Gs vs. Juicing

[commoncents]

Hello All:

Wanted to know if anyone juiced instead of drinking green smoothies each day?

I have been doing Green Smoothies since I started Raw but the problem with them is that they make me bloat really badly. I've tried different fruits, chewing my smoothies, all to no avail. After reading "Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices, What's missing in your body?" I decided to give juicing a try.

I bought a new juicer last month and have started drinking pure vegetable juice daily and am loving the results and no bloating. So . . . . I am thinking of giving up Green Smoothies (or doing them occasionally) and just concentrate on juicing? My juicing combinations have thus far have been: (Carrot, celery, parsley & spinich) and (Carrot, cucumber and beet) (Apple, pinapple and strawberry) (Apple, grape and pear).

I read that when the fiber from vegetables and fruits is removed the body does not have to work at digesting anything so all the enzymes in the juice can be used in cleaning the cells of debris. A friend mentioned that we need the fiber that we obtain in drinking green smoothies, but the author mentioned that we get enough fiber from a raw foods diet so that removing the fiber during juicing would not be a detiment.

Any thoughts, suggestions?

Sorry if this topic has been covered before.

[Veganforlife]

I say that's fine and if it's working for you GR8! EveryBODY is different. And your body will let you when to change up again...

[commoncents]

Thank you Vegan for life for your reply. I will listen to my body and try to do what works best for it. Something that is taking alot of practice for me as I'm not used to doing that.

[EZ rider]

I juice my veggies (including greens) and eat whole fruit and it works well for me. I like to eat/juice simple meals. Good luck :)

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

I think juicing is great. It's such a booster.
In fact, it was juicing that lead me to raw foods to begin with.

I mostly juice in the fall and early winter since the produce is so cheap. And I try to use as much of the pulp as possible. That way there's not much waste.

The downside of juicing is the oxidation. Green smoothies will keep for a long time without much loss of nutrients. However, if the juices are consumed instantly I think they are more powerful than the smoothies.
Both are great though. Whatever works best for you!

[sport]

I have juice some days and smoothie on others.
When I juice I do cucumber, celery, greens, apple and lemon. It is very nice. I would have between a pint and a half and two pints first thing in the morning.

[Green_Woman]

I love both! :D I love fresh veggie juices and I HAVE to have my daily Green Smoothies, too.

I led a Green Smoothie challenge on another board and there were some folks having issues with bloating then, as well... with some of them, simply using less water and drinking the smoothies more slowly seemed to alleviate the bloating.

Also, keeping it SIMPLE works for me... I only use 2-3 types of fruit with each smoothies, and 1 type of greens... less is more! I no longer experience bloating, ever, when drinking my GS's and I've had them daily for close to a year.

[rawrawks]

I had green smoothies for my whole first year....all of a sudden, I didnt want them any more. I still tried...yuk.

Went on to green juices all summer. Now, with cool weather approaching, the body is asking for the smoothies again. Love love love listening to my body.

[DopeRawAbundance]

I mostly juice in the fall and early winter since the produce is so cheap.

I hope said produce is organic. If you juice stuff with pesticides, the pesticides could, in turn, concentrate into your finished juice product. Somethin' to consider for all avid juicers.

[commoncents]

I love both! :D I love fresh veggie juices and I HAVE to have my daily Green Smoothies, too.

I led a Green Smoothie challenge on another board and there were some folks having issues with bloating then, as well... with some of them, simply using less water and drinking the smoothies more slowly seemed to alleviate the bloating.

Also, keeping it SIMPLE works for me... I only use 2-3 types of fruit with each smoothies, and 1 type of greens... less is more! I no longer experience bloating, ever, when drinking my GS's and I've had them daily for close to a year.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will try drinking them more slowly. I tend to gulp them down because they taste so good.

[commoncents]

I had green smoothies for my whole first year....all of a sudden, I didnt want them any more. I still tried...yuk.

Went on to green juices all summer. Now, with cool weather approaching, the body is asking for the smoothies again. Love love love listening to my body.

Learning to love, love, love listenting to my body too!

[commoncents]

I have juice some days and smoothie on others.
When I juice I do cucumber, celery, greens, apple and lemon. It is very nice. I would have between a pint and a half and two pints first thing in the morning.

This will probably wind up being my protocol.

[commoncents]

I think juicing is great. It's such a booster.
In fact, it was juicing that lead me to raw foods to begin with.

I mostly juice in the fall and early winter since the produce is so cheap. And I try to use as much of the pulp as possible. That way there's not much waste.

The downside of juicing is the oxidation. Green smoothies will keep for a long time without much loss of nutrients. However, if the juices are consumed instantly I think they are more powerful than the smoothies.
Both are great though. Whatever works best for you!

I read that with the Green Star Juicer you can keep juice up to three days.

[klomasius]

Sometimes detox or previous digestive issues leaves people with an inability to properly digest/deal with green smoothies. In these cases green juices can be far more beneficial becuase of the lack of fibre.

So go with what your body thinks is best. And remember that your body is a dynamic thing, you might want to retry GSs down the track to see if your body still has issues with them.

I'm not an either/or person, I think a combination of both is great for the average person. :)

[commoncents]

Sometimes detox or previous digestive issues leaves people with an inability to properly digest/deal with green smoothies. In these cases green juices can be far more beneficial becuase of the lack of fibre.

So go with what your body thinks is best. And remember that your body is a dynamic thing, you might want to retry GSs down the track to see if your body still has issues with them.

I'm not an either/or person, I think a combination of both is great for the average person. :)

Thank you. Great advice.

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

I hope said produce is organic. If you juice stuff with pesticides, the pesticides could, in turn, concentrate into your finished juice product. Somethin' to consider for all avid juicers.

Most of it is actually home grown :)
And there are several apple trees around here which no-one picks from because the apples doesn't taste very good when eaten. But they work great as a base for veggie juices.

I agree with that organic is very important when juicing. Especially things like celery which absorbs a lot of toxins.

[SevenKindsOfCookie]

I read that with the Green Star Juicer you can keep juice up to three days.

It will keep a lot longer than with a centrifugal juicer. But it's still important to drink it as soon as possible in my opinion. At least if you are concerned about getting the most nutrition out of it.

[GoingtoRAW]

I love juicing and smoothies. I let my body tell me what it wants and that's what I'll have. Sometimes I do get tired of the smoothies and I will lay off them for a while - then my body starts to crave them again. You don't have to choose one over the other - you can enjoy both!!:p

As far as the bloating - try drinking the smoothie slowly - that may help. Also, it may keep you full longer.;)

[commoncents]

It will keep a lot longer than with a centrifugal juicer. But it's still important to drink it as soon as possible in my opinion. At least if you are concerned about getting the most nutrition out of it.

Thank you. I ususally drink it the next day. The juice is so yummy it is hard not to gulp it all down at one time.

By the way, I LOVE MY GREENSTAR JUICER!!!! I think my Champion is a bit lonely now that I only use it for Bananna I Scream!

[commoncents]

I love juicing and smoothies. I let my body tell me what it wants and that's what I'll have. Sometimes I do get tired of the smoothies and I will lay off them for a while - then my body starts to crave them again. You don't have to choose one over the other - you can enjoy both!!:p

As far as the bloating - try drinking the smoothie slowly - that may help. Also, it may keep you full longer.;)

Thank you for your suggestions and one other person who told me to drink it slowly. I did that this morning and I can tell the difference. Also, I added one less fruit and will see how that works.

Thank you all for your wonderful remarks/suggestions!!!!