In this article, we look at the pros and cons of each healthy drink option in long-standing controversy of juicing vs. smoothies. Their health benefits, potential detriments, and choosing to select one or the other, for your personal health concerns.
While there is a lot of debate in the juicing vs. smoothies conversation about which health drink option is better for you, it stands to reason that in order to choose, you must have the facts. It is fundamentally valid to believe what you read, especially if the information has a basis in science or nutrition. But that isn’t the big question. The big question isn’t which one is healthier? It is, which one is healthier for me?.
Juicing
A juicer, also known as a juice blender, is a machine that fits on your kitchen counter, with a cheese grater-like blade that spins at a high rate. While you press fruits and vegetables into the chute on the top, the juicing cycle removes most of the liquid from the fruits or vegetables, trickling them out a spout on the side of the machine.
In order to get the maximum juice, it is wise to pick the best blender for juicing. Lower quality models are moderately functional, but won’t draw out enough of the essential juices, leaving you feeling wasteful.
Juicing has many benefits, but an equal amount of deficits.
- People who don’t usually enjoy vegetables can get their daily helping as a juice, opting to sweeten it with juiced fruits.
- The fiber in fruit and vegetable peels is extracted in the juicing process, making digestion easier
- Preparing a juice to pair with a meal, can add essential nutrients.
- Juicing does not contain any protein and cannot replace a meal.
- The fiber removed in the juicing process, leaves you feeling hungry, possibly leading to a nutrient overload.
- If you use only fruits, your body gets way too much natural sugars.
Smoothie
On the other side of the healthy drink coin is the smoothie. Using a blender, several key nutritious ingredients are, for lack of a better word, blended, in a symphony of delicious healthy goodness. Some fruit, some vegetables, a protein, a fat, and your pureed beverage is ready to be consumed.
In the camp of smoothies vs. juicing, those who lean toward this health drink decision get plenty of what the body needs, but there is a downside. And just like with juicing, the pros and cons are split evenly.
- Because it has all the goodies needed for a healthy dining choice, it can replace a typical meal.
- The fiber is still present, peels and all, so you are left feeling fuller.
Again, but:
- Smoothies are rarely, if ever, containing vegetables.
- More ingredients means it takes longer to make.
So which is better? It all depends. Science has not weighed in, but nutritionists have more than enough raw data to conclude…. They are all in the chemistry of the consumer.
For instance a person with diabetes may want to juice, but those high sugars can be life threatening, so they need to add more vegetables to offset them. People with kidney problems can juice, as long as they keep their potassium to a safe level.
A person with digestive issues who wants a smoothie will need to peel the fruit before blending it, to stem the inevitable belly problems. And someone with texture and taste concerns, may only take their nutrients while pureed.
So why not just eat raw fruit and vegetables and save the hassle of choosing one over the other?
Ultimately, it can be the best and only choice for someone with intense digestive or swallowing troubles. Sometimes, it is much easier to drink your body’s essential vitamin intake needs.
What about Green Smoothies?
Another leg of the debate is juicing vs. green smoothies. Green smoothies pretty well end the conversation. A diet consisting primarily of smoothies made with natural and organic fruits and vegetables, are very much like drinking a garden. All the essentials, with fewer of the drawbacks. They give your body a necessary boost, can help with shedding weight, and improve overall health.
Conclusion
There is an abundance of ideas in the long-standing debate over which healthy drink selection you should turn to. The one thing these ideas don’t include, is that it all depends on our body, your needs and what you can handle. What you need today versus next week. The best course is to try both, tailor to your needs or preferences, and to what is right for your body chemistry. Health.com is a great resource if you’re still not sure. There are no blanket answers that cover everyone. Get the information, and make up your own mind, but get the facts in order to choose what is right for you.