Extraordinary Health Magazine Extraordinary Health Vol 22 | Page 24

A lso, because they’re juiced, they can be concentrated for even more nutritional bang for your buck! By being concentrated, they give you the most greens per serving possible. Not only should you get the most greens per serving possible, but you should also make sure your greens are Certified USDA Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and RAW. You simply don’t want greens grown with pesticides, GMOs or other toxins because pesticides and other toxins can destroy health. Some greens— unless they’re organic—are loaded with pesticides. For example, 70 percent of conventional broccoli and 74 percent of conventional fresh lettuce have systemic pesticide residues. Forty-eight different pesticides were found on conventionally grown spinach, including 8 known or probable carcinogens, 25 suspected hormone disruptors, 8 neurotoxins, 6 developmental or reproductive toxins and 25 honeybee toxins. For conventional kale, 55 pesticide residues were noted, with 9 known or probable carcinogens, 27 suspected hormone disruptors, 10 neurotoxins, 10 developmental or reproductive toxins, and 23 honeybee toxins. You also don’t want to miss out on precious enzymes that can be lost from overcooking or over-processing green foods. Without enzymes, vitamins and minerals are ineffective because every vitamin and mineral requires an enzyme to work properly, according to Lita Lee, Ph.D., chemist, enzyme therapist and nutritionist. So, make sure your greens qualify in the Certified USDA Organic (which, by definition, also prohibits GMOs) and RAW areas. And one other note: while concentrating the juices of clean greens can have huge benefits, juicing greens grown conventionally can also concentrate thei