The Benefits of Juicing For Breast Cancer – Which Juicer or Blender To Use?

I am a huge proponent of juicing for breast cancer — it’s great for any sort of cancer, really — and one of the questions I get asked most frequently is which juicer or blender to use.

It’s a great question, mainly because of the baffling array of juicers on the market, the manufacturers of which all claim that theirs is the best and provides you with the most nutrients and enzymes.  The purpose of this article is not to compare juicers because there are plenty of websites that do that.  I would just like you to understand the difference between juicing and blending and then you can decide for yourself which is best for you.

As mentioned in a previous article, The 12 Best Benefits of Juicing For Breast Cancer, juicing is an excellent way to extract massive amounts of vitamins, minerals, plant nutrients and enzymes from fruits and vegetables for your body’s immediate use.  Whether to use a juicer or a blender to extract those nutrients, however, has become a hotly debated subject.

What began as a simple message about the benefits of juicing for health has recently evolved into a rather strict bunch of “juicing rules” that people are obsessing about.  What I’ve observed is that some people have stopped juicing altogether – or never start – because they’ve been told that unless they can afford a particular juicer that’s out of their price range, they are wasting their time!  Now that’s just a crying shame.

There are plenty of juicers on the market that are affordable and do a great job.  You can, of course, obsess about which one does a better job and indeed, I found an interesting 2007 study by Michael Donaldson, PhD of Hallelujah Acres Foundation (this was on Chris Wark’s website – thank you very much, Chris) comparing seven popular juicers, including the $2,400 Norwalk juicer.  Click that link to read the study, it’s pretty interesting.  While the Norwalk excelled in several aspects such as enzyme content when the juice had to be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days, it really wasn’t that big of a difference.

Please keep reading, then make your decision.  I think that we should be doing both – juicing and blending – and here’s why.

To Juice Or To Blend – That Is The Question

While both juicing and blending are healthy for you, the results are quite different.  Both juicing and blending will give you a great big shot of dense nutrients that your body can readily use, but there are some important differences.  They both make a valuable contribution to your health, be it in different ways.

Juicing, done with a slow speed masticating juicer, is designed to extract as much densely packed nutrition from your organic produce as possible by removing all the fiber (pulp).  This allows your body to easily assimilate all the nutrients without requiring too much energy from your digestive system.  That’s why it’s so great for cancer patients or people who have troubled digestive systems.  When you ingest a big load of vegetables and/or fruit in a meal or a smoothie, it can take hours to digest and absorb all of that fiber. With fresh raw juices that have no fiber, however, your body gets those nutrients in minutes.  That makes juicing ideal for cleansing and detoxification and gives the digestive system a rest.  It’s also ideal for people with cancer who are suffering from cachexia, or muscle wasting. The downside of juicers is that they generally take a little more time to clean up and some people don’t like that.  I don’t find it a problem, it really only takes a few more minutes.  My favorite juicer is the Omega J8005, it’s easy to clean, produces a wonderful smooth juice and isn’t terribly expensive.

Blending, done with something like a Nutribullet or Vitamix or just an ordinary blender, works by splitting open the cellular wall of fruits and vegetables, releasing all of the nutrients – but it is much more like eating a meal since the fiber is retained (and that’s good for cleansing the colon and slowing the release of fructose, fruit sugar, when you are blending fruit).  You get better assimilation than if you ate the fruit or vegetables whole, but you don’t get quite the concentrated nutritional density of juice derived from a masticating juicer.  You wouldn’t be able to get as much produce into a blender container as you are able to process with a juicer.  Blenders are great for making smoothies, which tend to be more filling than juices and more satisfying if you are very hungry.  Another benefit to blending is that you can also add super foods and supplements to smoothies to increase the antioxidant hit or cancer-killing nutrients.  I frequently add a spoonful of maqui berry powder to get a big antioxidant hit, or you could add hemp or spirulina or chia seeds or flaxseed (get the idea?).  Doing this adds a lot of nutrition to your smoothies which you might not ordinarily do with a glass of fresh juice.

So the bottom line?  Which is better, juicing or blending?  As you can see each has its benefits and merits. The best one to use IS THE ONE THAT YOU LOVE USING!  If you buy a big expensive juicer and then it sits in your pantry because you hate cleaning it, it’s not doing you any good at all.  So get the one you think you’ll love to use and enjoy it.  Make juicing and/or blending a daily part of your wellness protocol.  For the list of the very best things to juice, see my article The Benefits of Juicing For Breast Cancer – What To Juice.

If you would like my best tips on getting through breast cancer and preventing recurrences in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters and e-books on the right, and/or “like” me on Facebook (Marnie Clark Breast Health Coach) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.