Juices and green smoothies: health benefits, differences and how to prepare them

Juices or green juices are an excellent option to incorporate vegetables and fruits into our diet in a simple way and take advantage of all its nutrients and properties. They are made, mainly, by mixing green leafy vegetables and fruits, although you can also add a few drops of lime juice, ginger, curcuma, etc.

If we add seeds (such as sesame, flax or flaxseed), these slow down and hinder the absorption of nutrients to some extent and favor irritation. They are in the digestive tract and can even produce gases. If you add them to green smoothies, let it be in a small quantity and sporadically. Juices and green smoothies can be taken early in the morning, between meals, during one day a week we can drink only these to purify, etc. They are a good way to provide nutrients to our diet and can be of great help in diets to lose weight, since they do not provide many calories, moisturize, help eliminate toxins and purify, stimulate our metabolism and are very healthy.

It is best to prepare them at the time they will be consumed. . Difference between green juices and green smoothies While green smoothies contain all the fiber, green juices lack this, so they pass into the bloodstream much earlier and green smoothies are absorbed more slowly due to to the fiber they contain. Juices or green juices are prepared with a blender.

A blender is a small appliance that separates the pulp of fruits and vegetables from its juice. On the one hand it is flea and on the other the juice that it extracts comes out. We can also prepare green juices with a hand or glass blender and once prepared simply strain the milkshake to separate the juice or juice from the pulp. Green smoothies can be prepared with a glass or hand mixer (water must be added) and drunk as is, with the fiber. OR

An important difference is that, as Victoria Boutenko herself tells in her book Green smoothie revolution, juices or smoothies oxidize before milkshakes, so if you want to leave your green juices ready at night to Drink the next morning, if you make a juice (with fiber), this will retain many more nutritional properties than if it is a juice or smoothie.

Always keep it in the fridge or refrigerator. If you are on a detox diet, it may be more beneficial to consume the juices (without the fiber) instead of shakes, because the nutrients just need digestion and thus we help in the cleansing process to our body at the same time. We stay hydrated and nourished. Another benefit of green smoothies is that, by preserving fiber, it helps us cleanse the colon and favors the cleaning and expulsion of accumulated toxins. In addition, green smoothies are more satiating than juices or smoothies. Consider your preferences and needs and combine the two options, juices and smoothies. .

Health benefits of drinking green juices

Juices and green smoothies are full of chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are very beneficial for us. They strengthen our immune system, so they help us protect our body and keep it in good health. By their contribution in chlorophyll, a green pigment that many vegetables have, they help us to oxygenate the blood and this will carry more oxygen throughout the body, something especially interesting for athletes. They help alkalize the pH of the blood. We eliminate toxins accumulated in the body. The regeneration of the cells that make up the tissues, organs and systems of our body is facilitated.

. What green juices and smoothies are made In green juices and smoothies they are prepared by combining fruits with vegetables, mainly green leafy vegetables:

Arugula Dandelion (leaf) Amaranth (leaf) Berza (kale) Lettuce Mint Wheat grass Chard Broccoli Parsley Spinach Celery (stem and leaves) Escarole Watercress Nettle Plantain Stevia Borage (leaf) Cucumber Carrots leaves, turnips, beterrada, radishes, etc. You can also add a piece (about 2 cm2) of aloe vera or aloe penca gel to the smoothie. Combine these green leaves with seasonal fruits such as: Apple Pears Banana Papaya Mango Plum Orange Pineapple kiwi Strawberries Blueberries Date Grapefruit or grapefruit Cherries Grapes Peach or peach Apricot It is not recommended to mix fruits with vegetables with starch, as is the case for carrots, cauliflower, beterrada, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, squash, corn or zucchini, since it would favor poor digestion and could produce gases. For a juice or green juice, with two ingredients is enough, for example: a few leaves of lettuce and a pear.

It is not necessary to mix several green leaves and several fruits in the same juice. Keep the combination as simple as possible and thus facilitate the absorption of nutrients. Try to vary in terms of the ingredients you use in each shake, so you make sure that you get the different nutrients of each fruit and green leaf and also do not get tired of the same flavors. .

Juice and green smoothie recipes I encourage you to try the following combinations and also to experiment with other combinations according to your tastes

Spinach + mango Berza (kale) + peach peach Mint + kiwi Nettle + grapes Lettuce + apple Parsley + cucumber + pear Celery + dandelion + banana Wheatgrass + escarole + plum Watercress + kiwi + apple Plantain + stevia + Arugula orange + cucumber + pineapple

Juices and green smoothies: health benefits, differences and how to prepare them