Should I Blend or Should I Juice?
Both Have Their Benefits, But Blending Offers More
Both blending and juicing have their benefits. At one time I used to juice, but as I studied the benefits that both had to offer, I felt that blending just offered more. Before I get into the reasons I want to point out that making juices out of vegetables and fruits (especially vegetables) from either process should be something we all add to our daily eating routines.
Many if not most of us do not get enough raw vegetables and fruits in our diets. Veggies and fruits are great sources of balanced vitamins and minerals, and fiber, and western diets are lacking in these areas.
By making vegetable juices or fruit juices we are able to pack a lot of veggies or fruits in one or two glasses and easily satisfy our daily requirements. Please make some raw veggie and fruits juices. You will be doing your body and mind a great service. Now on to why I prefer blending over juicing.
Blending Offers Much More Fiber Than Juicing
The USDA recommends that males consume around 35 grams of fiber a day, and females consume around 25 grams of fiber a day. Unfortunately, on average we are only consuming 14-15 grams of fiber a day in our fiber deprived western diets. High-fiber diets, such as veggies and fruits tend to contain more nutrients and fewer calories, lower blood cholesterol levels, prevent constipation, are digested more slowly, and help us feel full sooner and longer.
High fiber foods reduce the risk of colon cancer.
High fiber foods help prevent the formation of intestinal pouches (diverticula) which trap waste in the colon and produce toxins which are the introduced in the bloodstream and entire body.
Juicing veggies and fruits removes the fiber we need to promote a healthy digestive system.
Blending | Juicing and the Absorption of Nutrients Through the Small Intestine
Juicing veggies and fruits do allow nutrients to be more easily absorbed through the walls of the small intestine and into the bloodstream. This absorption happens quicker because the veggies and fruits have been broken down to mainly water and nutrients. At first glance this may look good, but looking deeper into the process as a holistic process, other areas suffer.
Alternative medicine advocates that high amounts of diary products we eat and the lack of fiber we consume contribute to a buildup of mucoid lining the intestines. This harmful mucus-like material and food residue coat the small intestine making it more difficult to absorb nutrients from the foods passing through the small intestine. Juicing may help the mucoid lined small intestine absorb more nutrients, which is beneficial in the short-run, but the lack of fiber helps to promote continual building of the mucoid condition, which hurts us in the long-run.
Blending and juicing both beak down the veggies and fruits into smaller pieces which makes it easier for the body to digest. Blending assists the digestive process by providing smaller pieces to breakdown, and it also provides the very needed fiber to help clean the digestive track.
Blending Makes You Feel Fuller Longer Than Juicing
Since blended veggies and fruits contain fiber, they take longer to digest than juiced veggies and fruits, but they don't take as long to digest as chewed veggies and fruits. This seems like a good balance. By blending you are easing the digestive process, by making it easier for the body to breakdown the food, and by making more nutrients available to the body. All the nutrients are still being provided to the body, along with all the fiber. Since juicing removes the fiber, blending will make you fuller longer.
Cleaning the Blender and Juicer
Argwwww, cleaning a juicer has always been a pain for me. Even before I started blending, my juicer started collecting dust because I just stopped using it. It was a pain for me to clean. I am a pretty disciplined person, but the juicer cleaning process still overwhelmed my discipline and I stopped using it. Blending is a breeze. I just quickly wash and rinse the jar and I am done. I make two juices in the morning and clean the jar in about ten minutes. I make my goji-berry |curcumin drink, and my kale |cilantro veggie drink and drink them to start the day. Easy Breezy.
References:
USDA daily fiber recommendation
Get the Facts on Fiber
Thanks Evelyn. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. Thanks for the compliment. So what vids are you going to make?
Just joking you don’t need to tell me. I will see them when you post them.
I prefer blending too, for all the reasons you mention in this video. You know, you’ve given me some ideas about future videos. You presented this information so plainly and your passion for your topic shines through. Beneficial and informative, indeed! Peace and blessings!
I definitely prefer using a blender to hold onto the fiber. It's not always easy to get enough fiber in your diet, why make it harder on yourself by getting rid of an easy fiber intake. Smoothies all the way!
This is good facts, an excellent article.