What Are the Benefits of Juicing Broccoli?

A member of the cabbage family, broccoli is more commonly served chopped -- raw or cooked -- than juiced. Drinking broccoli juice is another way to take advantage of the health benefits of this nutrient-packed food. Because the taste of pure broccoli juice can be strong, try blending it with sweeter juices such as apple, orange or carrot to make it more palatable. Combining it with other green juices -- collard greens or spinach, for example -- also works well. It takes 2 cups of chopped, raw broccoli to produce a 3/4-cup serving of fresh broccoli juice.

Rich in Iron
Because iron is needed to produce blood cells, it is considered an essential mineral. Of special importance is that iron is needed to produce hemoglobin and myoglobin, two oxygen-carrying proteins which transport oxygen throughout your body. The daily recommendation for iron is 8 milligrams for adult men as well as for women 51 years and older. For women under the age of 50, the recommendation rises to 18 milligrams per day. A 3/4-cup serving of broccoli juice has 1.33 milligrams of iron, providing 17 and 7.4 percent of these daily recommendations.

High in Folate
Folate is also known as vitamin B-9. Necessary for the production of DNA, folate is especially important during periods of rapid body development, including pregnancy and the teenage years. Folate is also important for healthy brain function and for your overall mental and emotional well-being. As a B vitamin, folate keeps your eyes, skin, hair and liver healthy; provides support to your immune system; and improves your body’s ability to withstand stress. The daily recommendation of folate for adult men and women is 400 milligrams, rising to 500 milligrams for pregnant women and 600 milligrams for women who are breastfeeding. With 115 milligrams of folate per 3/4-cup serving, broccoli juice contains between 19.2 and 33.3 percent of the daily recommendation for folate.

Riboflavin -- A Natural Antioxidant
Riboflavin, like folate, is a member of the B vitamin group. It is also known as vitamin B-2. Like folate, it provides support to your immune system and improves your body’s stress tolerating capacity. It also helps your body process fats and proteins. Riboflavin helps your body process vitamin B-6 and folate into usable forms and, as an antioxidant, protects your body’s cells from free radicals, created when your body breaks down food. Free radicals can speed up the aging process, making you more susceptible to heart disease and cancer. With 0.2 milligrams of riboflavin per 3/4-cup serving of broccoli juice, you will receive between 19 and 27 percent of the daily recommendation of riboflavin. The daily recommendations of riboflavin are 1.3 milligrams for adult men, 1.1 milligrams for adult women, 1.4 milligrams for pregnant women and 1.6 milligrams for breastfeeding women.

A Source of Vitamin K
A 3/4-cup serving of broccoli juice has 185 milligrams of vitamin K. This is significantly more than 100 percent of the daily adequate intake for all adults, including women who are pregnant and breastfeeding. Vitamin K is also known as the blood clotting vitamin because it helps your blood coagulate. Without it, you can suffer from abnormal bleeding and difficulty healing from wounds and bruises. Vitamin K is also needed to help your body absorb calcium, making it important in keeping your bones and teeth strong.

The Benefits of Organic Noni Juice

Overview
Long prized by Polynesians for its medicinal properties, noni juice contains a rich mixture of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and a wide array of healthful phytonutrients. The U.S. market for the juice, derived from the fruit of the Morinda citrafolia tree, has grown exponentially since the late 20th century. The “organic” label on noni juice indicates that the product was grown, processed and transported without the use of any chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and/or additives.

Combats Fatigue
Ancient Polynesians, who were the first to recognize the health benefits of noni juice, used it to combat fatigue, a finding confirmed by some clinical studies that produced improved quality-of-life scores in the areas of energy level and physical functioning. To further investigate the ergogenic potential of noni juice, a team of Chinese researchers conducted an animal study. Researchers gave older mice the noni juice in varying strengths --10, 20 and 40 milliliters per kilogram of body weight -- and then evaluated their performance in physical endurance tests against a control group of younger mice and older animals that had not received the juice.

In their findings, published in the November 2007 issue of "Phytotherapy Research," researchers reported that older mice that had been given noni juice significantly outperformed older mice in the control group that had not received the juice. The older mice receiving the juice turned in performances that were comparable to those of much younger mice in the control group. Researchers concluded that their findings “confirm the reported use of noni juice to combat fatigue, improve endurance and increase overall physical performance.”

Promotes Cellular Health
First isolated from noni juice by University of Hawaii researcher R.M. Heinicke, prexeronine is an alkaloid precursor to xeronine, a compound that plays a critical role in the maintenance of cell health. Heinicke’s studies led him to conclude that healthy levels of xeronine promoted optimal function of the body’s many proteins. In his preliminary studies, he found that noni’s effects on xeronine production made the juice useful in the treatment of arthritis, atherosclerosis, depression, gastric ulcers, hypertension, menstrual cramps, pain relief and sprains.

Could Fight Cancer
In “Herb-Drug Interactions in Oncology,” authors Barrie R. Cassileth, K. Simon Yeung and Jyothirmai Gubili report that early animal and in-vitro studies indicate that noni juice has antitumor and immunomodulatory properties that might be useful in treating some forms of cancer. In animal studies, polysaccharides from noni juice were combined with suboptimal amounts of certain chemotherapy agents, producing increased survival times and curative effects in test subjects. Although the American Cancer Society acknowledges some promising results from preliminary studies, the organization insists that larger-scale studies must be conducted before making any definitive conclusions.

Nutrition in Noni Juice
A serving size of pure noni juice is 1 tablespoon. That tablespoon delivers 3.5 calories, less than 1 gram of carbohydrate and less than 1 gram of sugar. It also contains a small amount of vitamin C, niacin, folate, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron.