Juicing vs. Smoothies: Which is best?
Juicing and Smoothies are SOOO hot right now! Both are a great way to boost fruit and vegetable intake and getting more nutrients into our diet. Recently I began to wonder which of the two options was best? This post will share with you the difference between juicing vs. smoothies and which is the best option.
Benefits of Juicing
Fresh green juice is more nutrient dense than smoothies and are more healing, energizing and health promoting. Juicing is a great way to load up on vitamins and perfect to dramatically improve your health and fight disease. Clinicians at the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute say that the juicing process makes the nutrients in produce more readily available because your body doesn’t have to break down the food before absorbing the nutrients. Because the fiber is removed with juicing more produce is required making juicing more expensive than smoothies. Fresh juice is an important part of the Gerson Theory, a natural treatment that activates the bodies ability to heal itself. In this alternative treatment juicing is paired with nutritional supplements and coffee enemas as a way to stimulate the body’s innate healing properties. For juicing a cold pressed juicer is highly recommended (where to buy).
Benefits of Smoothies
If you are looking for a way to add nutrients to your diet and don’t want to spend a lot of money on produce smoothies are the way to go. They are chock full of fiber, vitamins and phytochemicals because the skin and the pith remain, unlike juicing. The fiber helps to improve elimination, removing toxins from the intestines and colon which improves the ability to absorb nutrients. Smoothies make a great meal replacement during the day because it gives the body the great amount of both nutrients and fiber making feel satisfied until the next meal. Smoothies can contain healthy fats, protein and lots of vitamins and minerals. For making smoothies the best option is to use a high powered blender to make delicious and nutritious smoothies. A high powered blender helps to ensure the smoothies is blended enough to be enjoyable (where to buy).
The Winner?
Well, in a nutshell the answer is both. Both provide nutrients and vitamins but in different ways. However, not all juices and smoothies are created equal. It is important to have more vegetables than fruits otherwise they have a high sugar content. Each can be healthy additions to diet if made with fresh, healthy ingredients.
I prefer smoothies on a regular basis over juice mainly because my Vita-mix is a much easier for me to clean and I love the variety of options of smoothies. I like to do a 2-3 day juice fast once or twice a year but for me and my family smoothies provide a meal/snack that is full of fiber, protein and nutrients. Here is a post on how you can juice even without a juicer. If you are interested in adding juicing and smoothies and want some good recipes checkout a great book about juicing (where to buy) and here’s one for smoothies (where to buy).
Which do you prefer? Juicing or Smoothies? We would love to hear your experiences!
