Juice and smoothies have taken the world by storm.
Everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are healthy for you. According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, we should eat 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables every day. By consuming fresh produce at these levels, you may reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer, while also managing your weight.
Getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet is one of the benefits of juicing and blending.
Juicing vs. blending: What's the difference?
Juicing and blending differ in what's left out.
With juicing, you remove all fibrous materials, leaving only the liquid of the fruits and vegetables. Blending gives you everything - the pulp and fibre that bulk up the produce. This is where we begin to differentiate the two options.
Concentrated amounts of vitamins and nutrients
Make nutrients easier to absorb
Juices often have more sugar than soft drinks
Fibre is essential for healthy digestion, controlling blood sugar, and lowering the risk of heart disease.
The basics of blending
Fruits and vegetables preserve their fibre for healthy digestion.
Fruits and vegetables contain fibrous parts that fill you up and contain antioxidants.
Concentration of nutrients
If you juice your fruits and vegetables, you may get more concentrated nutrients that are easier to absorb. Vitamins and minerals are typically concentrated in juice, not in the pulp and fibrous material found in a smoothie. However, that isn't the whole story.
Contents of fibre
Juices contain very little fibre. Fibre is essential to a healthy digestive system.
Apples, carrots, peas, green beans, and citrus fruits contain soluble fibre that dissolves in water and helps manage blood sugar levels. The insoluble fibre found in vegetables like cauliflower, potatoes, and dark leafy greens adds bulk to your stool and stimulates your intestines.
Antioxidants
Fruit and vegetable pulp contain more than just fibre. Phytochemicals - antioxidant compounds with anti-cancer properties - were compared between grapefruit juice and blended grapefruits in 2012.
The researchers found that the blended fruit had a higher concentration of the beneficial compound because the compound is found primarily in the fibrous membranes of the fruit.
Digestion ease
Juicing advocates believe that juicing allows your body to take a break from digestion by eating fruits and vegetables without fibre. They also claim that it enhances nutrient absorption.
Beta-carotene, a beneficial carotenoid, obtained from juiced produce rather than whole foods, resulted in higher blood beta-carotene levels, according to a study by Trusted Source. A higher plasma or blood level of beta-carotene is associated with a lower risk of cancer. Researchers found that soluble fibre reduces beta-carotene absorption by 30 to 50%.
However, they pointed out that blending can also be beneficial. While the fibre remains in the blender, the cell walls of the foods are broken down. Beta-carotene is better absorbed as a result.
Some diseases and malabsorptive conditions are treated with low-fibre and low-residue diets. Juicing is an appropriate treatment in these cases.
Despite the lack of research, there is anecdotal evidence from people who have completed juice fasts and cleanses and reported a variety of health benefits. However, fibre is often under-consumed, resulting in harmful health effects. Hence, consuming blended foods more often than juiced foods may provide the benefits of both whole foods and juiced foods.
Sugar
Juicing and blending can both raise blood sugar levels, but juice raises blood sugar more quickly and more dramatically than smoothies.
Blended fruits and veggies can only be consumed so many times before you feel full. Fibre, pulp, and skin increase the volume of the drink, filling you up and limiting your calorie intake. But with juice, you can eat the same amount of fruits and vegetables and still not feel satisfied.
Commercial fresh juices can contain as much sugar as sodas. A study published found that fruit juices contain an average of 45.5 grams of fructose per litre. In sodas, the average is 50 grams per litre.
Minute Maid apple juice contained 66 grams of fructose per litre. It is recommended to avoid smoothies since they contain less sugar.
Conclusion
Among the benefits of juicing are a more concentrated form of nutrients, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, and enhanced absorption of nutrients. Those who have difficulty eating their vegetables may also benefit from it.
However, juicing leaves you deficient in fibre. Another possibility is that you are missing out on other compounds present in the pulp and membranes of the fruit and vegetables. However, the pulpy texture may be unappealing to some.
In both cases, there is one caveat: sugar. We urge caution when it comes to sugar, particularly if your goal is weight loss.
Some experts believe you could minimize the rise in blood sugar from liquid calories by adding sources of fibre, protein, or fat, such as avocado, chia seeds, protein powders, or unsweetened Greek yoghurt. But others disagree.
We do not recommend any liquid calories. For weight loss, always eat fruits and vegetables, don’t drink them. If weight loss isn’t an issue, then the smoothie would win the prize over the juicing.