Green Smoothies vs Juicing

In my article yesterday on Green Smoothies, I talked about what a green smoothie is, and listed some of its benefits. I also gave some suggestions for ingredients.

Today I'd like to talk about some of the differences between green smoothies and juicing.

So what is the difference between juicing and a green smoothie, and how do you know which is better?

First of all, let me point out that they are very different. Both juicing and smoothies seem to have their own advantages. Each certainly has its own following and supporters!

When you juice vegetables or fruits, you are extracting the liquid and leaving behind all the fiber and some vitamins and minerals. It is certainly no longer a whole food.

There are many, many people who were extremely sick from many kinds of diseases, including terminal stages of cancer, who have juiced aggressively and found healing for their bodies. Dr. Norman Walker (inventor of the Norwalk Juicer), Dr. Lorraine Day, and Rev. George Malkmus are three examples that come immediately to mind.

Proponents of juicing claim that when the body is in a compromised state due to disease, the juice will get into the bloodstream much quicker than a whole food, and thereby nourish the cells and begin the healing process faster.

Certainly this has worked for many people, although in fairness I would also point out that along with the juicing they eliminated unhealthy foods from their diet.

Dr. Doug Graham, however, author of the 80/10/10 Diet, claims that our bodies need the whole food, that juicing refines the food and therefore is not as nourishing.

Victoria Boutenka claims in her book, Green For Life, that even when people simply added a quart of smoothie to their daily diets, without changing anything else in their diets, they experienced dramatic results.

I did not personally find that, but that is probably because my diet was already cleaned up.

Green smoothies are much easier and quicker to prepare, with less clean-up after.

They are best made with a high speed blender, but can be done with a regular blender.

The taste of a green smoothie is more appealing to many people.

Unfortunately, most people who recommend green smoothies claim they are good for us because they are what our nearest relatives, gorillas/apes/monkeys eat.

I believe their conclusion is sound, and agree that we are genetically similar to primates. That is not in dispute. And certainly green smoothies are extremely healthy for us, but the basis for their conclusion is fatally flawed.

We did not descend from the ape - evolution is technically not even a theory, it's so poorly contrived. However, we do share the same Creator. We ate nothing but plant food back in the Garden of Eden and thrived.

We are simply re-discovering an old truth, and it is God who deserves the glory.

Phyllis Towse