Juice therapy: spring cleaning from the inside out

Before you plant a new spring garden, you prepare the soil. You make sure the soil is healthy, full of nutrients, aerated, well hydrated, and so on. Well, just as we prepare our gardens for the optimal harvest, our bodies benefit from a little spring clean up, and clean out too.

Juice therapy—or juicing—is an all natural, easy-to-use, and affordable way to flush leftover wastes sitting sedentary in your body, dragging you down. Juice therapy helps to flush these toxins from the body, which improves major body functions, as well as overall vitality, energy, healthy skin, and heart health, to name a few benefits.

Here are some common juicing fruits and vegetables, and their potential functions.

Apple: general cleanser, fights infection, and stimulates digestion
Apricot: blood builder, constipation, and skin problems
Lemon: gout, arthritis, laxative, and sore throats (always dilute)
Cabbage: obesity, antiseptic, duodenal ulcers, and constipation
Celery: all arthritic disorders, builds blood, and diuretic

Juice is a relatively mild cleanse and can be done at home daily. One 8-oz glass would be a healthy addition to the daily diet. Why juice? First—when made into juices, fruits and vegetables have concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants. Second—juicing increases the bioavailability of these nutrients. (Bioavailability is the rate at which a substance, in this case the health properties of the juiced fruits and vegetables, are absorbed by the body. In general, juiced fruits and veggies are absorbed by the body at a faster rate than when eaten whole or cooked.)

Juice fresh. Don’t juice, then store for later consumption. Doing this can lead to a loss of minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. You can make juices from fruit combinations or vegetable combinations, but do not mix fruit and vegetables. The combination of fruit and vegetables impairs digestion and limit the assimilation of nutrients.

For more information about a holistic approach to nutrition, CLICK HERE.

Plant a Row for the Hungry: gardening for the greater good

Take the pledge and grow a garden for the greater good. As you start your spring planting, ask yourself, "What would it cost to plant one more row? One more container? One more vegetable, fruit, grain?"

According to the Plant a Row for the Hungry website, there are more than 84 million households with a yard or garden in the U.S., and if "every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and and donates their surplus to local food agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger."

CLICK HERE to find the fresh produce donation center nearest to you and to take the GrowGood pledge.

History
PAR was founded in Anchorage, AK, in the garden column of Jeff Lowenfels, former Garden Writers Association president. Lowenfels asked his readers to Plant A Row of vegetables for Bean’s Cafe, an Anchorage soup kitchen. The program was so successful, he introduced it to GWA as a national program.

It took five years to reach the first million pounds of donated produce. The next million was reached in only two years, and in the next eight years, more than a million pounds of food was donated each year. This is a significant contribution considering that each pound of produce supplements four meals.

Since 1995, over 14 million pounds of produce providing over 50 million meals have been donated by American gardeners.

CLICK HERE to learn more about holistic nutrition.

Jobless and stressed? Some offer job-placement assistance

"At Australasian College of Health Sciences, a career change can be stress relieving," Elizabeth Grattan Teater writes in the Sunday, March 15, Learn On special section of the Oregonian.

"The college's new certificate in wellness consulting is already one of its most popular programs. Entrepreneur magazine calls wellness coaching one of the hottest career trends in 2009. The program costs $4,500 and can be completed in as little as four months.

"The holistic nutrition consulting and aromatherapy programs are also in demand.

"Where do graduates work? Some practice in holistic health clinics or develop programs for health care organizations like Kaiser. Some work as managers for nutrition departments in high-end grocery stores. Many are self-employed--creating natural body care products, for example."

"Sometimes when you face losing a job, you start to look at: 'What's important to me?'" says [ACHS President Dorene] Petersen. "Your life takes a turn for the better, and you start to live what you're learning."

Click here to request more information.

To learn more about wellness and nutrition consulting, aromatherapy, and holistic health programs offered by ACHS, go to www.achs.edu or call (800) 48-STUDY.

Click here to read the full-length Oregonian article.

ACHS launches seven new career-oriented credential programs

The Australasian College of Health Sciences (ACHS) has launched seven new career-oriented credential programs beginning January 2009.

The College developed these one-of-a-kind programs to meet growing industry demand for accessible, holistic health career training. Specially designed to meet the needs of higher education’s fast-growing population—non-traditional students—ACHS now offers greater access to viable CAM-based careers and businesses. As alternative holistic health continues to increase in visibility and desirability, the College will continue to develop course offerings and programs that service the needs of a growing profession.

History tells us that in times of national economic uncertainty, higher education is the go-to solution for professional re-tooling and development. Yet, today, many non-traditional students are unable to attend traditional, daytime classes. The increasingly viable solution is accredited, online education. Students who enroll in one of the Australasian College’s career-oriented credential programs: 1) receive accredited education for a sustainable career in the growing holistic health industry; 2) save money by minimizing transportation costs; 3) and can continue to work while completing their studies, because ACHS courses are available from any computer, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The College’s new career-oriented credential programs include: Certificate in Herbal Retail Management, Certificate in Natural Products Manufacturing, Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting, Certificate in Iridology Consulting, Certificate in Homeopathy Consulting, Certificate in Dynamic Phytotherapy Consulting, and Certificate in Wellness Consulting.

Program graduates will prepare for careers in: holistic health consulting, health food retailing and management, herbal and aromatherapy product manufacturing, wellness and community education, holistic nutrition, professional health care continuing education, and more.
Credential programs range from three to five courses, and can be completed in a minimal investment of one term with full-time, concurrent enrollment.

VA funding is available as of January 2009, which makes it easy for U.S. Armed Forces servicemembers, military spouses, and veterans to maximize their education benefits and invest in their future with a career in holistic health.

Additional course descriptions, registration requirements, and funding information are available through the ACHS Admissions Department. Visit www.achs.edu or call (800) 487-8839, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Pacific Standard Time.

Or, visit achs.edu and click on a specific Department: Aromatherapy, Herbal Medicine, Dynamic Phytotherapy, or Holistic Medicine.