It is part and parcel of our everyday contemporary life. Juice as a food source is as old as civilization itself. Essentially and scientifically, we human beings are nourished by juice in physical form as part of our initial metabolic digestive stage. 

Juicing is simply the process of extracting by pressing, squeezing or grinding liquid matter from plant tissue, specifically fruits and vegetables. It can be as simple as squeezing an orange with your bare hands to using a sophisticated cold-press machine. 

Blending on the other hand – as directly relates fruits and vegetables – is the combining by mixing different ingredients, and homogenizing them into a drink using (more often than not) a blender.

To a large extent, the above explanations detail their core differences. The former separates the pulp (fiber) by extracting juice, whilst the latter mixes and combines everything by pulverizing – and thus produces a thick, creamy, fibrous and homogenized drink.

Their nutritional/scientific differences are more pronounced and a little more complex in understanding but I will touch and provide an overview that succinctly analyses it without requiring biochemistry credentials.

Benefits & Limits

Each drink-making method has its respective pluses and minuses.

Blending tends to have a lower nutritional output than juicing – more vitamins, phytonutrients, minerals are generally lost via oxidation and longer processing times. Vitamin C, for example, is markedly higher in live juices than in smoothies.

However, that is not the same for every mineral or nutrient.

Calcium (Ca+) is more ubiquitous in juice blends and/or smoothies than in Live (yes, there are actually living) juices or cold-pressed juices. Insoluble fiber necessary for stomach cleaning and proper bowel movement is also lost in juiced drinks.