Is Juicing worth it?

[VladTheImpaler]

I am trying to eat and drink more fruits and vegetables to be healthier this year.
I bought a Breville juicer off Craigslist for $10, and got a used blender for free.
My goal is to eat as healthy as possible while staying within my monthly food budget.
My initial impression is that the blender is a much better value in regards to my monthly food budget ($250/mo).

Anyone else tried juicing to get healthy?
Any tips on what worked/ what doesn't?

Thanks

[freeazabird]

Yes, it's worth it. You can't put a price on your health. Since changing my diet a year ago to include much more fruits and vegetables I feel in great shape. It has naturally cured all of my random ailments. I try to drink at least two smoothies a day.

My advice is mix fresh and frozen fruits and veggies. There are a few Staple items I always try to have on hand for smoothies: spinach, frozen bananas, frozen kale, and high quality 100% apple juice. I mix in other fresh items as they are on sale or left over from other meals I've prepared.

I paid $250 for a used Vitamix blender and it's the best money I've ever spent. Good luck!

[GreenSheep]

If you haven't already, check out "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." It's on Netflix and probably elsewhere, too. I don't think juicing is a cure-all, but it sure beats the "window diet" (roll up to the fast food window and order your meal). It's a good way to "reboot," as they say in the documentary and get yourself on the right track. Also, some juices are delicious! I don't juice all the time, but sometimes I'll have a Mean Green with my breakfast. I did do a 5-day juice-only thing, and I have to say I felt fantastic. I even kept doing my 1-hour run each day and felt great. Obviously it's not sustainable forever, but it's a good way to get on the right track.

[WildJager]

It's a facade.  Sure, you're getting more nutrients than eating fast food or something.  But you're also overdosing on sugar without the natural fiber to regulate your digestive system that's inherent to fruit and vegetables.  You are also wasting a ton of what you purchase (again, the fiber) that would otherwise help you out metabolically.  Maybe if you use the scrap fiber to supplement your cooking you'd balance out to a degree, but your system is still going to get a shock from such an unadulterated sugar intake.  Frankly, you're building an expensive soda and multivitamin cocktail.

[big_slacker]

It's a facade.  Sure, you're getting more nutrients than eating fast food or something.  But you're also overdosing on sugar without the natural fiber to regulate your digestive system that's inherent to fruit and vegetables.  You are also wasting a ton of what you purchase (again, the fiber) that would otherwise help you out metabolically.  Maybe if you use the scrap fiber to supplement your cooking you'd balance out to a degree, but your system is still going to get a shock from such an unadulterated sugar intake.  Frankly, you're building an expensive soda and multivitamin cocktail.

I agree on this for the most part about juicing. Unless you're doing something very specific:

http://www.runnersworld.com/sweat-science/beet-juice-how-much-and-when

As stated so well above, the fiber is removed by juicing and you're left with a big ol sugar bomb.

Blending a smoothie does not destroy the fiber and I feel is a lot healthier way to get in big servings of veggies. But remember that those smoothies still have calories, and the more fruit you put in the more sugars you're getting. So go bigger on greens if you do this.

[Altons Bobs]

To me, it's worth it. I felt so much better when I was drinking my juice. I used to juice with mostly vegetables, and then with lemon and ginger also, I only added an 8 oz cup of green juice everyday to my diet, didn't cut anything else out, and with just 8oz, I felt so much better. I rarely got sick and when I got sick, I got well really fast.

Then I moved and got busy and quit juicing and I felt sluggish. Then recently I discovered Suja juice at Costco, $8.95/bottle and it's a 59oz bottle. So I used to pay about $25/week for the organic veggies that I needed to juice for a week, but at this price, it's cheaper than me juicing it myself, especially since it's not pasteurized, it's high pressured, so the vitamins and minerals are still there. Of course fresh is always better, but this is the second best. I now drink this instead of juicing myself. This juice they sell at Costco tastes just like the green juice I used to make, that's probably because they also use about the same ingredients I used to use.

[11ducks]

+1  for blending for smoothies, not juicing. I use frozen spinach, kale, frozen chopped cucumber and frozen banana to make a breakfast smoothie daily. Blending keeps all of the fibre in, and as long as you get a decent blender there are no bits. I use 1/2 banana so it's pretty savoury (acquired taste) but it's filling and an excellent healthy start to the day.

I think juicing is a waste of money, as you discard a lot of the fibre/pulp.

[Eric]

It made Sosa and McGuire FI in no time.

[dragoncar]

It's a facade.  Sure, you're getting more nutrients than eating fast food or something.  But you're also overdosing on sugar without the natural fiber to regulate your digestive system that's inherent to fruit and vegetables.  You are also wasting a ton of what you purchase (again, the fiber) that would otherwise help you out metabolically.  Maybe if you use the scrap fiber to supplement your cooking you'd balance out to a degree, but your system is still going to get a shock from such an unadulterated sugar intake.  Frankly, you're building an expensive soda and multivitamin cocktail.

Yup.  Juicing can be nutritionally replaced with vitamins mixed with koolaid

[YogiKitti]

I say just eat the vegetables instead of taking out the fiber.

[dude]

It made Sosa and McGuire FI in no time.

HAHAHAHA!!!  This was exactly what I was thinking when I read the title, i.e., that it was a thread about steroids and high-paid athletes!

[GreenSheep]

Most of the insoluble fiber is removed by juicing, but the soluble fiber remains. As for the sugar, yes, if you're putting too much fruit in your juice, you will end up with a sugar bomb. It's best to eat whole fruits (or fruit smoothies) so that you get the fiber with the sugar and therefore slow down your absorption of the sugar. If you make juices with mostly vegetables and just a bit of fruit for flavor, then you're not getting a huge amount of juice. Also, there are recipes out there for muffins and other things you can make with the pulp left after juicing.

That said, I LOVE my Vitamix, and I do drink a lot more smoothies than juices, mostly because smoothies are faster/easier to make and are more filling.

[Helvegen]

I strongly dislike juice and never buy it, so no, it will never be worth it for me.

[bb11]

I totally thought this article was about steroids. Was going to say "No, unless you are on the precipice of making it into a professional sports league. Then financially it's probably worth it".

Juicer vs blender? Blender without question. Keep the fiber.

[gt7152b]

Started watching the Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead documentary. His reasoning for the juice was that he would need to eat a huge amount of veggies to get everything he needed and showed an example of his daily intake of raw vegetables. Seemed like he was just eating way too much to me. Is there much wasted from the juicer or was he over- indulging?

[NV Teacher]

I make smoothies every morning.  I would do that over juicing because you also get all the fiber in the fruits and veggies.  I like to cut everything up and freeze it.  Then I put together bags so that I can grab a bag, empty it in the blender with some water and a low carb yogurt and blend away. 

[dragoncar]

Started watching the Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead documentary. His reasoning for the juice was that he would need to eat a huge amount of veggies to get everything he needed and showed an example of his daily intake of raw vegetables. Seemed like he was just eating way too much to me. Is there much wasted from the juicer or was he over- indulging?

Haven't seen it, but it sounds like BS to me.  Humans seem to have survived eating a reasonable amount of vegetables.  If we really "needed" to eat ridiculous amounts, everyone would be dead or dying.

If you are really worried about particular vitamin deficiency, I'd do a blood test.

[Bracken_Joy]

If drinking your veggies is the only way you'll get them, blend rather than juice, for all the reasons enumerated previously. But honestly- just eat your vegetables! I don't know why everyone feels the need to "hack" their food. We've eaten whole foods for all of human history. Why do we feel the need to try and extract, blend, extrude, and otherwise abuse our foods?

Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

And don't think just because the FDA food pyramid used to say "fruits and vegetables" that they are anywhere near nutritional equivalents. Unless you're talking about berries, fruit does not hold a candle to most vegetables for health promotion.

[Penny Lane]

What B-J said.  Real actual food, nicely prepared, not mangled.

[WildJager]

Started watching the Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead documentary. His reasoning for the juice was that he would need to eat a huge amount of veggies to get everything he needed and showed an example of his daily intake of raw vegetables. Seemed like he was just eating way too much to me. Is there much wasted from the juicer or was he over- indulging?

Juicing wastes a shit ton of the product.  It doesn't bother me as much if people use the pulp afterwards for cooking, or even as compost, but when people throw it all out that's a shame.

If drinking your veggies is the only way you'll get them, blend rather than juice, for all the reasons enumerated previously. But honestly- just eat your vegetables! I don't know why everyone feels the need to "hack" their food. We've eaten whole foods for all of human history. Why do we feel the need to try and extract, blend, extrude, and otherwise abuse our foods?

Eat real food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Michael Pollan knows his stuff.  He's who you all should be listening to in regards to food and nutrition, rather than pop culture documentaries (but to be fair, some of Pollan's works have been made into documentaries... so there's that). 

[Gen Y Finance Journey]

I've tried both juicing and blending, and I prefer using the blender. Several reasons:

1) I felt like I was wasting so much food with juicing. I would do my best to use the pulp in other recipes, but you wind up with so much of it that a lot of it just got composted (which I suppose isn't a TOTAL waste, but not as good as actually using it to fuel myself).
2) You don't get any of the fiber when you juice, so you're not getting the full nutrition of the fruits/vegetables.
3) The juicer has SO MANY PARTS that need to be washed. It's a pain in the ass.
4) I can make a complete meal replacement smoothie in my blender (peanut butter, banana, spinach is my go to smoothie - happy to share the full recipe if folks are interested), but with the juicer I can only make juice. I don't care what the guy in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead accomplished, I cannot survive on a diet of juice alone.

I still pull out my juicer every now and then if I want to make some kick ass OJ or pineapple juice, but if I'm looking to cram fruits and veggies into a drink that satisfies and provides ample nutrition, I use my blender.

[big_owl]

This thread is not what I thought it was when I clicked on it.

[Kimchi Bleu]

Hubby and I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead several years ago.  He challenged me to do the 15 day reboot.  Best decision I ever made!  It helped me make a life style change that allowed me to lose 70 lbs.  I still do a reboot a few times a year, but I prefer to blend.  I love a kale, blueberry, cinnamon, honey, and almond milk smoothie!

[fitfrugalfab]

Yes!!!! My DH and I both juice all the time. My husband is currently on chemo and juicing literally gives him the pick me up he needs when he's feeling especially tired. I juice with the nutri bullet so I'm not extracting any of the food and I do this for breakfast every day. I feel very energized and full for hours and it's the quickest way to get all the nutrients you need for the day. Bonus: it helps regulates your bowls (sorry if that's TMI)

My recipe, used with nutri bullet:
2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 banana
2 tsp of chia or flax seeds

DH recipe, used with a juicer:
1 Cucumber
1/2 lemon
1 inch of ginger root
2 green apples
2 carrots
4 celery stalks
3 full stems of kale

[aceyou]

I got a juicer, but got frustrated that such a high percentage of the food went to waste. 

Ultimately, I gave the juicer to a friend who wanted it, and bought a vitamix off craigslist. 

Each summer, I pick about 200 lbs total of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cherries and freeze them all.  It comes to about $300 and I have endless smoothies for the family for the whole year.  Way better than juicing, more economical, and more fiber.

[warmastoast]

I'm with the no's  especially as regards fruit.  From a dental perspective, juicing fruits gives your teeth a massive dose of acid - you wouldn't eat 2 apples at once but if you're juicing that's what you're doing.  To reduce the acid to an ok level you'd have to dilute 1:1000 with water...

good luck if you can juice only non- sweet, non-starchy vegetables and actually drink it.

Saying that I will blend 1/2 cup of frozen red fruits, 1/2 cup of frozen spinach and a cup of yoghourt.  Throw in a bit of cinnamon and vanilla.  Add water if it's too thick. 

Use myfitnesspal food analysis tool for finding out nutrient composition

[WildJager]

Yes!!!! My DH and I both juice all the time. My husband is currently on chemo and juicing literally gives him the pick me up he needs when he's feeling especially tired. I juice with the nutri bullet so I'm not extracting any of the food and I do this for breakfast every day. I feel very energized and full for hours and it's the quickest way to get all the nutrients you need for the day. Bonus: it helps regulates your bowls (sorry if that's TMI)

My recipe, used with nutri bullet:
2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 banana
2 tsp of chia or flax seeds

DH recipe, used with a juicer:
1 Cucumber
1/2 lemon
1 inch of ginger root
2 green apples
2 carrots
4 celery stalks
3 full stems of kale

Don't get me wrong.  The appeal is there.  You'll feel great after downing a fresh made juice for a variety of reasons.  You will get a solid boost in vitamins.  The hydration factor will give you an up and up no problem.  But a lot of the energy you feel is simply a sugar high, not much different than pounding a Monster energy drink.

As far as bowl regulation, there is some residual fiber along with a ton of liquid.  Truth is, you'd feel more balanced and regulated just having a large bottle of water and eating the veggies whole (in the long run). 

The difficult conceptual part of a "juicing cleanse" is that it does feel great after a typical starch/meat rich diet most American's enjoy.  In the long run, however, you're doing yourself an expensive disservice. 

Juicing can be an emotional beginning to eating healthy, but it's frankly not a silver bullet.

[woopwoop]

Interesting to see the actual nutrition facts behind this. I think I'll be doing more smoothies from now on. Thanks for everyone for sharing!

[horsepoor]

I've tried both juicing and blending, and I prefer using the blender. Several reasons:

1) I felt like I was wasting so much food with juicing. I would do my best to use the pulp in other recipes, but you wind up with so much of it that a lot of it just got composted (which I suppose isn't a TOTAL waste, but not as good as actually using it to fuel myself).
2) You don't get any of the fiber when you juice, so you're not getting the full nutrition of the fruits/vegetables.
3) The juicer has SO MANY PARTS that need to be washed. It's a pain in the ass.
4) I can make a complete meal replacement smoothie in my blender (peanut butter, banana, spinach is my go to smoothie - happy to share the full recipe if folks are interested), but with the juicer I can only make juice. I don't care what the guy in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead accomplished, I cannot survive on a diet of juice alone.

I still pull out my juicer every now and then if I want to make some kick ass OJ or pineapple juice, but if I'm looking to cram fruits and veggies into a drink that satisfies and provides ample nutrition, I use my blender.

Exactly this.  Love my blender.

[DagobertDuck]

Juicer < blender < eating fruit and veggies.

[kite]

Juicing is a great way to get your hair to fall out.  Smoothies are a good way to get more calories ingested quickly when eating is difficult

I have a Vitamix, and enjoy a good smoothie when my garden is putting out more kale than we can consume in other ways.  But if we buy things specifically to blend into smoothies, we spend more money than if we just ate the ingredients unblended.

In "Everlasting Meal" there is a description of Ribollita, the Tuscan peasant staple.  As Tamar Adler describes, one does not shop for the ingredients, one HAS them on hand because like all good peasant food, the recipe evolved to use up what was plentiful.  I apply this same logic to smoothies (and to quiches, omelets, stuffed mushrooms and frankly to a lot of our meals) as it is more economical for us.  So if I have a wedge of cabbage, excess kale etc, I'll whirl it in the Vitamix with a piece of fruit and some celery.  But generally we'll eat fruit as it is, not mixed into anything. 

[fitfrugalfab]

Yes!!!! My DH and I both juice all the time. My husband is currently on chemo and juicing literally gives him the pick me up he needs when he's feeling especially tired. I juice with the nutri bullet so I'm not extracting any of the food and I do this for breakfast every day. I feel very energized and full for hours and it's the quickest way to get all the nutrients you need for the day. Bonus: it helps regulates your bowls (sorry if that's TMI)

My recipe, used with nutri bullet:
2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 banana
2 tsp of chia or flax seeds

DH recipe, used with a juicer:
1 Cucumber
1/2 lemon
1 inch of ginger root
2 green apples
2 carrots
4 celery stalks
3 full stems of kale

Don't get me wrong.  The appeal is there.  You'll feel great after downing a fresh made juice for a variety of reasons.  You will get a solid boost in vitamins.  The hydration factor will give you an up and up no problem.  But a lot of the energy you feel is simply a sugar high, not much different than pounding a Monster energy drink.

As far as bowl regulation, there is some residual fiber along with a ton of liquid.  Truth is, you'd feel more balanced and regulated just having a large bottle of water and eating the veggies whole (in the long run). 

The difficult conceptual part of a "juicing cleanse" is that it does feel great after a typical starch/meat rich diet most American's enjoy.  In the long run, however, you're doing yourself an expensive disservice. 

Juicing can be an emotional beginning to eating healthy, but it's frankly not a silver bullet.

Juicing hasn't been an expensive disservice to for us at all. My DH has to get his blood work done every 6 months due to the chemo he is on. He unfortunately cannot consume whole vegetables given his condition. He has changed nothing about his diet except for adding the juicing and his blood work has improved to the point where all of his blood work is optimal now. His doctors have confirmed that juicing can definitely be the cause of this.
 
Bottom line I would rather he juice than drink a monster.

[WildJager]

Yes!!!! My DH and I both juice all the time. My husband is currently on chemo and juicing literally gives him the pick me up he needs when he's feeling especially tired. I juice with the nutri bullet so I'm not extracting any of the food and I do this for breakfast every day. I feel very energized and full for hours and it's the quickest way to get all the nutrients you need for the day. Bonus: it helps regulates your bowls (sorry if that's TMI)

My recipe, used with nutri bullet:
2 cups of spinach
1/2 cup of blueberries
1 banana
2 tsp of chia or flax seeds

DH recipe, used with a juicer:
1 Cucumber
1/2 lemon
1 inch of ginger root
2 green apples
2 carrots
4 celery stalks
3 full stems of kale

Don't get me wrong.  The appeal is there.  You'll feel great after downing a fresh made juice for a variety of reasons.  You will get a solid boost in vitamins.  The hydration factor will give you an up and up no problem.  But a lot of the energy you feel is simply a sugar high, not much different than pounding a Monster energy drink.

As far as bowl regulation, there is some residual fiber along with a ton of liquid.  Truth is, you'd feel more balanced and regulated just having a large bottle of water and eating the veggies whole (in the long run). 

The difficult conceptual part of a "juicing cleanse" is that it does feel great after a typical starch/meat rich diet most American's enjoy.  In the long run, however, you're doing yourself an expensive disservice. 

Juicing can be an emotional beginning to eating healthy, but it's frankly not a silver bullet.

Juicing hasn't been an expensive disservice to for us at all. My DH has to get his blood work done every 6 months due to the chemo he is on. He unfortunately cannot consume whole vegetables given his condition. He has changed nothing about his diet except for adding the juicing and his blood work has improved to the point where all of his blood work is optimal now. His doctors have confirmed that juicing can definitely be the cause of this.
 
Bottom line I would rather he juice than drink a monster.

I am sorry for your husband's issues, and I'm glad that this solution is helping to alleviate an otherwise impossible problem. 

With that said, I think it's important to differentiate between medical solutions to specific ailments as opposed to general nutritional advice.  If his specific nutritional necessity is between juicing or some processed beverage, I wholeheartedly agree with your solution.  My young nephew has a whole gamut of medical issues due to several heart and brain surgeries at a young age.  I wouldn't recommend his limited diet of chicken nuggets and vegetable paste to other 8-year-olds even though that food sustains him and balances his clinical metrics as a result of his condition.

My condolences to both of you, and I wish a swift and effective recovery for your husband.  If juicing is a part of his solution, then that just may be the practical value needed for the legitimacy of the practice. 

[vern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSuVWBZEEH8

[MasterStache]

It's a facade.  Sure, you're getting more nutrients than eating fast food or something.  But you're also overdosing on sugar without the natural fiber to regulate your digestive system that's inherent to fruit and vegetables.  You are also wasting a ton of what you purchase (again, the fiber) that would otherwise help you out metabolically.  Maybe if you use the scrap fiber to supplement your cooking you'd balance out to a degree, but your system is still going to get a shock from such an unadulterated sugar intake.  Frankly, you're building an expensive soda and multivitamin cocktail.

Yes and no. You are in fact wasting a ton of the product. My wife juiced for a bit and we did try to find use for the leftovers. If we couldn't it was tossed in the compost pile.

The part about the fiber isn't entirely true. Insoluble fiber is mostly removed form the juice. This type of fiber adds bulk to the stool, helps to keep the bowels regular, fills you up and speeds up the passage of food through the digestive tract. Soluble fiber is still present in the juice.  This type of fiber absorbs water like a sponge and provides bulking matter that acts as a prebiotic to support good bacterial growth and digestive health. It also regulates blood sugar control, may lower blood cholesterol and slows the transit of food through the digestive tract and helps fill you up.

As I stated my wife juiced a bit in the middle of last year. She got into it for a good month or so. She ended up dropping roughly 10 lbs. Mind you she only weighed 130 something to begin with. She looked and felt better than ever. I drank a juice on occasion because of the nutritional value. It really is like a natural energy booster.

I just have trouble staring at all that waste. Juicing admittedly, is also expensive, especially if you are buying organic.

[SeaEhm]

I bought a juicer and now it just sits in the cupboard.

Why? I ended up buying a ninja to replace it.

A friend gave us a blender... Sits next to the juicer.

Why?  The nutribullet replaced that and the Ninja when it died.

I buy frozen blueberries from costco and make blueberry banana smoothies a lot.

Last time we were at costco, we bought a large bag of spinach, bananas, rice milk, and pineapple chunks to juice in the nutribullet.  Tastes delicious.
1- banana, 8 pineapple chunks, 16oz? rice milk, one orange, handful of spinach
Turn it on and have yourself a delicious treat.   I also like the little pulp pieces that are still there unlike in juicers.

In the juicer, I loved having apple, carrot, celery juice.  Not sure how that would taste from the nutribullet though.

[dragoncar]

I bought a juicer and now it just sits in the cupboard.

Why? I ended up buying a ninja to replace it.

A friend gave us a blender... Sits next to the juicer.

Why?  The nutribullet replaced that and the Ninja when it died.

I buy frozen blueberries from costco and make blueberry banana smoothies a lot.

Last time we were at costco, we bought a large bag of spinach, bananas, rice milk, and pineapple chunks to juice in the nutribullet.  Tastes delicious.
1- banana, 8 pineapple chunks, 16oz? rice milk, one orange, handful of spinach
Turn it on and have yourself a delicious treat.   I also like the little pulp pieces that are still there unlike in juicers.

In the juicer, I loved having apple, carrot, celery juice.  Not sure how that would taste from the nutribullet though.

Costco has great frozen berries, pineapple, and mango.  Blend with a little water and vodka and you have a real healthy breakfast

[Bracken_Joy]

I bought a juicer and now it just sits in the cupboard.

Why? I ended up buying a ninja to replace it.

A friend gave us a blender... Sits next to the juicer.

Why?  The nutribullet replaced that and the Ninja when it died.

I buy frozen blueberries from costco and make blueberry banana smoothies a lot.

Last time we were at costco, we bought a large bag of spinach, bananas, rice milk, and pineapple chunks to juice in the nutribullet.  Tastes delicious.
1- banana, 8 pineapple chunks, 16oz? rice milk, one orange, handful of spinach
Turn it on and have yourself a delicious treat.   I also like the little pulp pieces that are still there unlike in juicers.

In the juicer, I loved having apple, carrot, celery juice.  Not sure how that would taste from the nutribullet though.

Costco has great frozen berries, pineapple, and mango.  Blend with a little water and vodka and you have a real healthy breakfast

The vodka helps make sure you don't get food poisoning from raw foods ;)

[cats]

I would definitely blend rather than juice, for all the reasons mentioned above.  I'm sure there are people out there who do genuinely need more of whatever XYZ vegetable provides than is feasible to get through eating the vegetable, but I'm also sure they are a small minority of the general population.  I also know a number of people who are REALLY into juicing who are noticeably overweight, despite also exercising regularly and professing to eat a healthy diet overall. My takeaway from that is that regular juice consumption (even of the healthier/lower sugar blends) is not going to be a magic bullet for weight loss (if you think maintaining a particular BMI is an indicator of health). 

As for making smoothies, I have gone through phases in the past where I was drinking a green smoothie for breakfast each morning and yes, I do think I saw some health benefits--my skin looked more "glowy" and it does just feel kind of good to down a smoothie.  That said, those phases are usually when I'm paying attention to diet more overall, so...might not have been down to *just* the smoothies.  I do definitely think there's something to be said for having a regular portion of your vegetable intake in raw form either as a smoothie, salad, or just chomping down on carrot sticks (my most common choice).  They are a convenient way of getting in some green vegetables if you aren't doing so elsewhere.

[Bracken_Joy]

I would definitely blend rather than juice, for all the reasons mentioned above.  I'm sure there are people out there who do genuinely need more of whatever XYZ vegetable provides than is feasible to get through eating the vegetable, but I'm also sure they are a small minority of the general population.  I also know a number of people who are REALLY into juicing who are noticeably overweight, despite also exercising regularly and professing to eat a healthy diet overall. My takeaway from that is that regular juice consumption (even of the healthier/lower sugar blends) is not going to be a magic bullet for weight loss (if you think maintaining a particular BMI is an indicator of health). 

As for making smoothies, I have gone through phases in the past where I was drinking a green smoothie for breakfast each morning and yes, I do think I saw some health benefits--my skin looked more "glowy" and it does just feel kind of good to down a smoothie.  That said, those phases are usually when I'm paying attention to diet more overall, so...might not have been down to *just* the smoothies.  I do definitely think there's something to be said for having a regular portion of your vegetable intake in raw form either as a smoothie, salad, or just chomping down on carrot sticks (my most common choice).  They are a convenient way of getting in some green vegetables if you aren't doing so elsewhere.

I tend to think of food as coming in 3 forms- raw, cooked, and fermented. I try to keep a good amount of each category in my diet.

[APowers]

I totally thought this article was about steroids. Was going to say "No, unless you are on the precipice of making it into a professional sports league. Then financially it's probably worth it".

This. Came here to read about the mustachian benefits of steroids. Was disappointed. :P

[Conjou]

Juicing is a waste of perfectly good healthy food your body needs anyway and will made you feel fuller than just the juice. So if not just eating the produce in the form it comes, I think blender and smoothie version is more mustachian and better for you.

[Migrator Soul]

So, my two cents is that juicing for me is optimal. I was gifted a juicer from a family member, and I use it to get all my vegetables and fruits in one go. I don't really have time to eat veggies all throughout the day, so taking a few moments before I leave in the morning for work call formation to get all my veggies is optimal. Eating healthy is difficult as it is, but coupled with long hours and a varied work schedule, I will take the one shot. I feel a hell of a lot better after I have been juicing for a while, but I also don't load up on fruit.

My daily juice recipe:

1 Apple
1 Lemon
3-4 Kale stalks
1 Beet
2 Carrots
1/3 Cucumber
1 inch of Ginger Root
1 Tomato

[zoltani]

The advice I was always given is: juice your veggies and blend your fruits.

[Migrator Soul]

The advice I was always given is: juice your veggies and blend your fruits.

A bit of fruit makes the juice something I actually look forward to drinking.

[WildJager]

Eating healthy is difficult as it is, but coupled with long hours and a varied work schedule, I will take the one shot.

Eating healthy is the same as managing your finances healthily.  If you treat it like a sprint, it can become overbearing.  But if you slowly incorporate methods until they become habitual, it really becomes no more challenging or meaningful than brushing your teeth. 

Modern culture confuses our monkey brains, and the availability of processed shit always offers the lazy man's alternative, but it can become encouraging to buck the system and do food right.  Hell, a cheeseburger made from scratch tastes better and always makes me feel better than having a burger from mcdonalds.  Healthy eating doesn't mean tasteless in my books...

[BougieButBroke]

I definitely prefer my Vitamix blender over juicing because of the time saving from cleaning my darn juicer! Some argue that getting the extra fiber done with blending is better.

[SeaEhm]

I just eat this cereal to replace any fiber that has been lost.

[BuzzardsBay]

Don't juice, make smoothies with both fruits and veggies instead.  When you juice you are left with a pile of pulp that gets thrown out.  That's where all the fiber and a bunch of other good things are.  The juice is really high in natural sugars and makes your blood sugar spike.  Not good for you.  When you make a smoothie, you get the whole food which is very good for you.  Because you're getting the fiber along with the sugars, vitamins and everything else, you don't have the blood sugar spike.

A co-worker brought in juice he had made with a bunch of carrots and some other things.  After he drank it he actually had to sit for a while because he was so shaky and sweaty.  He was just wired.  It was kind of scary.  He gave away the juicer and makes smoothies now.