(ARA) – Flu season is here and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and health care providers everywhere are urging everyone to take better care to weather the cold and flu storm. From getting flu shots and getting more exercise and sleep, to regularly washing hands and limiting stress, you can do a lot to battle cold and flu bugs to stay healthy — but the easiest way to safeguard your health is to increase your fruit and vegetable intake.

It sounds like basic advice, but according to the CDC, average Americans are not getting an adequate amount of the vital nutrients found in fruits and vegetables in their diet, putting a large portion of the population at risk for getting the flu, or worse yet heart disease and cancer. Most people may not know how to easily incorporate more fruit and vegetables into already pressed-for-time schedules.

A simple solution for increasing your intake is by juicing – drinking, instead of eating – your daily requirements. When juicing, there is no need to sacrifice health for convenience. Fresh, frozen or canned, get the most out of your fruits and vegetables with juicers like the Juiceman 480 All-in-One Extractor with a compact design, powerful blade system and integrated pulp container.

Health experts agree that drinking fresh juice is an excellent way to increase your vitamin and mineral intake, because juicing is known to release the nutrients from fruit and vegetables in a highly absorbable form, allowing your body to get the maximum benefits out of the each glass.

For example, to meet the daily requirements for flu fighting vitamins and antioxidants, the CDC recommends two or more cups of fruit and 2 1/2 or more cups of vegetables each day, based on a 2,000 calorie diet. For fruit, that is one small apple and eight large strawberries, and for vegetables, that is approximately 24 baby carrots or 25 flowerets of broccoli. In comparison, just 3/4 cup of freshly extracted juice equals one daily serving of fruits or vegetables.

Juicing in the winter months can help you get a boost of vitamin C, which, of all the antioxidants, has the most important role in helping the immune system tackle any free radicals in the body. While it is widely known that 100 percent orange juice provides more than a day’s recommended daily value of vitamin C, many don’t know that strawberries, kiwi, grapefruit, pineapple, sweet potatoes, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, hot peppers and broccoli also reign supreme in vitamin C.

Juicers, like the Juiceman 480 All-in-One Extractor and Citrus Juicer, can easily tackle the toughest produce like carrots or the rind of a pineapple without a lot of prep time, bringing juice bar versatility right to the kitchen countertop. To get started in thinking about the many tasty fruit and vegetable combinations, here’s a vitamin C-packed recipe that will surely help ward of cold and flu bugs and kick start the habit of juicing for better health any time of year.

Super C Citrus Berry Juice

This easy-to-prepare juice packs in 210 percent of your daily recommended value of vitamin C. Make sure you wash all fruit well before juicing.

Prep time: 10 minutes

1 large apple, cubed

1 large orange, peeled and sectioned

2 large kiwi, cubed

1 cup blackberries

1 cup raspberries

While the motor is running, add fruit to juicer, pressing gently to remove juice from firmer fruit. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

For additional creative juice creations, visit www.juiceman.com.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Calories: 130, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 0mg, Potassium: 507 mg, Carbohydrates: 49g, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 24g, Protein: 2g, Vitamin A: 6 percent, Vitamin C: 210 percent, Calcium: 4 percent, Iron: 6 percent