must get it from our diet if were going to protect our eyes from the harmful effects of too much sunshine or our skin from those marauding free radicals.

Add the doc’s best fruity friend to plum  juice and you’ll be grabbing a light and tasty shot of summer fruit goodness! Perfect for when your soaking up all that lovely Vitamin D in the summer sunshine. Just relax and be safe in the knowledge that your protecting your eyes and skin on the inside and out.

 

Health benefits

Plums possess complex phytonutrients such as lutein, zea-xanthin, cryptoxanthin, neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acid. These components have antioxidant qualities which help in protecting against the damage caused by superoxide anion radicals.

Plums are also a good source of that super important anti ageing nutrient Vitamin C,along with it’s friends Vitamin A,Vitamin E,Vitamin K, Niacin, Folate, Pantothenic acid and Choline but it doesn’t stop there….Phenols present in plums extend their protective effect on the essential fats in our neurons and cellular membranes,this helps us stay young and healthy by protecting against the damage caused by oxidative stress.

One cup of fresh plums can contain ten percent of our daily recommended intake of the essential metal Copper. Copper is required for normal metabolic function and is excellent for strengthening connective tissue, restoring hair colour as well as fighting parasites and cancer, it has also been shown to  improve brain and liver functions.

Great but how do we get Copper in our diet? Copper is best obtained from natural sources as copper supplements have suffered a bad press lately but we all  know we should always try to get our nutritional needs from fresh organic foods where possible? What a great way to boost your Copper intake.

[info]For a real anti ageing boost why not treat yourself to a copper pillow here? Copper impregnated pillows have been shown to reduce fine lines and wrinkles by up to 10% when used in the eight week study linked below.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22938003

Grab one!You and our beautiful skin deserve it![/info]

 

You will need….

 

8 ripe plums,washed and stoned

2 apples cut into quarters

 

 

Method of preparation

Wash the plums and apples in clean cold water. Washing fruit in hot water reduces the total amount of nutrients contained in fruits and veggies so always try to wash with cold water,if the produce is very dirty then wash in lukewarm water and only use the kindest natural soaps.

Juice the lovely clean fruits in the above order in a  centrifugal or masticating juicer. If you prefer a fuller drink,such as a smoothie,blend the fruits together and add a little mineral water until you reach the consistency you like best.

Pour the plum and apple juice into a glass or pour over ice for that extra summer coolness.

If you don’t have a juicer and require your plum and apple  juice to be a nice liquid drink (without the pulp) you can use a blender and then sieve the pulp out of the plum and apple juice before drinking. Plum and apple pulps contain huge amounts of fibre and antioxidant colour pigments,it would be a shame to lose all of those lovely pigments, so drink this one how you like it but remember to drink the pulp every now and then for your overall health and beauty.