Juice Vs. Smoothie!
Hello, lovely!
First off, just a quick update to let you know that we're home for good -- and quite happy about it. We really loved SLO...really and truly loved it (I'm sure California is where Roan will go to college if he can!). It's a beautiful town, full of friendly people, sun, healthy food, wonderful yoga (love ya, Tina!!), and so much more. But being away from my family, community, and home was difficult. We're grateful to be back where we will continue the journey of figuring out of my son's health issues. We'll be spending time at Seattle Children's in the next month or two with the goal of healing our guy right up. I promise to share more about this as the story unfolds.
One of the great things about being shaken out of my normal routine was that I made a decision to be healthy and take good care of my body. I know that might sound obvious, but honestly, I could easily have chosen the other path. The path to more sugar, more cocktails, and wallowing in self pity. Do you ever do that? For me, it sounds a little like this: "Dang it, I DESERVE this treat!" Or, "Whatever, I don't care, it makes me feel good to eat this and I need to feel good right now."
Familiar with those rationalizations? The truth is you can choose another path. Choose a different thought about the situation you're in. It's not always easy, but it's 100% doable. Your thoughts will change how you feel. And your feelings will change the actions you take. It's ah-mazing. It works. It takes practice, but it works.
So what did I do? I decided to take advantage of all the beautiful food around me and started to get into a good groove again. Drinking fresh green juice daily, making lots of smoothies, eating amazing "bowls" filled with superfoods. I found this incredible studio called CycleTribe and spun for 45 min a couple times a week, did more yoga. And it was GOOD. It's what got me through and will continue to because I'm newly inspired and fully reminded that this kind of wellness gives me lots of energy, boosts my mood, clears up my skin, helps my digestion, quells inflammation, and so much more.
In my sharing on social I got a lot of questions about the difference between juice and smoothies, so I thought I'd share a breakdown with you today:
Juicing
Easier Digestibility: "Assimilating solid foods requires a lot of work by your digestive system. Not so with juiced veggies and fruits. Freed of pulp and fiber, juiced veggies deliver a fresh, super concentrated supply of nutrients to cells and tissues with minimum transit time compared with solids, or even smoothies. Your bloodstream easily absorbs all those minerals, vitamins and enzymes, giving your gastrointestinal tract a vacation," says Cherie Calbom, MS, author of The Juice Lady's Turbo Diet(Siloam, 2010). That's why juice offers an instant energy infusion that most smoothies can't. For those with compromised digestive systems (older people, for example, or people with celiac or other diseases), juices can be especially efficient.
Concentrated Nutrition: You can drink a lot more vegetable matter than you can eat. Calbom once set a timer while she ate five carrots. "It took me an hour," she says. "My whole goal is to get people to consume lots and lots of vegetables that they wouldn't normally consume." Sure, you could throw vast amounts of kale, celery and Swiss chard into your smoothie, but it's not going to taste that great. High-powered blenders can't handle the volume and texture of many vegetables. "People take juice recipes and put them in a blender and come out with a mushy, fibery concoction that's not very palatable," she explains. "I can't even get everything I would normally juice into a blender -- it's just too much food."
Healing Power: Nutritionally supervised, short-term juice "fasts" can increase your vitality, improve brain function, and even treat conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis, says Kathie Swift, MS, RD, LDN, coauthor of The Inside Tract: Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health (Rodale, 2011). "Sometimes a nutrient-dense, short-term juice fast can pave the path for a guided transition to nutritional rehab," she says. Unlike slower-digesting smoothies, which may include a base of dairy, nuts or other non-produce options, pure juices are terrific at flushing out toxins.
Smoothies
High Fiber: Because smoothies typically blend a liquid base (water, milk, juice) with whole foods (such as berries, leafy greens, nuts, seeds and coconut), you get the benefit of those whole foods' fiber and bulk. When you run a few pounds of carrots and spinach through a juicer, by contrast, a lot of pulp is left behind -- and typically tossed in the compost pile or trash. While not particularly palatable in large doses, that pulpy stuff is filling, and it can also help encourage the elimination of bodily wastes. Fiber is also a vital element in a healthy diet, says Swift, so you don't want to eliminate too much of it, even in the name of juicing. "I advise clients to enjoy both juices and smoothies, or to use a juicing device that includes some of the pulp, since both the fiber and phytonutrients in the pulp have real nutritional value."
Slower Sugar Release: Pure juices (even veggie juices) can be rich in sugar, says Julie Starkel, MS, MBA, RD. "It's natural sugar, but to the body, it's sugar nonetheless. Therefore, if you consume large quantities of juice without some accompanying protein, you may bump up your blood sugars higher than you want." Smoothies contain lots of sugars, too, but if you throw in some protein (nuts or protein powder, for example), extra fiber (flax or chia seeds) and fat (coconut, avocado, flaxseed oil, fish oil or coconut oil), in addition to whole vegetables and fruit, you'll lower the glycemic index of your concoction and absorb nutrients much more slowly. Of course, this assumes you're not using a lot of sweetened yogurt, fruit juices or other sugar bombs in your mix. But the net effect of a good smoothie is basically that of a liquified meal -- one that can satisfy hunger for several hours.
Post Workout Support: If you need a recovery drink after your gym routine, pure juice won't offer the protein required to speed muscle recovery -- especially if you've just completed a high-intensity workout of at least 45 minutes. Post-workout, you're especially susceptible to hunger, and, as noted, smoothies are generally more satiating than juice. Whirling up a smoothie with plain yogurt, banana, and protein powder or nut butter can help replenish your electrolytes and glycogen stores. Because of the greater variety of ingredients used in smoothies, you can tailor a drink to meet very specific nutritional needs. "The carb-protein-fat macro-balance can be obtained," says Swift, "and they can be a good calorie boost." When possible, though, it's best to avoid juice-bar smoothies (often made with cheap frozen yogurt or fruit-juice bases) and make your own from whole, organic foods.
SO! It's really up to you. If you do have blood sugar dysregulation, be careful with juicing. It can be too much sugar, even if it's green juice, if you're sensitive, but otherwise, go for it. Jump in, make a fresh start. Do something new and wild and GOOD for your body.
Chocolate and chia seeds!
Stephanie