Blending vs Juicing: Is One More Beneficial Then The Other?

Lauren 'LC' Wells
Oct 15, 2015
4 min read

There are many indecisiveness for many as to if one should juice or blend their fruits and vegetables. Many will argue as to one is better than the other, but lets first talk of the pros and cons of both first….

Shall we?

Ok!

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Pros:

More bang for your buck and blend!! – Blenders are much cheaper than juicers and you can blend more than just veggies – along with your veggies, you can add fruits, milks, ice, nuts, seeds, avocado, nut butters, oils, protein powders etc
Get Fiber!! – Blending the whole veggie and

fruit, the added fiber from the peels and flesh is more fulfilling allowing you to feel comfortably full.

Greater Taste!! – Smoothies are more flavorful than veggie-based juice because you can thicken them up to look and taste like a frozen dessert. (Tip! Just add a little frozen fruit, banana, ice or ground flax or chia seeds to your veggies to help thicken up your drink into a delicious smoothie.)
Easier to store!! – There are many blenders today comes in smaller package making it easier to store. Even traditional blenders are much smaller than most juicers.

Cons:

Fewer nutrients!! – Because the fiber remains in the drink you get less nutrients per serving than juicing. You need to drink more smoothies than juice to get the same amount of vitamins, minerals and phytotnutrients per glass.
Some produce is not good for blending!! – Root veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets are packed full of nutrition, but don’t taste so good in smoothies. They come off chalky and bitter. They are more suitable for juicing. Also, with blending some produce may be difficult to blend to a smooth consistency depending on the quality of the blades of the blender.

Now let's talk juicing!

Pros:

More veggies per serving! – Since the fiber is removed, more veggie juice fits in the glass compared to a smoothie.
Easier to digest nutrients!!– Unlike blending, juicing extracts nutrients and most of the water from veggies and fruits leaving behind plant fibers in skins, peels and seed hulls. This allows your body to absorb the nutrients quicker without having to expend energy to digest all the bulk of the fiber as well.
Quicker energy boost!!– Juice has a higher concentration of nutrients from the vegetables per glass versus a smoothie allowing quicker nutrient absorption. The produce is already broken down to a more pre-digest format, making it easier on the digestion process using less digestive enzymes to absorb the nutrients. (Attach link for Make Your Own Sports Drink)
Less heat damage!! – Blender blades run at high speed that can slightly heat the smoothie which could kill off some of the beneficial enzymes. (Tip! To counteract this, just add ice to your smoothie to cool it down.) Cons:
Messy Job!! – Juicing machines can sometimes be more messy and difficult to clean. Juicers usually have more parts to clean and take a little longer to clean than blenders. So this may not be something you could so really quick before work!
Takes up space!! – Most juicers are pretty bulky and take up more counter space. Also, juicing requires more veggies and fruits per serving than blending, so you need to have more refrigerator space to store produce.
More $$!! – Most juicers cost more many than most blenders, however the prices vary depending on quality preference (this goes for both blenders and juicers.) Also veggies required for juicing can be more costly than blending – because you are using more veggies per serving, you need to buy more!

As I mentioned above there are many arguments as to which is better, but it is truly a personal choice!! So there we have it..I expressed the pros and cons on both methods. Now it is up to YOU take weight out your options and choose which that will best suit your lifestyle.

Both methods bring great benefits whether you choose to blend, juice or BOTH! Whose to argue that you can not do both?! I mostly blend smoothies, but I tend to drink more veggie juices when I feel my immune system needs a boost in or even if I feel I need a quick energy boost before a workout!

Regardless what’s your decision...DRINK UP!!!

Let’s Make a Toast to Health!!! Enjoy!!