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This keeps turning up in my spam folder so I've copied and pasted the material from the illustrated newsletter. My aunt blended, rather than juiced. I don't have the high speed blender to do that, so I mostly juice and do a bit of blending if it will turn out reasonably smooth without having to add a lot of water.Blending vs. Juicing

A chapter from Victoria’s up-coming book “Green Smoothie Revolutionâ€

 

After

I published my first book about green smoothies, I have received many

inquiries from my readers asking whether blending was preferable to

juicing. I also heard that some nutritionists were concerned that

blending might accelerate the oxidation of the food. I was very curious

to find the answer for myself and decided to seriously research this

question.

I conducted a simple experiment. I chose

potatoes for my experiment because it is easy to observe the process of

oxidation in potatoes. You probably remember an instance when you left

a slice of raw potato on your cutting board and observed it turning

brown within several minutes. That is why my grandmother used to put

peeled potatoes in water, to prevent browning or oxidation.

 

First, I peeled two potatoes so that the color of their peel wouldn’t

interfere with the results of my experiment. I then juiced one potato

in a twin-gear juicer and blended the other one in a Vita Mix blender

with one cup of water. I placed both cups of fluid on the table and

took a photograph of them. I was taking photographs frequently for two

days. The potato juice started to turn brown within a matter of minutes

and became dark brown by the end of the first hour. The

blended potato stayed almost white for two days.. The top of both

liquids, which was exposed to the air, turned dark almost instantly. I

repeated this experiment three times with different kinds of potatoes

and various shapes of glasses. The results were the same.

 

It was clear that the juiced potato oxidized much faster than the

blended potato. Since I am not a professional scientist, I decided to

seek the opinion of someone with the appropriate expertise. I went to

the local university and consulted with Gregory T. Miller, professor of

chemistry of Southern Oregon University. After researching this matter,

he wrote the following:

The browning is the result

of oxidation of specific biomolecules in the fruit or vegetable. My

students study this in lab so I have some familiarity with the process

(albeit they are studying the enzymatically regulated oxidation). My

wife is also a winemaker and deals with oxidation of her juice/wine or

a regular basis. I also possess a huge number of resources on the

oxidation topic in the form of biochemistry, medical, and nutritional

books. Here are my thoughts:espiratory

tract ailments.

Many people believe that the

blending process will cause increased oxidation due to thousands of

tiny air bubbles getting mixed into the "juice". This effectively

increases the surface area of oxygen in the liquid and facilitates the

oxidation process. However, in grapes at least, I have observed the

opposite to be true. The blended grape stays a truer color much longer.

I believe this observation in grapes to be a result of numerous

antioxidants released as the grape is

blended (breaks open more cells than juicing). I believe this is what

you are seeing with the potato, as well.

 

Potatoes contain numerous antioxidants. This may come as a surprise to

many people because of the pale color of many varietals. Among others,

potatoes are rich sources of phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, and

anthocyanins. The concentration of each vary with the type of potato.

Since your potatoes are skinless (where the greatest concentration of

the tyrosinase enzyme is located), I believe the blending process

releases a much higher percentage of these antioxidants from the

tissue than the juicing process.

It is also

possible that, in many fruits and vegetables, the bulk of the fiber

released during blending reduces the oxygen saturation in the solution

but, if true, I think this is a secondary issue.

 

Now I understand why it is commonly advised to drink squeezed juice

within minutes of making it, and why smoothies can stay fresh for two

or three days in the fridge. Even though I can clearly see the many

benefits of smoothies, I still don’t want to completely disregard

juicing. One of the main advantages of juice is that it requires next

to no digestion and can be absorbed and assimilated immediately into

the bloodstream, allowing the digestive system to rest. This important

quality of juice allows it to be used by people who suffer from severe

nutritional deficiencies or have highly irritable digestive system.

People with these conditions often cannot tolerate any fiber at all,

and juice may provide invaluable nourishment for them. Later, when

their health will improve, these people can switch to drinking

smoothies.

 

I agree with Dr. Doug Graham that juices are a fractured food, which is

missing an essential component—fiber. When we consume enough fiber, we

take a load off of our organism by improving our elimination. Toxins

often build up in the colon and fiber cleans them out. When most toxins

have been removed by fiber, then the body has a greater ability to

absorb nutrients, thus improving digestion. Humans could not live on

juices alone, whereas green smoothies are a complete food.

 

If I don’t have a blender around me, I juice. One

time I gave my blender to my brother because I thought that he needed

it more than I. While waiting for my new Vita-mix, I was juicing greens

because I could not live without them. While I was juicing, I quickly

got tired by the limited variety of flavors, in addition to that, I

noticed that I I felt hungrier and I had to add more salads to my menu,

as juices were not as filling as smoothies. Contrary to that, smoothies

are

very filling; I can live on them for days, and even weeks. I know of

people who have chosen to live on smoothies for several weeks or months

with beneficial results. You will find the extraordinary story of Clent

Manich’s green smoothie experiment further in this book.

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