Heart Healthy Gingered Swiss Apple Juice

Swiss chard is a mineral-rich, mild-tasting leafy green vegetable with many health benefits. It grows easily and does especially well in the cooler Spring and Fall weather. I love walking into my backyard and harvesting a handful of those large, red-veined, glossy dark green leaves with beautiful red stalks for a juice.

The delicious, gingery kick of this juice blend is just right for cool Fall days. Here are some additional reasons you may want to make this juice.

Swiss Chard Juice for Heart Health

Swiss chard, also called silverbeet, is a member of the beet family. As such, it is high in dietary nitrate which boosts your body’s nitric oxide, lowering blood pressure, relaxing arteries, and improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to organs and muscles. Swiss chard is rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium, which also help regulate blood pressure.

Healthy Bones and Immunity

Swiss chard is very high in vitamins K, A and C. Just one cup of raw chard provides 3 times the recommended daily intake of vitamin K which is important for healthy bones. It provides 44% of your daily vitamin A needs, and 18% of your vitamin C needs, both important for healthy immunity. (NOTE: If you are on Coumadin or warfarin, work with your doctor to adjust your medication to your daily vitamin K intake from juices and meals.)

Blood-Sugar Balancing Swiss Chard

Swiss chard juice is also diabetic-friendly. One of the primary flavonoids found in the leaves of chard is a flavonoid called syringic acid, shown in research to be a blood sugar regulator. This flavonoid has been shown to inhibit activity of an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase. When this enzyme is inhibited, fewer carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars and blood sugar is more stable.

Blood Pressure Lowering Celery Juice

The celery juice in this recipe provides vitamins, natural electrolytes, phenolic compounds and other nutrients. Celery juice has been proven to lower high blood pressure. Celery contains apigenin and luteolin, which have been studied for their cancer fighting properties.

Anti-Inflammatory Ginger Juice

Both celery and ginger are highly anti-inflammatory. Ginger has powerful anti-diabetic properties, lowering fasting blood sugar levels. I’ve included a good amount of it in this juice for a noticeable ginger kick.

Cholesterol Lowering Apple Juice

Apple juice has polyphenols which protect cells from oxidative stress and inflammation. These polyphenols also reduce LDL oxidation and may protect your brain as you age. Fresh, cloudy apple juice has about the same glycemic load as a whole apple, but if you have insulin resistance or are currently experiencing type-2 diabetes, you may need to limit the amount of apple juice in this recipe.

FREE Download: Tasty Green Juice Recipes

Makes ~ 32 ounces

2 large cucumbers
1 bunch of celery
4 large Swiss Chard leaves and stems
4 small to medium apples
2-inch piece ginger (reduce if you prefer less)
½ lemon

Cut the ingredients to fit your juicer’s feed tube. Thinly slice the ginger if using a slow (single-auger) juicer. Alternate ingredients, finishing with cucumber or celery. If you are using a centrifugal juicer, roll up the Swiss chard leaves into a tight bundle and juice them between two pieces of apple. This will increase the chard’s contact time with the blades and improve yield. Enjoy!