Smoothies or juices? What's the difference between them? Which one is better for you? Let's talk about it.

They're both a great way to “eat the rainbow” as I like to say. Eating a variety of colors provides us with different antioxidants that promote good health and reduces the risk of a lot of different illnesses.

Juicing is when you extract the juice from the fruit or vegetable, removing the fiber. The juice is full of vitamins and minerals. The body can easily absorb them and it gives the digestive system a rest. But it does remove the fiber, which plays a big role in our overall health.

This is the juicer I use. 

With smoothies you keep all the fiber and all the other nutrients. Fiber is very important to our health and it's estimated only 5% of Americans are meeting the daily requirements. This is why if I had to pick one or the other I always recommend going with smoothies. We need all the nutrition from the whole food.

I personally do both of them. Juices are a great way to get a boost of energy and stay hydrated, but I don't recommend using them to replace a meal. Smoothies can be used as a meal replacement as you can pack in more nutrients. They're also more satiating than juices.

Smoothies are able to be more than just fruits and vegetables.  Things like flaxseeds, hemp seeds or superfood powders can be added and these are a great way to get in even more nutrients.

If you're only going to do one, I recommend going with smoothies. You can have more of variety, pack in more nutrition and they can be very filling!

You can find recipes for smoothies and juices, but you can also have fun experimenting in the kitchen. I do recommend tasting it before you pour it so you can adjust the ingredients if you don't like the flavor. Check out my basic smoothie guide for more info too!