Recently, there’s been a major movement toward juicing. Raw foodies and vegans love it and have advocated for it, claiming that this is the answer to optimal health. Personally, I prefer shakes and smoothies, but I think there’s merit to both. In order to understand which is best for you, I’ve discussed the benefits of each.

Juicing Versus Smoothie Preparation
First, let’s look at how juicing differs from preparing smoothies. Juicing involves a juice extractor or citrus press to extract only the juice of fruits and vegetables, while a smoothie or shake is made in a blender (I personally love my Magic Bullet) and includes the fiber and pulp. Now, all of what we discuss here is for homemade smoothies, shakes, and juices.

The Juice on Juicing
Proponents of juicing claim the following benefits:

   1. Juice allows for faster absorption of nutrients. Because there’s no fiber, pro-juicers claim that juicing fruit and vegetables provides the most concentrated and readily absorbed source of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). Removing fiber from the food means that there’s hardly any digestive work needed to process the food. Proponents also claim that most of us have impaired digestion and that our bodies are limited in absorbing all the nutrients from the fruit and vegetables. They believe that juicing helps to pre-digest them for you, so you’ll receive increased nutrition.
   2. It provides more fruit and veggies more easily. Because it takes a lot of veggies or fruit to make an ounce of juice, you get a lot more fruit and vegetables into your diet. Further, because some people find eating fruit and vegetables difficult, it’s easier for some to consume them through juice.
   3. It promotes more varied intake of fruit and vegetables. Because many people tend to eat the same fruit or veggies each day, proponents believe that juicing helps you get in a wider variety that you might not normally consume. Your nutrient intake, as a result, is much better and more completely covered.
   4. It’s nutrient dense. A good amount of what you eat when you eat fruit and vegetables is water, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. However, when you remove the fiber, all you get is the water, vitamins, and minerals. This concentration is said to supercharge the system with phytonutrients, which are important in warding off disease, cancer, and other degenerative illnesses.
   5. It cleans your liver. Juicing supporters claim that juice helps to detoxify and de-sludge our liver.
   6. It helps ward off depression. As a result of the high concentration of minerals contained in juice, such as magnesium, potassium, iron, calcium, and folic acid, there’s reason to believe that juicing can help fight symptoms of depression.
   7. Juice helps slow down aging. Because of the high concentration of antioxidants in juice, proponents believe that consuming juice can combat the damaging effects that free radicals have on skin, muscle, and our internal organs. Antioxidants also help to ward off wrinkles and keep muscles toned.

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