THE JOY OF JUICE

In Oaxaca with its subtropical coast and more temperate agricultural zones of the valleys, there is a particularly abundant supply of fresh fruits and vegetables year-round. And the local juice bars offer an extraordinary selection of ingredients.

Many of the fruits you'll see are familiar enough: oranges, bananas (at least a half-dozen varieties), tangerines, pineapple, limes, papaya and mangoes.

You may even be able to identify some of the more exotic tropical fruits such as guayaba, chirimoya, mamey, zapote, tuna and anonas. But I bet you don't know what a choconoxtli or a tejocote is.

Look closer and you'll also see jars holding beet root, cucumber, celery, nopalito cactus, watercress, parsley, aloe vera, basil and other herbs and roots that are unrecognizable and unpronounceable.

That's because the juguería is more than a refreshment stand; for many Mexicans it is also a health care provider, dispensing alternative medicine, preventative and curative.

In the wealthy and overfed countries of the First World, juice bars, natural foods and the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables for a healthy lifestyle is a recent phenomena, if not a passing fad.

But in Mexico, where many visitors erroneously believe it is difficult to maintain their health-conscious regimen, the juice and vegetable bar and the juice healer have been a fixture of the landscape for as long as there have been blenders and electricity to run them. And, of course, way, way before then.

Many fruits and veggies are high in vitamin C, Selenium and vitamin E, all substances thought to be antioxidants, which slow down the degenerative process in the body. Fresh fruits and raw vegetables also contain pigments and enzymes, such as carotenes and antociaines, believed to have antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Some vegetable enzymes work with the body's natural intestinal enzymes to reduce excess fats and proteins. Papaya and pineapple are thought to be particularly helpful as digestive aids.

Recently one morning, after a particularly long and grueling night putting the paper to press, I sat at one of my favorite juguerías and asked for some something to help recharge my batteries.

A few days later, after another long, though not so grueling and infinitely more entertaining night, I returned to the market. The juice lady just eyed my sorry state and, before I opened my mouth to order, she prepared a licuado that she guaranteed would ease a hangover.

So I started looking into what other remedies they knew of and regularly served up to their customers. It's obviously not an exact science; each juice place has its variations and specialities. But as Hippocrates insisted, they do no harm. How bad can fresh and natural products be?

So here's some of what you can try for whatever ails you.
(But you can also just enjoy a delicious and refreshing juice.)

• Hangover
  Beets, celery, pineapple and a shot of vino (how kind -- most juguerías have Tres Coronas Sherry on the shelf). A variation offered me was: Banana (for the phosphorous) Orange, egg and the sherry.
• General Tonic
  Verde (Green) good for the skin and good for weight loss: Orange, Pineapple, celery, Aloe, Nopal, and chaya. (Chaya is a plant with three maple-shaped leaves that most families grow in the yard for its medicinal properties for countless ailments.)
  Vampira (Vampire) Celery, Beet, carrot, orange and banana.
• Colds
  Oranges, carrots, guayaba, lime, honey An alternative was: Oranges, carrots, guayaba, pineapple, cucumber and nopal.
• Weight Loss
  Grapefruit, nopal choconoxtli (it's small hard tuna -- cactus fruit), celery
• Skin Problems
  Carrots, spinach, lettuce, asparagus
• Allergies
  carrot, turnip, artichoke, celery, potato.
• Anemia
  Watercress, radishes, spinach, carrot, fennel, turnip
• Colitis
  lime, apple, carrot, cucumber, papaya.