Juice and Smoothie both are fantastic food items, to me and many other, rather than fitness diets. People like us are minority despite the relishing and savory drinks they are. In fact, the sky high popularity of them is among the fitness freaks who want to cut down weight by taking protein shakes and nutrients drinks instead of stomach-filling heavy meals. And these two types of fruits drinks vary in their content, creation, and action if not in ingredients.
Therefore, the fitness freaks often are posed with dilemma Juicing vs blending: which is better. Practically, there is no clear victor in this competition as it depends on your target and taste.
This article is an answer to the dilemma and you will learn the differences between juicing and blending. Here you go with the comparison and explaining so that you may end up deciding which one you should go for.
General Confusion On Benefits Of Juicing Vs Smoothies
Apparently, they may seem the same identical process of making ingredients into savory drinks but there lie huge differences between the two. The lack of knowledge leads to the confusion that needs to be addressed. General people are not in the know that they are highly regarded weight loss items. And people hitting the search bar writing juicing vs smoothies weight loss are on the rise. That gives rise to another confusion juicing vs blending nutrition.
Obesity being one of the prime health menaces in the world, people are after the means to keep their body mass in control. As per the World Health Organization, nearly 3 out of 4 men are fat and 2 out of 3 women obese. Now, when you are desperate to cut your obesity down; you must know which option will help you more. And you must know the flip sides and up sides of the both.
As the proverb goes, prevention is better than cure. It is advisable to keep your food intake balanced so that obesity remains a distant matter. But when you are the victim of obesity or you want to cleanse your body; or you want to shed some kilos of weight gone for any purpose, the best option is the protein drink intake. Here come the drinks made out of fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and leafy greens instrumental.
Now let’s examine the difference between juice and smoothies. To start with, we will first define what juicing and smoothies stand for or why they are named so.
What Is Juicing?
Juicing involves the extraction of the liquid and nutrients from the core of the ingredients while getting rid of the fiber deemed harmful for digestion. Juice squeezed like that would carry all the nutrients heavy with antioxidants, minerals, and other food values. Thus you leave fiber attached with the pulp separated from the water and nutrients to abandon the pulp container of the juicer machine. Thus you keep the stomach-filling part at bay and also abandon a fair amount of calories.
But fibers are beneficial for digestion, though the high sugar in them causes more obesity. Therefore, while preparing juice; you should have mix of vegetables with the fruits to keep the sugar at the low. The efficient ratio of fruits and veggies here is 20:80.
What Is Blending?
Unlike juicing, when you blend the ingredients; it doesn’t squeeze nutrients rather it pulverize the fruits with its fiber and skin. It leaves no ingredients and so no nutrients loss. But you will encounter a tiny chunk in the ultimate produce affecting the flavor of the drinks. So, while blending the fruits and vegetables; you have smoothies heavy with nutrients and fiber. But it will have less affect on shedding you weight as you are not excluding the fatty ingredients from the produces.
Now, the lookout should be the difference between the two.
What Is The Difference Between Juicing And Blending?
So, smoothies vs juicing difference lies in the process of making, elements remaining in the end product and the result it will provide. Whereas juicing requires extracting the water from the flesh and core, blending refers to grinding whatever inside the machine. While juicing, you will have left-over having no or minimal liquid in it. Conversely, smoothies will have no left-over and so there is no chance of any nutrients loss. But with the pulp being separated, you lose a certain amount of liquid, nutrients, and calories. And the juice will carry all the nutrients but lesser sugar than smoothie as the skin and pulp have nothing to do with or when juicing.
The upside of juicing is that you can extract veggies and other leafy ingredients and have nutrients intake without adding to the overall weight of your body. It turns out that, you are benefitted by all the food value but they will not lead to obesity. On its top, the juice will not cause you any type of deficiency in your diet.
With blending, you are getting everything from fiber to pulp. And with juicing, you are missing the fiber but you can have vegetable nutrients despite having difficulty in eating vegetables. But the miss is the fibrous mineral leading to weaker digestion, blood sugar rise, and inviting issues relating to heart diseases. Now, this should answer your juicing vs blending nutrition query to the best.
Which Is Better: Juice Or Smoothie?
This debate is on since 1930 when people, in larger scale, became aware that there is an easier and convenient way to eating fruits and vegetables. Now, you cannot take green vegetables at any given time of the day and you can dislike chewing raw fruits. Here comes the juicing and blending as the rescue. But to decide in favor of any one of the two is difficult.
However, you can reap the benefits of both given you are well aware of the following factors. Here you go:
Nutrient Concentration
When you extract juice from any produce – fruits, vegetables, green leaves, etc- you have a liquid heavy with nutrients. And nutrients and minerals ingested with water are far more effective than eating fruits and vegetables in other than liquid form. As for the nutrients, they concentrate on the juice far more than the pulp, fiber, or skin of the fruits.
So, if your target is a nutrient-heavy drink, you can go for the smoothies.
Fibrous Material
Juices contain zero or nominal amounts of fiber that is pretty crucial for proper digestion and so sound health. And most of the fibers remain in the pulp, skin of the produce not in the sap in them.
In the dry fruits, you are having soluble fibers that dissolve into water and thus help the digestion process greatly. On top of that, it helps maintain your blood sugar level to a healthy state. To speak of the other type, the soluble fibers found in vegetables and leafy greens put your stools and intestines into action as they stimulate them by add bucks. And to address your dilemma juicing vs smoothies calories, the latter comes the clear victor with pulp and skin blended all together.
Antioxidants
Other than nutrients and fibers, fruits and vegetables contain antioxidant elements that can act like anti-cancer properties. Especially the fruits with fibrous membranes are reported to have beneficial compounds when blended than in the raw fruits. When compared to the grapefruit juice with the grapefruits smoothies (blended), the latter one is found heavy with antioxidants for the fibrous membranes in the food.
Digestion Ease
Juicing freaks especially the celebs are of the opinion that when you drink without the fiber in it, your system gets a break from the heavy-duty digestion process. As for added benefits, they mention that nutrients absorption is pretty when you drink juice. And recent research has found that juice form contains much higher levels of beta-carotene than in the whole food form. And those blood levels of beta-carotene lower the risk of cancer and soluble fibers in the fruits do it by 30-50 percent.
To go by that findings blending too is credited for having an improved level of beta-carotene. So, when you encounter juicing vs smoothies for cancer dilemma, the obvious answer is juicing.
But if you go by the anecdotal evidence from the fruit drink consumers who have gone for both juice cleanse and smoothies, they tell that fiber under-consumption may result in adverse health effects. Conversely, consumption of blended fruits and vegetables can give you the fill of whole foods and juiced food.
Sugar
As for sugar consumption, both the form of drinks provides you with sugar contained in the produces – comparatively more in the fruits. But juicing would have the more dramatic and rapid action as sugar resides more in the sap of the juice than the skin and pulp. So when the question is of juicing vs smoothies calories, blending will come out victorious as the pulp and fiber will add to the calories.
Pros And Cons Of Juicing Vs Smoothies
To make the long story short, let’s point out the benefits and downsides of each type of drink in bullet points for your better understanding and smart takeaway.
Benefits Of Juicing
- The quickest way to add nutrients to the daily meals
- Easier to digest for those with digestive issues
- A better alternative for those finding difficulty in consuming vegetables and chewing fruits
- Provide you with all the benefits without filling your stomach and thus accelerating weight loss
Downsides Of Juicing
- Heavy with sugar as the pulp and skin are deducted
- Cannot be a substitute for a meal as they are without fiber and you feel hungry without late
- And the lack of protein in the juice makes you weaker and cannot concentrate on work if dependent fully on juice
Benefits Of Smoothies/Blending
- Contain fiber to feel full for longer and let you concentrate on work
- Replace a meal when added with a protein source like yogurt or milk
- Deal with bugs in the intestine
Downsides Of Blending/Smoothies
- Not that effective when the target is weight loss
- Cannot be made only or more with vegetables and run the risk of high-sugar fruit drinks
Takeaway
It is evident from the discussion above that juice vs smoothie: which is better is a misnomer. It depends on the target set by you. If your target is weight loss, the juicing is the better between the two. But if you have a hectic routine and want to fill the lack with a faster and savory drink heavy with calories, smoothies are the advisable option.
As for cleansing your body from toxins stored in the system, juicing has the edge over blending over this. You better learn in-depth and you can use both the items in your ultimate gain. I think this article, on juicing vs smoothies, has served this purpose so far the best.
Related Reviews:
- 7 Best Tips To Make Juicing Simple For Beginners
- Vitamix Blender vs Omega Juicer: Which One Should You Buy?