Juicing Vs Blending

It is a question asked quite frequently. Does one have more health benefits than the other? Juicing and blending are both very beneficial, but in their own different ways.

What’s the difference?

Juicing

Juicing is a process in which water and nutrients are extracted from produce and the indigestible fiber is discarded, which means that your digestive system does not have to work as hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. In fact, it makes the nutrients more readily available in larger quantities than if you were to just eat the fruits and vegetables whole.

If you have a sensitive digestive system or illness that prevents your body from processing fiber, juicing is especially helpful. The fiber in fruits and vegetables actually helps slow down the digestive process and provides a steady release of nutrients into the blood stream.

Because freshly squeezed vegetable juices are so nutrient rich, they aid tremendously in healing and detoxification by nourishing and restoring the body at a cellular level.

Caution: When the fiber is removed, the liquid juice is absorbed into your bloodstream quickly. This could cause a rapid spike in blood sugar if you are juicing only fruits. Unstable blood sugar levels can lead to mood swings, energy loss, and memory problems.

Since fiber is the filling factor, some people get hungry again quickly after drinking the fiberless juice.

Blending

Smoothies, on the other hand, contain the entire fruit or vegetable, including the skin, with all the fiber from the produce.

The blending process breaks the fiber apart, making the fruits and vegetables easier to digest. This also helps to create a slow and even release of nutrients into the blood stream, avoiding blood sugar spikes. Since smoothies contain the fiber, they are more filling. They are also faster to make, so they’re a great drink for the morning as breakfast, or even as snacks for throughout the day.

Remember that the volume will increase when the fiber is included, which means that you can pack more servings of fruits and vegetables into a single serving of juice than into a smoothie.

Juicing and Blending Rules:

1. It is better not to combine fruits and vegetables, unless using an apple. Combining them affects how well your digestive enzymes function. Vegetables like carrots, beetroots, broccoli and zucchini do not combine well with fruit because of their high starch content. Dr. Herbert Shelton explains that starchy foods should be eaten alone because they are digested with different enzymes than the ones used for the digestion of other food groups. When starchy foods are combined with fruits, fermentation and gas may be caused. However, Dr. Shelton did find that green leafy vegetables combine well with everything, which is why digestive enzyme function is not of concern in green juices or smoothies.
2. Try to drink your juice or smoothie right away because after 15 minutes, light and air will destroy a lot of the nutrients. If not possible to drink right away, store the drink in a dark airtight container.

Using the Right Equipment.

Using the right equipment is key in getting the most benefit from the juices or smoothies. 

Invest in a good-quality juicer because cheaper, centrifugal juicers introduce heat and oxygen, which destroy the enzymes and nutrients in the fruits and vegetables. A premium cold-press juicer will produce a superior-quality juice, allowing for more extract from the produce. The cold-press juicers compress fruit and vegetables to squeeze out their juice, unlike the rough extraction of centrifugal juicers. Also, the machines themselves generally last longer.

The same applies for blenders. A blender that is gentle on the produce and does not heat up the enzymes as it pulls apart the fibers is the one to choose.

Pros and cons of certain juicers can be found here:

http://www.foodmatters.tv/juicer-buying-guide

Please explore this a great diagram on Juicing Vs. Blending from MBG wellness expert, Kris Carr!