What is the Difference Between Juice and Smoothie

The main difference between juice and smoothie is that juices do not contain dietary fibre, while smoothies contain dietary fibre.

Both juices and smoothies contain extracts from vegetables and fruits. They are a great addition to your meals, especially if you are trying to go on a healthy diet. The difference between juice and smoothie is the presence of fibre. Juicing process filters out the pulp of vegetables or fruits while making smoothies involve blending the whole fruit/vegetable.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is a Juice 
    – Definition, Features
2. What is a Smoothie
     – Definition, Features
3. What is the Difference Between Juice and Smoothie
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Fruits, Juice, Smoothie

What is a Juice

Juice is the natural fluid or liquid part that can be extracted from a plant part, typically a fruit or vegetable. Juicing is the process of extracting juices from fruits or vegetables. Juicing separates the liquid and the pulp of a fruit or vegetable. It is the liquid part that we call the juice. Since juice is separate from the pulp, it does not contain any fibre. However, fruit or vegetable juices are rich in nutrients. The absence of fibre helps the quick absorption of these nutrients. This is because the digestive system does not have to exert a lot of effort to break the fibre component.

Lemonade, apple juice, orange juice, strawberry juice, and grape juice are some popular juices we all like to drink. Although juices nutritious, they are not as thick as smoothies and won’t make you feel full quickly. Also, you have to drink juice from a lot of fruits and vegetables to obtain a maximum amount of nutrients.

What is a Smoothie

A smoothie is a thick beverage made from crushed fruit, sometimes with yoghurt or ice cream. It usually has a liquid base like water, fruit juice, and sometimes dairy milk. Making smoothies involve blending, where a blender chops the vegetables or fruits into very fine pieces at high speed, liquidizing the whole product.

Smoothies are usually thicker than juices since they contain the pulp, skin, seeds and skin of fruits and vegetables. In fact, they are similar in consistency to milkshakes. Moreover, they contain more fibre and nutrients. These fibres make smoothies more filling, and they can even act as a complete meal. So you can even substitute one of your main meals with a smoothie. However, the presence of fibres can slow down the absorption of nutrients. If you are concerned about blood sugar, smoothies may be better for you than juices since the presence of fibres slow down the absorption of sugar.

Difference Between Juice and Smoothie

Definition

Juice is the natural fluid or liquid part that can be extracted from a plant part, typically a fruit or vegetable while a smoothie is a thick beverage made from crushed fruit, sometimes with yoghurt or ice cream.

Thickness

Smoothies are thicker than juices.

Pulp

Juices do not contain pulp while smoothies contain pulp; therefore, juices do not have dietary fibre while smoothies do.

Absorption of Nutrients and Sugar Levels

When you drink juices, the nutrients are rapidly absorbed into your bloodstream, and your blood sugar level may show a sudden increase. However, the fibre content in smoothies slows down the nutrient absorption.

Conclusion

Juice is the natural fluid or liquid part that can be extracted from a plant part, typically a fruit or vegetable while a smoothie is a thick beverage made from crushed fruit, sometimes with yoghurt or ice cream. The main difference between juice and smoothie is that juices do not contain dietary fibre, while smoothies contain dietary fibre.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Pomegranate Juice (2019)” By Augustus Binu (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “3222313” (CC0) via Pixabay