Juicing For Lifelong Health
Some nutritionists
worry about feeding birds vegetables and fruits because the nutritional
content of these foods is not very concentrated. There is so much water
in the fruits that the birds eat a diet with a lower vitamin density.
We are not worried about this, believing that birds eat fruits and vegetables
in the wild when they are plentiful.
Still, there is a way that you can enhance your bird's health even more: juicing for your birds - and yourself. Juicing will concentrate the remarkable healing benefits of fruits and vegetables, eliminate the potential problem of low caloric and nutrient density, and literally provide your birds with a vitamin and mineral super drink. These drinks are even more helpful because they contain numerous other phytonutrients (complex healing compounds) that a bird needs to thrive.
Fruits and vegetables can be said to have two components: the fibrous, partially-indigestible component, and the juice, which resides within the cells of the plant.
| Juicing is easily the most powerful way to provide all the nutrients your bird needs to thrive. Juicing will often heal your bird from the worst diseases, and return your bird to a level of health far beyond anything you have seen before. |
Only the juice found within the plant's cells provides the vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates we need to thrive. Juicing concentrates these wonderful nutrients into a more easily digestible juice. Birds will usually consume juices readily, in much larger quantities, than they would the fruits from which they come. This makes juicing the best way to provide many of these valuable nutrients.
| Juicing provides a concentrated powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, flavonoids and other complex nutrients that are so valuable for you and your birds |
We recommend that you feed the pulp as well as the juice for added nutrition. The fibrous component in the pulp is important for a healthy digestive tract. Feeding whole fruits and vegetables will also provide this fibrous component, and should be a regular part of your bird's diet.
When juicing oranges, you must remove the orange part of the peel as it contains indigestible oils. You should, however, leave the whitish portion of the peel as there are a number of extremely valuable bioflavonoids in this part of the orange.
| We recommend that you take the pulp from the juicer and feed that to your birds also, adding it with the "soft foods" you feed at night - just mix it all into the same bowl. |
Only your imagination limits what you can do with a juicer.
One rule of thumb I use is that if I am placing nutritious but plain- tasting produce in the juice, I will add something especially tasty like apple or pear to make it taste better for the bird.
It is always best to feed the juice fresh daily, as storage will diminish the nutritional content. If you must store it, pour the remaining juice into an ice tray and freeze. The individual frozen cubes will give you a bird-size serving that will defrost quickly.
One final thought: these recipes are one of the best ways to improve your bird's health. They are vastly more healing than most products people will find in "vitamin stores", and have healing powers far greater than the commercial "one-product-heals-all" miracle products so widely marketed. And it is all available at home for you to use to help your loved ones!
Here are some of our favorite juicing recipes:
The Apple Cleanser
q 1 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1/3 orange (using a vegetable peeler, remove the orange outer layer, but leave the whitish pulpy layer to be used in the juicer
q 1/3 banana (remove the peel)
q 1 tsp of Herbal Bulk
The Carrot Delight
q 1 carrot (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1/3 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 15 grapes (dark-skinned grapes are best, seed grapes are good, and use the seed in the drink)
q 1/8 teaspoon of Avian Support Formula (Click here to read about Avian Support Formula). This powder is optional, but beneficial.
Fruit Juice Utopia
q 1/2 ripe banana (peel removed)
q 1/2 orange (using a vegetable peeler, remove the orange outer layer, but leave the whitish pulpy layer to be used in the juicer
q 1/2 pear (cleaned but not peeled)
q 10 grapes (dark skinned grapes are best, seed grapes are good, and use the seed in the drink)
q 3 sprigs of parsley
q 1/2 fresh apricot (plums are acceptable as well)
Broccoli Antioxidant
q 4 florets of broccoli
q 1 slice of lemon peel
q 1/2 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1 capsule Basic Antioxidants
The Immune Booster
q A sprig of dandelion (We also carry dandelion tinctures which can be used in place of a sprig. Call our staff for information. Click here to order)
q A sprig of fresh thyme
q 1/2 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1/3 carrot (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1/2 orange (remove the orange outer layer)
q 1 Shiite mushroom, chopped and soaked overnight (do not drain the liquid from the mushroom, use it in the juicer)
q 1 clove garlic, crushed
Body Detox
q 1/3 beet (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1/2 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1 sprig of parsley
q 1/2 teaspoon UltraClear Plus; optional ingredient, but very helpful in this case
Liver Repair and Restore
q 1/4 tsp of Turmeric
q 1/2 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 3 dandelion leafs (We also carry dandelion tinctures which may be used in place of the 3 leafs. Call our staff for information. Click here for contact information.)
q 1 tsp Green Tea (steeped as per normal)
q 1/2 tsp Silymarin 80 (click here to read about Silymarin 80)
q Garlic 1/2 clove, crushed
q 1/4 hard boiled egg (can use 1 tsp Lactalbumins in place of the egg; click here to read about lactalbumins)
Note: This juice formula is remarkable in its ability to repair and restore a bird's liver. Most birds will drink this from a spoon. For others, you can add a little vanilla extract or your bird's favorite yogurt (1 tbs.) to enhance the flavor. Add water to the right consistency. Place the juice in the food bowl as the only food source for several hours. Alternately, you can pour this healing liquid over any fruits, bread, or other soft foods your bird likes to eat. It can often be fed from a spoon or pipette as if your bird is being hand fed.
Because only an avian veterinarian can diagnose liver disease, WellVet.com assumes a qualified veterinarian has already seen your bird if you suspect liver disease. If this is not true, you should immediately seek out this support. Complimentary therapy works very well with Western veterinary medicine in treating liver disease, and WellVet.com highly recommends you contact us for a Phone Consult in order for your bird to receive optimal therapeutic care.
The Intestinal Healer
q 1/2 apple (cleaned but not peeled)
q 2 tbs. plain or vanilla yogurt (active live culture)
q 2 tsp Aloe Vera juice
q 2 leafs of spinach
q 1 tbs cooked rice (prepare one day prior to juicing; cook until extremely soft, and leave in the refrigerator overnight)
q 1 tsp Herbal Bulk, this is optional but very helpful
q 1 carrot (cleaned but not peeled)
q 1 kale leaf
q 2 sprigs parsley
q 1/4 celery stalk
q 1/4 tsp flax seeds (the whole seeds, not flax seed oil).
Note: this can be added to a hand feeding formula to provide added nutrients, including calcium, liver herbs, and antioxidants.