3-Ingredient Mixture Improves Vision and Detoxifies Liver

When making anti-inflammatory juices at home, the sky is the limit. There are almost no limits as to what you can combine together. For those who don’t enjoy eating vegetables, juicing is one of the best ways to get all the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients of plants in one tall glass.

Today we have a simple 3-ingredient anti-inflammatory juice (or blend) that is specifically splendid for your eyes and liver. And it’s delicious, too!

If you’re new to juicing, finding good combinations of produce that appeal to your taste buds can be a challenge—but it’s a fun and nutritious one.

As a general rule of thumb, always try to mix eighty percent vegetables with twenty percent fruit to keep the sugar content low and to ensure high amounts of nutrients. No one will argue how delicious fruit juice is, but juicing is more than just a tasty drink. It’s a way to get all your vegetable nutrition, using stuff you might not ordinarily like.

Recipes for anti-inflammatory juices are everywhere. Below is a recipe that’s quite popular in Venezuela, where it’s called jugo tres en uno (which literally translates to 3-in-1 juice). It combines orange, beet, and carrot so you get the balance of sweet and not-so-sweet. Let’s explore each of these to see how they help human health.

Anti-Inflammatory Juicing Ingredients

Beets – the red pigment in beets is a potent antioxidant, reducing inflammation and regulating oxidative stress. Beetroot has been shown to reduce blood pressure, improve cognition, and facilitate the transportation of nutrients between cells. (1, 2) It’s highly bioavailable, meaning that our bodies readily use its nutrition. (3)

Beets’ antioxidants and minerals (specifically copper and zinc) are known to protect the liver from disease. (4) In addition, the fiber in beets reduces cholesterol and fat accumulation in the liver. (5) Manganese is a mineral you don’t hear a lot about but it is critical for liver function and plays a role in the metabolism of sugar. A 2014 Korean study found that in its sample, people with diabetes and liver dysfunction had low levels of manganese in their blood. (6) Other nutrients in beets include vitamins A, B complex, and C; minerals calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus; natural nitrates, and more.

Carrots – when it comes to produce, the color tells a lot. The pigments of the fruits are where the antioxidant compounds come from and as we know, antioxidants of various kinds are critical to regulate oxidative stress, calm inflammation, and prevent disease. The orange pigment in carrot tells us of its carotenoid content, primarily in the form of beta-carotene. This particular nutrient is not vitamin A but is synthesized into vitamin A in the body. Lutein and zeaxanthin are two other carotenoids found in abundance in carrots.

Vitamin A helps protect the eyes from developing cataracts and beta-carotene improves retinal function. (7, 8) Furthermore, a study published in 2001 found that a high-dose combination of vitamins C and E with beta-carotene and zinc reduced the risk of macular degeneration by twenty-five percent. (9)

There’s lots of fiber in carrots, too, which is important for digestion and gut health.

Oranges – loaded with vitamin C (the master anti-viral) oranges contain B vitamins, calcium, copper, potassium, and significant dietary fiber. Vitamin C prevents the build-up of low-density lipoproteins (LDL cholesterol) in arteries to protect against atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. (10) Phytochemicals in oranges include flavonoid antioxidants, which are particularly beneficial for us: flavonoids reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and other chronic illnesses. (11)

Thiamine is one of the B-complex vitamins. It’s been shown to lower cholesterol and improve cardiometabolic indicators in people with type 2 diabetes. (12) Folate is another B vitamin that’s found in orange juice in a highly bioavailable state. (13) Folate is necessary for the creation of RNA and DNA—the very fundamental structures of life. Additionally, oranges are low in the glycemic index (one orange rates a 31 on a scale of 100), meaning they won’t spike blood sugar. (14) The orange will add some sweet tartness to this 3-in-1 juice.

Serves: 2-4
Prep time: 5 minutes

Notes: Like any other anti-inflammatory juices, you may change the amount used for each ingredient. For example, you may choose to use fewer oranges or substitute them with vegetables high in vitamin C but low in sugar, like kale or celery. If you’re concerned about the impact on blood sugar, consider drinking the juice right before a meal, which will help slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream.

Juicing is an exceptional vehicle for delivering a lot of nutrition all at once. It’s also an efficient and economical way to use produce that may be past its prime; when you mix fruits and vegetables together, new flavors are created.

A tu salud!