What’s The Difference?
JUICING
Juicing is a process which extracts water and nutrients from produce and discards the 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.
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.
THE BENEFITS
- Makes nutrients more readily available to the body in larger quantities.
- Nourishes and restores the body at a cellular level.
- Gives the digestive system a break so cells can focus on rest and repair.
- Makes it easier to consume an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables daily.
TIP: Swish your juice or smoothie in your mouth for 20-30 seconds before swallowing it to facilitate digestive enzymes in your mouth and prevent bloating and gas.
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.
THE BENEFITS
- More filling than juice, so you are likely to stay satiated for a longer period of time.
- Can often serve as a meal replacement.
- The high fiber content helps balance blood sugar levels.
- Helps to regulate and support digestion by pushing toxins out of the colon.
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.
TIP: Swish your juice or smoothie in your mouth for 20-30 seconds before swallowing it to facilitate digestive enzymes in your mouth and prevent bloating and gas.
Sources:
http://foodmatters.tv/articles-1/juicing-vs-blending-which-one-is-better
http://lucasjamespersonaltraining.com/juicing-vs-blending/3087/