This time of year can be so difficult.

The sun sets around 5 o’ clock, all the pretty little leaves are fallen and getting soggy on the road, and the wind is biting cold. Halloween is passed, and it isn’t quite Christmas yet. I need Christmas twinkle lights to keep me going!

Cold and extra early darkness equals a grumpy Leighanna, and nobody wants that. In the cold, dark, barren months that are late fall and winter, it would be easy to curl up under a fluffy blanket with a quart of carmel swirled ice cream and a spoon, and not come out until spring thaw (oh ice cream, you are a weakness of mine.). As nice as it sounds, sugar and blankets aren’t really what we need to power through the cold with a clear, positive mind. We need an extra pop of nutrition power. We need vitamins and minerals that can pick up our slack. We need juicing.

Juicing therapy is proven to heal so many illnesses. When we suffer from common colds, viruses, digestive illnesses– a whole body spectrum of problems– most of these invaders were only able to penetrate out bodies natural defenses and wreck havoc because our own nutritional deficiencies let us down.

The best food grows from the healthiest soils.

Think of the heart, for example. It is an important machine in the body, pumping around 2,000 gallons of blood a day. A DAY! All the molecules and atoms of the food one eats is absorbed into the bloodstream, and also passes through the heart, leading to the cells it will nourish. If it were your car, a vessel you expect to last maybe fifteen years at the most, you would take good care of the engine, right? You will also be in your body for your whole life, and so you’ll want it to be in the proper condition for running about and exploring this wonderful planet.

The best food on earth for human bodies grows from the ground. Fruits and vegetables contain within themselves all the vitamin, mineral, and enzyme powers needed to heal sickness, boost energy, and even in my case, lift my crabby moods. I am reminded of a great and informative book, Raw Vegetable Juices by N.W. Walker. An interesting man in himself, Dr. Walker explores nearly each and every fruit and vegetable, and their best healing properties. His assessment is that carrot juice is the most versatile juice of them all, doing the nutritional work of nearly all other fruits and veggies combined. His work, as well as the lifelong work of many other doctors, has drawn extensive pictures of the kind of life you can live if you fill your body and your blood with these kinds of foods. It is a long, clear-minded, and productive life indeed. (Dr. Walker lived to be 99 years old, though stories of him living to be 110 and even 116 have circulated. He lived by his own teaching. Ask yourself, if your physician isn’t the picture of health, can he help you care for yours?)

If you suffer anything– anxiety, exhaustion, sleeplessness, aches, colds, viruses– add at least one 8 oz glass of fresh pressed vegetable and fruit juice to your day before taking more drastic measures. Pasteurization breaks down vital enzymes, so it must be so so so very fresh and home made. By separating the juice from the fiber, your body will immediately absorb the juice without any work to digest. Its like an injection of pure goodness. Drink as much as you like, the more the better. If you suffer nothing, make this a part of your routine anyway. Life is long, and in fifty years when you can still hike, swim, and jog like a young thing, you’ll be quite happy.

Many of you probably don’t own costly juicers (though if you have a chance to find one second hand, please take it) but you can make juice without it. To make this vibrant orange carrot juice, add three peeled and washed carrots, with the ends trimmed, to a good blender and cover it with water (only enough to submerge the carrots.) Add a tiny hunk of fresh peeled ginger and a small handful of blue berries or fresh cranberries if you have them. Cover and blend the crap out of it, then pour it though a cheese cloth or mesh strainer (don’t y’all all have one of these bad boys for straining beans and stuff?) straight into the glass, and enjoy.

You do not have to be weary of growing old. You also don’t need to fear me this winter, because I won’t be grumpy at all! Lack of sunshine won’t get me down, because I’m committed to caring for this body I’ve got.

Start juicing now, and use every fruit and vegetable you can find. Make carrots your base, add a dash of sweet fruit, and as many other veggies as you like. Experiment, and see what flavor combinations you love most.

How do YOU stay healthy and vibrant– through the cold, and through the years?