Juicing and the Law of Parsimony

Juicing is an extraction procedure that uses a mechanical device to separate the liquid portion of a fruit or vegetable from the pulp of fibre.

It’s believed it concentrates the enzymes, vitamins and minerals and phytonutrients from the less desirable and less useful pulp. While this may be true, the pulp and fibre is important and useful in human nutrition.

Juicing is believed to be a useful and practical tool for health and healing.

When I attended Bastyr College in Seattle, Washington, I had the good fortune of meeting the famous nutritionist, author and physician Dr. Bernard Jensen.

I attended one of his talks at a theatre hall at the University of Washington. He was an old-time natural healer who advocated healthy diet and good nutrition. He wrote more than 50 books and operated a successful healing sanitarium in California, travelled extensively and studied the diet and nutrition of many people and cultures throughout the world.

I remember asking him a question at the end of his lecture about what was the most important thing about diet and nutrition. In my youthful exuberance, I expected a long, complicated scientific answer to my question.

He thought about the question carefully with his grey hair and eyes twinkling and replied the most important thing about all these diets is to simply eat healthy. He said eat at least five or six vegetables per day, two or three fruits, some whole grain or cereals, nuts and seeds and a little bit of healthy protein. I thanked him for his answer and smiled.

The Law of Parsimony is a general law of philosophy that is also known as Occam’s razor. I was first introduced to this rule in the book called Listening to the Earth by Robert Harrington, a retired schoolteacher, writer and environmentalist who lived closely with nature near Nakusp, B.C.

Briefly stated, the Law of Parsimony says entities should not be divided beyond necessity. That is, a simpler explanation to a problem is preferential to a more complicated one, or don’t make things more complicated than they should be. I apply the Law of Parsimony to diet and nutrition and more specifically juicing

I like to make my health drink for breakfast in the summer months. I put one whole carrot, one stalk of celery, a few sprigs of broccoli, a handful of kale or spinach, one frozen banana or one-half cup of frozen blueberries. I pour in some soy milk, almond milk, rice milk or coconut milk and add some water. I sometimes add an avocado or plain protein powder. I will often add a few tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter. I puree the mixture in my blender.

I used to have an Oster blender but it broke after a lot of use and now I use a Cuisinart blender. The frozen banana and blueberries add a pleasant taste to this salad in a blender. The drink has the texture and taste of a milkshake. I often drink it for breakfast. It tastes good, it’s healthy and it makes my stomach feel better.

Whatever nutritional philosophical ideology you prescribe to, juicing or not, keep it simple. It is far more important to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, organic or not, with the more colour the better.

Every morning when I make my health shake, I try to use plenty of vegetables and fruits. It tastes good, it has a lot of fruit and vegetables and I think it is a healthy way to start the day, fibre and all. I don’t use an expensive juice extractor, just a cheap, simple blender. I like the simplicity of mixing the fruits and vegetables my palate enjoys and that taste good together.

When I drink my health beverage for breakfast, I often smile and think about the Law of Parsimony with regards to diet and nutrition and the wisdom of Bernard Jensen.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.