From Food Matters
This is a question that we get asked all the time. Which is
better: juicing or blending? Does one offer more health benefits than
the other? Juices and smoothies both play an important role in any
wellness program and we discuss the benefits of each in both of our
films, Food Matters and Hungry For Change. We believe that both juicing and blending are very beneficial, but in different ways.
Here is a short comparison that explains the differences between the two as well as some of the specific benefits of each.
What’s The Difference?
JUICING
Juicing is a process which extracts water and nutrients from produce and discards the indigestible fiber.
Without all the fiber, your digestive system doesn’t have to
work
as hard to break down the food and absorb the nutrients. In fact, it
makes the nutrients more readily available to the body in much larger
quantities than if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole.
This is especially helpful if you have a sensitive digestive system or
illness that inhibits your body from processing fiber. The fiber in
produce helps slow down the digestive process and provides a steady
release of nutrients into the blood stream. Jason Vale calls juicing "A
nutrient express!"
Freshly squeezed vegetable juices form part of most healing and
detoxification programs because they are so nutrient rich and nourish
and restore the body at a cellular level.
A word of caution: When you remove the fiber from the produce,
the liquid juice is absorbed into your blood stream quickly. If you are
only juicing fruits, this would cause a rapid spike in blood sugar and
unstable blood sugar levels can lead to mood swings, energy loss,
memory problems and more!
Fiber is also filling and without fiber in the juice, some people tend to get hungry again quickly.
BLENDING
Unlike juices, smoothies consist of the entire entire fruit or
vegetable, skin and all and contain all of the fiber from the
vegetables.
However, the blending process breaks the fibre apart (which makes the
fruit and vegetables easier to digest ) but also helps create a slow,
even release of nutrients into the blood stream and avoids blood sugar
spikes. Smoothies tend to be more filling, because of the fiber, and
generally faster to make than juice, so they can be great to drink first
thing in the morning as your breakfast, or for snacks throughout the
day.
By including the fiber in your smoothie, the volume will increase. Also,
you can pack more servings of fruits and veggies into a single serving
of juice than you can into a smoothie.
Juicing and Blending Rules
1. It’s best not to combine
fruits and vegetables (unless it’s apple). This can affect how well your
digestive enzymes function.
This doesn’t seem to matter too much in green juices and smoothies, but
vegetables like carrots, beetroots, broccoli and zucchini don’t combine
well with fruit due to their high starch content. In
his book Food Combining Made Easy, Dr. Herbert Shelton explains that
starchy foods have to be eaten alone because starches are digested with
enzymes different from those used for any other food group. Combining
starchy foods with fruit may cause fermentation and gas. However, Dr.
Shelton found that green leafy veggies combine well with pretty much
everything.
2. Try to drink your juice or smoothie straight away. After 15 minutes, light and air will destroy much of the nutrients. If you can’t drink it straight away, transfer to a dark airtight container until you’re ready.
Using The Right Equipment
To get the most benefit from your juices and smoothies, it’s important to use the right equipment. Invest
in a good-quality juicer. Cheaper, centrifugal juicers introduce heat
and oxygen and destroy the enzymes and nutrients in your fruits and
vegetables. While it may cost you a bit more initially, a premium
cold-press juicer will produce a superior-quality juice and allow you to
extract more from your fruit and vegetables, saving expense in the
long-term.
The machines themselves will also generally last longer. In contrast to
the rough extraction of centrifugal juicers, mastication or cold-press
juicers compress fruit and vegetables to ‘squeeze’ out their juice.
The same goes for a blender. You want a blender that is gentle on your
produce and doesn’t heat up the enzymes as it’s pulling apart the
fibres. We spend money on gadgets, clothes, restaurants and other
luxuries so, if you can afford it, investing in your health by buying a
quality juicer or blender is totally worth it.
Read our Juicer Buying Guide here and learn about the pros and cons of each type of juicer.
Have a Healthy and Successful Day!
Coach Mask
Source Links:
http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/juicing-vs-blending-which-one-is-better
http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/2011/08/juicing-versus-blending/.
http://www.drsearswellnessinstitute.org/blog/2012/04/12/juicing-vs-blending/
