Juicing vs Blending

Still being relatively new to raw roods, I have read that I should juice greens in the am, and that I should blend. Which is more appropriate? Is there a difference in the nutrient value that I get? I am an athlete and have been noticing a HUGE decrease in my muscle mass( becoming a little looser:-) than normal!). I just want to make sure that I am doing this right!

Comments

  • I’m no expert, but I believe the jury is still out on this one. if you juice, you can maximize the amount of greens/fruits you consume before feeling full. The downside is that the juice must be drunk immediately to get the nutrients. Blending preserves the nutrients better, but the fiber will fill you up pretty fast.

    That’s all I really know. I would say that blending is better, it is the way nature intended food be eaten, with fiber and all. Although, if for some reason you’re having trouble getting all your nutrients then juicing would be an easy way to do that.

  • The closest to the way nature creates the food is the best. Blending is far better than juicing but eating the whole food is even better because blending causes some oxidation as the food gets exposed to the air. Juicing is not recommended for fruits or carrots or beets as there is too much sugar in the juices without enough fiber to help it digest slower. It is too much of a sugar shock to the bloodstream requiring a spike in insulin.

  • I like blending. Juicing takes too much money. 8 oranges for 2 cups of orange juice is insane.

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    I would agree with pretty much everything the above posters said about the benefits of blending. However, your body is better able to assimilate nutrients more quickly and more directly from fresh juices (when you drink them on an empty stomach) than from smoothies which contain all the pulp that slows absorption. Since your body doesn’t need to digest the juice as much as blended fruits/veggies, the nutrients go more directly and rapidly into your bloodstream so your body can begin to use them immediately.

    Also, I find you can still beneficially juice things like carrots and beets—though they are best when diluted with other juices. Beet juice is especially potent (and a fantastic detoxifier), so I use only 2 oz (1/4 cup) to every 8 or 16 oz of juice. Carrot juice is also wonderful too, but again dilution is best for high sugar fruits and veggies.

    My suggestion is to try both blending and juicing and see which you prefer. Maybe you’ll end up doing both depending on what you feel like on a particular day. When it comes to greens, I juice because personally, I find green juices much more palatable than green smoothies, and they give me an unbelievable amount of energy. I use a base of celery (a whole head), 2 or 3 leaves of chard, 1/3 to 1/2 a bunch of kale, 1/2 a large bunch of parsley (or other mix of greens) and a small apple. On top of the benefits of assimilation from juices, I literally could not swallow all those greens in a smoothie every day (no matter how much fruit and water I cut it with), and that’s quite a lot of chewing for a salad! :) I do make non-green fruit smoothies however, and I love those too.

    To give you an idea of my day to day diet, I basically drink a salad for breakfast (meaning my green juice), have fruit throughout the afternoon, and then for dinner a huge salad (and I do mean huge—it looks like I’m feeding a family of 6 with the thing!) with an avocado, nuts, or seeds for dinner. Then later on if I’m still hungry, either some fruit, banana ‘ice cream,’ or another raw treat like one of the raw pancakes that’s listed in the recipe section.

  • LucyLucy Raw Newbie

    Hi raw_earth, I really liked your menu.Great !!! I practically eat like you,but my biggest salad is in the afternoon.I do not eat until 12 noon,than I eat a huge salad or a huge veggie and fruit shake. I have a question: what

  • raw_earthraw_earth Raw Newbie

    Thanks, Lucy! :) I tend not to eat much until the afternoon either. I’ve never been much of a breakfast person, so juices work great to get me going without slowing me down.

    Raw omni means eating non-vegan/non-vegetarian foods in addition to fruits and veggies. I eat raw goat cheese once in a while or a couple of raw egg yolks for B-12. (Some raw omnis also eat raw fish and/or meat, but I don’t. I just don’t think I could eat it.) I tried raw vegan before and I had problems with nutritional deficiencies (my hair falls out among other things) and these foods have done the trick.

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