Juicing vs Blending
There has been a lot of discussion behind juicing versus blending; and which option is healthier for your body. The attempt to determine if juicing is better for our digestive health when compared to blending our fruits and vegetables instead. Understanding what occurs with each process is important when you are trying to decide which method you are going to use, and which is a healthier approach for your overall health.
Fibre Loss of Juicing
One of the major downfalls of juicing is that you are losing a lot of fibre that are within the skin and pulp of the fruits & vegetables. Fibre is important for regulating the dietary tract as well as lowering the risk of various chronic diseases. These fibres also assist in the stabilization of blood sugars.
95% of the vitamins and enzymes our bodies need are found in the juice of raw fruits and vegetables. When you consider the numbers, it does seem like a lot to consume on a daily basis. Here are just a few examples of the amount your body would need to maintain optimal health:
- 2lbs carrots
- 10 to 12 apples
- 8lbs spinach
That is what you’d have to consume raw to get the same amount of nutrients that are within a 16oz juice.
Highly concentrated vitamins, minerals and enzymes rapidly enter the bloodstream absorbing all of the nutritional benefits of the fruits and vegetables and giving your digestive organs a much-needed rest when you consume in the liquid form from juicing.
Health Benefits of Juicing & Blending
When considering juicing or blending, there are a lot of underlying health benefits and this has become proven by medical tests & research over the past decade. Both methods assist in various areas including:
- weight loss
- increased energy levels
- strengthened immunity
- strong bones
- glowing complexion
It has also been shown to decrease the chances of heart disease, cancer and strokes. When cooking, you lose a lot of important nutrients. This is why blending and juicing have become very popular over the past few years. Individuals are minimizing the destruction of nutrients and improving their overall health with a 16oz glass of juice regularly.
When you are blending fruits and vegetables, you are keeping the fruit intact. Studies have shown we are less hungry when we are blending our fruits and vegetables over trying to eat the recommended serving amounts of 6 cups each day.
Minimizing Consumed Fats
When we eat solid foods, it takes awhile for our digestive systems to break down that food we’ve consumed. This gives it extra time to consume fats and oils out of our foods that we don’t necessarily need and then convert it to fat. With a liquefied version of fruits and vegetables entering our systems, the body can immediately convert the food into nutritive value while there is less time to convert other items into fat cells for energy later.
One of the biggest complaints I read and hear when it comes to juicing vs blending is the waste. With juicing you are discarding the pulp, the skins, the fibres of the fruits and vegetables. Blending you are using it all, other than banana peels, you are blending up the entire fruit and vegetable. If you don’t have a garbage disposal you are composting and if you don’t compost you are left with a lot of garbage.
Which Option is Better
- Blending is keeping your fruits and vegetables as a whole with the skins, the pulp and the full nutrients.
- 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.
- Juicing, you are losing some of the goodness, but saving on your digestion’s work load.
- Juicing makes the nutrients more readily available to the body in much larger quantities than if you were to eat the fruits and vegetables whole.
- Remember fibre is filling, you will feel fuller longer consuming fibre.
In answer to the battle of juicing versus blending we believe that both juicing and blending are very beneficial, but in different ways.