“Blending or juicing, which is better?”
I often get asked the question of whether it is better to blend or juice. In fact, both blending and juicing hold their own respective benefits, it simply depends on what stage of detoxing you wish your body to undergo.
Both juices and smoothies play a very important role in any health and wellness program or lifestyle. Below I will compare these two methods as well as list out the specific benefits of each.
Why Are Blending & Juicing Different?
1. Juicing
Juicing removes all indigestible fiber from fruit and vegetables and extracts the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in juice form
This means that your body can access and absorb the nutrients faster, especially if you have impaired digestion (which is often a result of making bad food choices, or if you have ever taken a round of antibiotics). In addition, juicing helps give your digestive system a break, so that your body can focus on rest and repair.
Juicing also allows you to consume large amounts of vegetables that you wouldn’t normally consume. Some people find that eating that many vegetables in one sitting is very difficult, but by turning it into a juice, you can get them down quickly and efficiently.
Individuals who juice often report finer mental clarity and focus, weight loss, increased energy, better complexion, and increased immunity. Juices also help cleanse our liver (especially if you add things like dandelion greens and beets) and fight off depression (thanks to their high mineral content).
2. Blending
Blending includes all fiber and nutrients from the fruit and vegetables
Blending produce into a smoothie helps preserve the fiber so these mixtures help regulate and keep our blood sugar levels balanced (and thus, keeps your energy levels balanced too). Smoothies also tend to be more filling than juices if you intend on going quite a while without a next meal.
Smoothies also ensure that toxins in the digestive tract get pushed out with healthy, regular bowel movements. They also help support the good bacteria in our gut needed for good digestion! Individuals who consume smoothies also report natural weight loss due to their ability to stave off cravings and hunger pains.
Lastly, smoothies are much cheaper to make than juices. Juicing often takes much more fruit and vegetables to create a hearty drink than it does to make a smoothie.
Tips:
(1) When you consume smoothies or juices, make sure you swish around the mixture in your mouth for 20-30 seconds to assimilate enzymatic activity in your mouth and to prevent bloating and gas!
(2) Make sure you combine fruits, starchy vegetables, and low-starch vegetables properly. Click HERE for a guide to combining.
(3) Try you best to consume the smoothie or juice right away! The nutrients oxidize quickly, and you want to minimize this as much as possible. If you want to store your juice for a couple hours, make sure you keep it somewhere dark and cold like the fridge, and add some high vitamin-C foods like lemons (for juice) or oranges (for smoothies) to slow oxidation rate!
Need a juicer or a blender?
If you want to properly benefit from your smoothies and juices, you need a good machine! Using cheap centrifugal juicers will heat the juice too rapidly and in the process destroy enzymes and nutrients in your produce. Mastication or cold-press juicers are the way to go!
Same goes for blending. You don’t want a blender that heats up too quickly or leaves chunks in your smoothie! Invest in your health by buying a high quality juicer or blender – omega and vitamix (posted below) also have 10 year warranties, so you are guaranteed a hearty, well-built piece of equipment!
