Juicing vs Blending
(BeWellBuzz) Juicing and blending offers a simple and effective way of increasing your intake of vegetables and fruits, but they are not the same.
Juicing
Juicing involves extracting all the nutrients in the form of juice from fruits and vegetables minus the pulp, or fiber.
– Pros of Juicing
1. An easy way of obtaining essential vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants: Juice provides you with nutrients in an easy, digestible form. To get all the essential nutrients present in a combination of fruits and/or vegetables, all you have to do is place them in your juicer, run the juicer, and drink the produce. Eating all the ingredients in their solid form, on the other hand, would require considerable amount of time, not to mention drive and effort.
2. It is easy on your digestive system: Juice does not contain pulp, which, although essential, slows the digestive system. To digest a glass of juice, your digestive system does not have to work as hard to digest the nutrients. This inherent quality of juice is extremely beneficial to people with a sensitive digestive system or who have certain illness that prevents their digestive system from processing pulp properly.
3. Provides instant energy: As juice is absorbed into the blood stream more quickly than solid fruits and vegetables, it is able to provide energy instantly.
4. Boosts the immune system: Juices are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. These substances improve your immunity function besides reducing toxicity.
3 healthy and delicious juice recipes here
– Cons of Juicing
1. Juices are not a replacement for a meal: Juices provides instant energy instead of a steady release of energy. Due to this reason, you are likely to feel hungry quickly after you have gulped a glass of antioxidant-rich juice.
<strong >2. Juices can cause spike in the blood sugar levels: As mentioned above, juices are assimilated into the blood stream almost instantly. While this provides instant energy, it can also increase your blood sugar levels alarmingly.
3. Juices do not contain fiber: Besides preventing spike in blood sugar levels, fiber is necessary for a healthy digestive system. When you drink juice, you do not get this essential substance.
4. Certain fruits and vegetables do not mix well with each other: Our digestive system processes different fruits and vegetables differently. So, if you are using a combination of different fruits and/or vegetables, ensure that you are aware of which goes with which.
Blending
Blending is an act of creating a thick liquid solution out of vegetables and fruits with all their ingredients, including fiber, intact. Blended concoctions, like juices, offer several health benefits.
– Pros of Blending
1. It is a complete meal: Unlike juice, a blended solution is a complete meal as it contains all the ingredients of the produce. A blend of vegetables and/or fruits contains fiber, which experts believe may be effective in reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Fiber, as mentioned earlier, offers other benefits as well, like filling you better and improving the digestive system.
2. Doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar levels: Unlike juices, smoothies provide energy at a steady rate and obviate the risk of a sudden increment in blood sugar levels.
3. Aids digestion: Consuming foods in liquid form is easier on the digestive system. Moreover, it saves time. If your excuse for not eating enough green vegetables or fruits was lack of time, now you know exactly what you must do—bring home a blender, or conjure up another excuse!
4. Increases your intake of vegetables and fruits: Often, we do not eat fruits and vegetables that we do not find tasty. The result of this deliberate abstinence is that we do not get the benefits that foods in our I-don’t-like-its-taste list provide. Blending, like juicing, is an effective solution to this problem. You can mix fruits and vegetables that rub your taste buds in the wrong way with items that you like to produce a concoction that is both tasty and healthy.
5. Ease of clean up: Compared to juicers, blenders are easier to clean—an additional reason for you to imbibe smoothies.
Great banana smoothie recipe here
Discover 3 energy-boosting smoothies here
– Cons of Blending
1. Not ideal when you require instant energy: Blended concoction releases energy slowly much like solid foods and, as such, is not ideal when you are in need of instant energy, for instance after a workout.
2. May not be suitable if you have some digestive problem: If you have a digestive problem that makes it difficult for you to digest fiber, you are better off drinking juices.
To Conclude:
Blending and juicing are not interchangeable, nor are they comparable because they are inherently different from each other. The question which is better, although repeatedly asked, is ill directed as both offer unique benefits. It is not about choosing one over another, but adding them both to your diet. Why choose one over another when you can have them both, and that too to your heart’s content.
Check out our friend Drew Canole’s Juice Up Your Life Program:
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References:
http://www.drsearswellnessinstitute.org/blog/2012/04/12/juicing-vs-blending/
http://www.livestrong.com/article/541437-vegetable-juicing-vs-blending/
