Juicing or Smoothies?

So many people now are into juicing and others love to make a smoothie.  Some make a smoothie for breakfast as a fast, take it with you meal.  So which is healthier for you, smoothies or juicing?  Both have advantages.

Juicing

Pros

• 5 A Day -  for those who aren�t into many veggies and fruits, this is a way to help you get your �Five A Day�, five servings of fruits and veggies every day.
• Variety � eating a variety of fruits and veggies is a key to good health.  Juicing makes it easy to vary your fruits and vegetables. 

Cons

• Pulp and fiber � Depending on how you juice, you could be leaving behind the pulp, and along with it fiber and nutrients.
• Limit juicing to 8-12 ounces a day � about a cup or cup and a half.  Why?  To save space for fresh fruit and veggies and all the nutrients fresh produce and fruit provide

Smoothies

 Pros

• healthier than juicing as smoothies are usually blended which preserves the pulp, fiber and nutrients in the pulp.
• Dairy adds calcium and vitamin D � making smoothies with yogurt or milk adds needed calcium and vitamin D to your diet. 
• Protein � yogurt and milk offer a high quality protein and if you use low fat milk or yogurt you get high quality protein with less fat.
• More vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, phytochemicals if the whole fruit or veggie is blended into a smoothie, including the skins improves nutritional value.

 Cons

• High in calories if you use sugared yogurt, juices with added sugar, frozen yogurt, sorbet or ice cream. 
• Bottled smoothies � avoid if you can, as many contain added sugars and extra calories.

So choose smoothies if you like them.  A very healthy way to get in some fruits, veggies and dairy.   Choose juicing if you don�t like fresh fruit and veggies but want to add some to your diet.  But also enjoy fresh fruits and veggies every day.  

For healthy smoothie recipes go to:  Low-Calorie Smoothie Recipes.  For healthy juice recipes go to :  Healthy Juice Recipes for a Juicer or a Blender

Sources: Health benefits of juicing vs. smoothies,  Healthy Juice Recipes for a Juicer or a Blender, Image source:  Smoothie

Whole Grains and a Longer Life

So many people �avoid carbs� and avoid grains.  The latest diet craze is to go low carb.  Is that the healthiest choice for a longer life?  Are some carbs healthy?  Absolutely.   If you are watching carbs, you should watch to see you add whole grain carbs to your diet.  Whole grains aren�t carbs to avoid but to add to your diet.  A recent Harvard study on Whole Grains found that people who ate whole grains lowered their risk of heart disease.

 How much whole grains did they eat to lower their risk of heart disease?  The more they ate they lower the risk

• 5% lower risk of heart disease for those eating 1 ounce a day (1 slice of whole wheat bread)

• 8% lower risk for those who replaced one serving of refined grains with one serving of whole grains every day 
• 20% lower if a serving of red meat was replaced by whole grains

Whole grains contain all parts of the grain including the bran.  The bran is rich in B vitamins, antioxidants and fiber.  It is the bran that seems to be the most beneficial in reducing heart disease risk.

What are whole grains?  If you go to ChooseMyPlate.gov, they have a list of foods that are whole grains.  MyPlate recommends at least half the grains you eat each day should be whole grains.  Whole grains include:

• Whole wheat flour, whole wheat bread, whole rye flour - but whole rye bread is hard to find.  I found some at World Market
• Cereals that are whole grain like oatmeal, Cheerios
• Whole cornmeal (Most cornmeal is not whole, need to read the ingredients)
• Brown rice, wild rice
• Quinoa
• Buckwheat � like buckwheat pancakes
• Whole wheat pasta � if you don�t like the taste, try 25% whole wheat pasta and 75% regular pasta
• Barley
• Whole grain crackers
• Whole grain chips, Sun Chips, Food Should Taste Good  Multigrain chips,
• Whole grain corn � popcorn is whole grain

Note:  �multi-grain�, �stone ground�, �cracked wheat�, �bran� � are usually not whole grain products.  Read the label as some foods like the Food Should Taste Good Multigrain chips are whole grain but many �multi-grain� breads are not whole grain. 

Add some whole grains to your diet for a longer life. 

Sources:  Whole Grains, More whole grains linked with lower mortality,
Eat Whole Grains for a Longer Life, Image source: Look for Whole Grain