Benefits of Juicing Arugula
Arugula was considered an aphrodisiac by the ancient Romans, who used it to make love potions along with other herbs, like lavender. Arugula was also eaten for good luck in ancient Rome. Today, arugula is popular for its vitamins and zesty, peppery taste.
What is arugula?
The peppery plant sometimes called arugula is also known as rocket. Arugula (eruca sativa) is an herb of the mustard family a common salad ingredient. It’s native to the Mediterranean, though fresh arugula leaves are now enjoyed the world over. In addition to their impressive nutritional properties, arugula leaves for their unique flavor. A spicy oil can also be extracted from the seeds, and they also have merit in natural medicine.
Health Benefits of Arugula
The many health benefits of arugula are a nice bonus to its unique and delicious flavor. Arugula and other leafy green vegetables provide your body with vitamins and minerals, and in the case of arugula, some nutritional elements that are hard to find in other vegetables.
Full of Vitamin K and Other Nutrients
Vitamin K is essential for the body to absorb calcium into the bones and teeth, and as a result, it is critical for maintaining healthy bones. Three cups of arugula provides 100 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin K – a lot when added to a salad, but very easy to achieve when juicing! Arugula also aids bone health through the calcium it contains. Because green leafy vegetables are one of the primary sources of vitamin K, including arugula may help to prevent osteoporosis.
Arugula is also a good source of B vitamins, particularly folate and pantothenic acid. Folate is suspected to be instrumental in preventing cognitive decline in older adults.
Potassium is essential for the health of the nervous system, the heart, and the muscles. It also helps to regulate blood pressure.
Arugula and other leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables also provide vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B, beta carotene, nitrates, and polyphenols. Arugula, raw, also provides protein.
Reduces Inflammation
One of the health benefits of arugula is its power as an anti inflammatory. Its anti inflammatory properties come indole-3-carbinol and erucin. Erucin has been shown in animal studies to inhibit inflammatory enzymes, and the Omega-3s in arugula reduce pain signals sent to the brain. Taken together, these benefits can help those with joint pain
Reduces Cancer Risk
A diet rich in vegetables and leafy greens has been shown to lessen your risk of cancer. Vegetables from the cruciferous family have the added advantage of containing glucosinolates. During digestion, glucosinolates break down into several compounds that are believed to prevent the formation of cancer cells. Studies have show that greens – arugula, kale, broccoli – can reduce the risk of lung, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. Juicing with arugula may provide anti cancer benefits.
Promotes Eye Health
Beta carotene is great for your eyes, fighting free radicals to protect the retina. Lutein and zeaxanthin in arugula also safeguard eye health by helping to shield the eyes from UV rays. These powerful compounds, along with antioxidants, can help to prevent macular degeneration and maintain a lifetime of healthy vision when arugula juice is consumed regularly.
Antioxidants to Fight Aging
Antioxidants help the body to fight cell-damaging free radicals. Free radicals accumulate to produce oxidative stress, which can lead to chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The antioxidants found in arugula juice can help to reduce your risk of these diseases.
Helps the Body Rid Itself of Toxins
Arugula contains high levels of chlorophyll, which can help to neutralize environmental toxins like pesticides, chemicals, and heavy metals. Chlorophyll can help to prevent DNA and liver damage that results from the mold produced by corn, peanuts, and some tree nuts.
Weight Loss
Two cups of fresh arugula contain only 80 calories. Arugula is also one of the few foods high in sirtuins, which are proteins that help to regulate metabolism, increase muscle mass, and help to burn fat – as part of a low calorie, low fat, and low sugar diet. Pantothenic acid is particularly beneficial to metabolism and therefor, weight management. It turns the food you eat into energy and helps to break down fats.
Making Juice with Arugula
The benefits of including arugula in your diet are clear: it’s full of vitamins, minerals, nutrient rich, full of calcium, chlorophyll, and antioxidants. It fights free radicals, aids weight loss, and keeps several systems healthy and functioning well. In addition, it has a fresh, peppery taste unique among other greens. All of these health benefits can be had by eating three cups of arugula daily, or you can take the easy route and include arugula in a nutrient- rich and delicious green juice recipe.
If you plan to regularly juice arugula and other salad greens, you may want to eventually invest in a masticating juicer, which can extract more liquid from the plant than a centrifugal juicer. But no matter which juicer you have, you can start including arugula in your juice recipes right away.
Try This Healthy Arugula Juice Recipe
This delicious juice packs a wealth of health benefits – it’s packed with vitamin C, folate, calcium, and plenty of other vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Green juice is one of the most popular juicing recipes, not only for its nutrients, but for its versatility; almost any fruit and vegetable combination you can imagine will produce a healthy cup of juice, so it’s easy to personalize green juice to your individual taste. Try this recipe as a base, but don’t be afraid to experiment!
Green Juice
- 4 cups of arugula
- 2 cups of kale
- 1 green apple
- 1 lime, peeled
- 2 stalks celery
- herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano, tarragon, nettle
Wash and chop all produce, juice, and enjoy!