Discussion Board

I'm interested in doing some vegetable juicing or green smoothies, but I don't really know which of these is "better" from a health standpoint. The type I choose will affect the type of appliance I buy. (I'm looking at an Omega 8005 for juicing or a Vitamix for smoothies.)

Since I know from previous threads that several of you do juicing and/or smoothies, I'm curious what you think on the subject. My gut reaction is that smoothies would retain more of the nutrients. On the other hand, the reason that juicing still interests me is that I'm looking at it for reasons of "cleansing" in the short term. Because of a number of food intolerances and other unidentified health issues, I'm trying to get back to square one by doing a few days of water fasting followed by some juice-type fasting, then returning to McDougalling after I get things calmed down again. Would green smoothies serve the same purpose?

Any thoughts on juicing vs. smoothies? Also, any thoughts on the Omega 8005 vs. the Vitamix? While I'm interested in them in the short term for the reason I listed above, since it's a big investment, I'd like one that multi-tasks and will provide the most bang-for-buck in the long term too.

Thanks for your input,
Stephanie

The latest (December 2007) McDougall newsletter might help you make up your mind. The whole plant is always best. Juice might have some medicinal and short-term value, but it is often too rich and too concentrated and, in the case of fruit, too high in calories, especially fructose. Some of the best parts of the fruit or vegetables are what is left behind as pulp.

Dan

I own both the Omega 8005 and the Vita-Mix 5200. I use both every day. I have owned the juicer for about four years and I owned another different juicers before that (several, because the brand I used to own had a lot of problems and I had to return it twice and the third time just gave up demanded a refund and bought the Omega). I got the Vita-Mix for Christmas this year, but prior to that I used my regular blender to make green smoothies.

I understand the reasons to not juice and I have discussed them with Dr. McDougall via email. In my own case I have a strong family history of breast cancer on my mother's side and lung cancer on my father's side. My mother, her twin, and two of my sisters have had breast cancer. My aunt has had it twice and one of my sisters died from it at age 50. I have read all that I can on breast cancer since 1988 when my aunt was diagnosed. I have watched Dr. Lorraine Day's videos and I am frankly afraid to not juice vegetables. I do not juice fruit. I also eat as many greens a day as I can pack in and the Vita-Mix does an amazing job of handling all of those greens. My regular blender did a good enough job for years but I was starting to fear I was going to burn it out and there are vegatables that the Vita-Mix can handle that a regular blender can't. The foods I eat follow the McDougall plan, but I do juice, which I know is not part of the plan and I have at least one green smoothie a day.

Both of these machines are pricey. It would be hard for most of us to be able to buy both at once. If I had it to do over I would do it in the same order. Buy the Omega juicer first and get by with a good quality regular blender until I could afford the Vita-Mix. But again I have reasons to feel that juicing would benefit me that may not affect others. They are both wonderful investments.

I have also owned both an Omega and a Vita Mix and a Champion Juicer as well. For my own purposes I have to say that the Vita mix has gotten way more use by my family then the Omega Ever did probably by a factor of 20X at least. The two main reasons for me are that the Vita Mix is so easy to clean vs the other machines and thats a huge benefit to me, and also I agree with Dr McDougall in that its much better to eat the whole apple or orange then to just consume the juice. Calorie wise I can consume tons more calories drinking juice without feeling as full as eating a fresh fruit and veggie smooothie. I haven't used my Vita Mix to teh extent of other folks on the board who make rice milk or grind flour.

There is a conversation now in the food/recipes board discussing Vita Mix recipes you may want to check out http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5091

I have a high-quality juicer that I bought second-hand, but I use the Vitamix much more often (almost daily for the Vitamix, versus not even weekly for the juicer). My reasons for liking the Vitamix are the same as everyone else's here, and I look at drinking fresh juice as more of a treat--fresh carrot juice is incredible!

I have a Total Blender which I use daily. I also have a Champion User which I use less often.

I've had the juicer for about 17 years and it still runs great. I occassionally juice when I have the need to pack in nutrients for one reason or another. Or a very occassional treat - as in apple/strawberry juice. I use it also to make juice and freeze it into cubes for when I need just a little juice in something. When one of my dogs was sick and I had to make her food (she basically had to do an elimination diet), I used it to grate big quantities of veggies for her.

The blender I have had about 3 years and it runs great. It makes really good smoothies, rice milk, nut milks, etc. Since I am not a breakfast person but do believe in the benefits of breakfast, smoothies are usually the way I go.

I would say if I could only have the use of one of them now, I would pick the blender.

Donna

I make a large smoothie every morning before heading out to work and drink it in the car on the way. Since I strive to get at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables in every day, I like to put as many servings into the shake as possible. It is usually a hefty blueberry base, with a banana, an apple, a big handful of spinach, carrots, ground flax seeds, soy milk, and sometimes a little orange juice. The only problem is I've got to head straight to the restroom when I get to work to clean all the little spinach flecks from my teeth before talking to someone.

I'm always looking for more variety and stuff that packs a punch while still tasting good. Does anyone have a good predominantly veggie smoothie recipe that doesn't taste like the sewer?

Dan

According to Joel Fuhrman, there are valuable nutrients in the fibre portion so the smoothie is preferred. But removing the fibre can make it easier to consume more veg and fruit in a day. When I started out I was very insulin resistant so I always consumed the fibre too to help with glycemic index. Now worry about it less, and have some of each.

Sometimes I think that if cancer is a concern, then the the focus should be on getting as much good stuff into you as possible is the important thing, so juice. Basically the opposite of the approach you would take for type two diabetes.

...

I would not recommend a juice-fast type diet for the long-term, but it can be an effective way to accelerate the regaining of control and health in the short term as long as one is consuming the right kind of juices (more veggie based than fruit based). You might check out the site:

http://www.juicefeasting.com/

which has been recently plugged by Mike Adams of Newstarget.com.

As for me, I think I am healthy and can stay on track by eating whole foods. If I were to suddenly get sick I might use the above method to try and get well again. I tend to eat too fast and swallow my food in too big of chunks. So smoothies are a great way to make sure one gets all the nutrients out of fruits and veggies.

Dan

Her basic program for people who are sick includes both carrot and barley grass juices. That is in addition to regular low fat, vegan food. I have not seen her advocate only drinking juice. Her vegetable juices, as I understand her program, are in addition to eating regular food. But I have only watched a few of her videos and you could easily be remembering correctly a video that I have not seen. I have not seen her address green smoothies.

Makes sense. If you run across the video sometime please post the link. I don't always agree with everything she says but I do think a good deal of it makes sense and it does seem that she has helped people. Herself included.

I can agree with you there. If Dr. Day had stuck to her diet and what she did to heal herself of cancer, she'd be more credible in my eyes. But her rants about other subjects such as Zionist conspiracies and the Holocaust make her sound like a wacko!

Your comment brings up good memories of my grandfather. He used to admonish me to "chew my liquids and drink my solids" when eating. Took me awhile as a child to figure that out. He was also of the "chew every mouthfull 32 times" school. (Which I later figured out was meant to get most everything chewed completely and liquified if possible, before swallowing, even if mashed potatoes lasted through only 4-5 bites. )

He passed away in 1961, but every once in awhile when I revert to wolfing it down, I "hear" his voice reminding me to drink my solids!

Through the years I did learn many beneficial reasons for trying to follow his grandfatherly advice.