Juicing is a subject with a lot of buzz surrounding it. In its simplest form, juicing simply refers to converting a fruit or vegetable to a juice form using a special juicing machine. You also have the option of buying the juices from the store or online, but that takes away all of the fun of making your own homemade, custom juices.

When you use a juicer, you are extracting the liquids from the fruits or vegetables from the pulp. This isn’t necessarily the same as blending them into a smoothie. In this way, you get to keep all of the vitamins and minerals, but fewer carbs and fibers.

Why Should You Start Juicing?

Juicing has the potential to create an extremely healthy drink depending on the ingredients you use. The great thing about juicing is that you can mix whatever fruits and vegetables you prefer. Most fruits and vegetables are loaded with different vitamins, antioxidants, and other healthy nutrients. It’s hard to go wrong with a juicing recipe though it can take some time to get the taste just right.

You can easily incorporate your new juicing habit anywhere in your normal daily routine. You can have juice at the start of the day, drink it with your breakfast, or just enjoy it as a mid-day snack. There’s no “wrong” time to enjoy juicing.

The Difference Between Blending And Juicing.

Blending and juicing seem similar, but they are actually quite different. Both can be extremely healthy if the right ingredients are used and both can make great additions to a healthy diet. First, let’s look at blending.

A blender works by using rotating blades to pulverize the ingredients. Everything inside gets broken down and added to the final drink. This means all of the skin (if it wasn’t peeled), pulp, and juice as well. This creates a smoothie.

Juicers come in different configurations, but the most common type relies on centrifugal force. These machines work by first grating the ingredients down into a pulp and then spinning them at high velocities to separate the pulp and the juice. The pulp is collected into a container on one side and the juice passes through a spout on the opposite side.

At the end of the day, the only real difference between the blender and the juicer is that the blender leaves the pulp while the juicer removes it. A drink made with a juicer will have less fiber and fewer carbs. Fiber, though healthy, will slow down the absorption of nutrients. With a juicer, your body has a chance to absorb more of the nutrients than it would with a traditional blender.

Comparing Juice To Whole Fruit.

Eating whole fruits or vegetables is always a good idea, but juicing does have some benefits. Juicing allows for more nutrients to be extracted and consumed at a single time. Juicing creates a highly-concentrated health drink that you can drink in one sitting.

It would take about 12 apples to get the same quantity of nutrients you’ll receive from a 16-ounce glass of freshly juiced apples. Now, you might have to actually juice that many apples so you aren’t saving in quantity, but it’s much easier to drink 16 ounces than it is to eat 12 apples.

The nutrients can actually enter the bloodstream more quickly when juicing as well. You don’t have to wait for the food to be broken down over long periods of time. There’s also less fiber to slow down the process.

A Few Healthy Juicing Tips.

You should always drink your juices as soon as you’ve finished the juicing process. As soon as the juice makes contact with air it begins an oxidization process. This causes certain nutritional values in the juice to steadily decrease. However, juice can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for some time.

Juicing is extremely healthy and beneficial for the body, but you should refrain from week-long juicing cleanses that you might hear advertised online or on television shows. There are no real studies that indicated juice-only cleanses are actually beneficial for the body.

There also aren’t any saying that it will hurt you, but it can have some unwanted side effects because you aren’t getting all of the carbs you need on a daily basis. Keep this in mind and you can enjoy juicing every day along with your regular meals.

Jonathan Leger is a small business owner and personal development enthusiast. He also runs a popular question and answer website at AnswerThis.co.