Blending vs. Juicing

So, my latest little health kick is smoothies for breakfast and lunch. I am not sure how long this will last, as anybody who knows me will tell you - I am the kind of person where nothing seems to last for long! I get an idea in my head, it is the best thing since sliced bread for a short period of time, and then it is all over just as quick! For many years this made me feel like I was a failure as I never seemed to see things through to the end, but as I have got older I have come to the conclusion that that is just me. I am an indecisive and impulsive person.

Back to the topic of conversation! (As you will also have seen from my posts, I also tend to go off on little random rants - just another of my many personality traits!).

After hearing colleagues at work talk religiously about juicing, it got my wondering what is the difference between juicing and blending and what are the health benefits of both. It got me doing a little research and these are my findings that I thought I would share with you.

Juicing:

When juicing a machine extracts the juice - the nutrients contained in the product and water. leaving behind the pulp. 

Blending:

When blending there is no left over pulp, the blender pulverizes the whole product to make a smoothie.

It got me wanting to know which is better for you, to have just the juice or to have the whole product including the pulp. Both allow a higher intake of fresh produce in our diet, a lot more than we would ever normally consume on a daily basis. 

Juicing discards the indigestible fibre in the produce meaning that the digestive system does not have to work as hard to absorb nutrients and break down the food. The nutrients in the produce are more readily available to the body and in larger quantities than if you were to eat whole foods. Fibre in produce slows the digestive process and gives a steady release of nutrients in the body.

Whilst getting a high intake of nutrients, removing the fibre from the produce may mean that you become hungrier quicker. 

Blending/smoothies consist of the whole product - skin and all. The blending process breaks down the fibre in the produce making it much easier to digest than in normal daily consumption. It also gives a slow release of nutrients leaving you feeling much fuller than if you were having a juice only diet. The disadvantage of a smoothie compared to juicing is that you cannot pack as many servings f fruit and veg in as the volume increases significantly. 

For me, blending is the best option. The main reason being that I do not have a juicing machine and I already own a blender. Also because I think that it is the quickest method. However, my recent blending has not proved quite as successful as I would have liked it to be as I have discovered that juice or smoothies should be consumed within fifteen minutes as the air and light damages the nutrients in the produce. I have been making smoothies in the morning and having one for breakfast and taking one in an airtight container to work with me for my lunch. 

The one thing that I am struggling with is a green smoothie. There are so many recipes online containing many weird and wonderful produce (some I might add that I have never even heard of!) that I do not know what to opt for, partly in fear of not knowing what I will and won't like and not wanting to spend a fortune on fresh produce that will end up in the bin. 

Have any of you lovely lot got any healthy smoothies recipes that you would recommend? I would be most grateful if you would be kind enough to share any tips/advice that you may have. I would like to make this a permanent lifestyle change as opposed to another "fad" diet and would really appreciate any pointers.

Microbiome Plus+ GI Giveaway

I have 3x one month supplies of Microbiome Plus+ GI to give away to my followers!

What are the benefits of taking Microbiome Plus+ GI?

• SUPPORT MOOD & BOOST ENERGY - Poor nutrient absorption can leave you short on essential vitamins and minerals. Fatigue, irritability, and a lack of motivation are signs of nutrient deficiency. Probiotics develop a healthy microenvironment in the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract that optimizes nutrient absorption, giving you the positive energy and happy feelings to be your vibrant self.
• LOSE WEIGHT - Weight-loss research suggests that healthy microflora in the gut can speed your metabolism and support fat loss. Fatburning is more than just an exercise routine. For healthy weight loss, give your body the probiotic support it needs.
• Maintains balance of healthy bacteria
• IMPROVE & MAINTAIN HEALTH - Your gut is home to 80% of your immune system, where good bacteria (probiotics) battle with bad bacteria to prevent disease and relieve allergies, bloating, gas, and constipation. Probiotics replenish disease-fighting bacteria and help maintain digestive functions and immune health by controlling candida and yeast overgrowth.

Please enter below for your chance to WIN!!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I am not the manufacturer of this product. Product packaging and materials may contain more or different information than what is shown in this post. I recommend that you do not rely solely on the information presented on this post. Please always read labels, warnings, and directions provided with the product before using or consuming the product. If in doubt, always check with your GP before consuming.

Sleep Apnoea

Whilst I have never been officially diagnosed with Sleep Apnoea, I think that I may well suffer from it. From a very early age I was always a restless sleeper – tossing and turning each night, talking in my sleep and grinding my teeth. This has slowly crept into adulthood and has never changed; my sleep patterns are still identical to those of when I was a small child.

Recently my partner has been telling me that sometimes it is almost unbearable, to the point that he has even resorted to sleeping on the couch some nights because I have been tossing and turning and throwing my arms and legs around the bed so much! Whilst I know it is not funny, I cannot help but laugh when he tells me these tales each morning because I just cannot imagine that I can behave like that in my sleep. This got me looking into Sleep Apnoea a little more.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a condition where the walls of the throat relax and narrow during sleep, interrupting normal breathing.

There are two types of breathing interruption characteristic of OSA:

• Apnoea – where the muscles and soft tissues in the throat relax and collapse sufficiently to cause a total blockage of the airway; it is called an apnoea when the airflow is blocked for 10 seconds or more 
• Hypopnoea – a partial blockage of the airway that results in an airflow reduction of greater than 50% for 10 seconds or more

This would explain my snoring and talking in my sleep then! If I am honest, it scares me a little and I think that it scares my partner too. On many occasions, I have woken in the middle of the night to him standing over me, shaking me to wake up because I have in fact been lay there motionless in my sleep, appearing not to breathe. That really is a scary thought!

According to the NHS, people with OSA may experience repeated episodes of apnoea and hypopnoea throughout the night.

During an episode, the lack of oxygen triggers your brain to pull you out of deep sleep – either to a lighter sleep or to wakefulness – so your airway reopens and you can breathe normally.

After falling back into deep sleep, further episodes of apnoea and hypopnoea can occur. These events may occur around once every one or two minutes throughout the night in severe cases.

Most people with OSA snore loudly. Their breathing may be noisy and laboured, and it is often interrupted by gasping and snorting with each episode of apnoea.

These repeated sleep interruptions can make you feel very tired during the day. You'll usually have no memory of your interrupted breathing, so you may be unaware you have a problem unless a partner, friend or family member notices the symptoms while you sleep.

The above describes my sleeping pattern perfectly. I always feel tired during the day no matter how early I go to bed or no matter how much sleep I think I have had. Things are slowly starting to piece together. Whilst this is a self-diagnosis of the condition, I feel a little more relieved after doing some research that it is a common problem.

Whilst sleeping, apparently it is normal for the muscles and soft tissues in the throat to relax and collapse to some degree.

For most people this doesn't cause breathing problems, but in people with OSA the airway has narrowed as the result of a number of factors, including:

• Being overweight or obese 
• Having a large neck 
• Taking medicines that have a sedative effect, such as sleeping tablets 
• Having an unusual structure in the neck, such as an narrow airway, large tonsils, adenoids or tongue, or a small lower jaw 
• Smoking or drinking alcohol, particularly before going to sleep 

All of the above relate to me. I am overweight and I am very conscious that I need to shift it. Some of the medication that I take does have a sedative effect as I suffer with back problems. I am also suffering at the moment with recurrent septic tonsillitis and I do smoke around ten cigarettes a day.

After looking into OSA I am more aware than ever that I need to be making some serious lifestyle changes such as losing excess weight and cutting down or quitting cigarettes for good. However, I do also think that recurrent tonsillitis may be one of the issues also. I am seeing a specialist at the hospital later this week, where I am hoping they will offer a tonsillectomy and that may improve symptoms. I shall keep you all posted and let you know how it goes! Here’s hoping that both my partner and I can have a good night’s sleep in the not too distant future.  Failing that I may well be checking myself into a sleep clinic, or joining a dating website!  (Just kidding!)

Symprove 12 Week Programme

Look what arrived at my door this morning, my 12 Week Programme of Symprove from Spink Health.

After being diagnosed with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) in 2011 and having suffered with stomach problems for sometime, I was excited to learn of the Symprove 12 Week Programme and was more than happy to give it a go and see if it can improve my daily symptoms of IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, long-term condition of the digestive system. It can cause bouts of stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and/or constipation.

The symptoms vary between individuals and affect some people more severely than others. They tend to come and go in periods lasting a few days to a few months at a time, often during times of stress or after eating certain foods.

IBS is thought to affect up to one in five people at some point in their life, and it usually first develops when a person is between 20 and 30 years of age. Around twice as many women are affected as men.

The condition is often life-long, although it may improve over several years.

The most common symptoms of IBS are:

• Abdonimal (stomach) pain and cramping, which may be relieved by having a poo. 
• A change in bowel habits – such as diarrhoea, constipation, or sometimes both. 
• Bloating and swelling of your stomach. 
• Excessive wind (flatulence). 
• Occasionally experiencing an urgent need to go to the toilet. 
• A feeling that you have not fully emptied your bowels after going to the toilet. 
• Passing mucus from your bottom. 

In addition to the main symptoms described above, some people with IBS experience a number of other problems. These can include:

 

• A lack of energy (lethargy). 
• Feeling sick. 
• Backache. 
• Bladder problems (such as needing to wake up to urinate at night, experiencing an urgent need to urinate and difficulty fully emptying the bladder). 
• Pain during sex (Dyspareunia) 
• Incontinence. 

The symptoms of IBS can also have a significant impact on a person's day-to-day life and can have a deep psychological impact. As a result, many people with the condition have feelings of depression and anxiety.

Symprove is a water-based multi-strain supplement that contains 4 unique strains of live activated bacteria. These include: L. rhamnosus, E. faecium, L. acidophilus, and L. plantarum. Normally a healthy gut would already contain all four of these, however when it doesn’t, it can soon become unbalanced. Symprove has been created to restore the balance of bacteria in your gut.

During the Symprove 12 Week Programme all you have to do is drink 1 small cup of Symprove each morning and that’s it. Symprove are confident that in 12 weeks you and your gut will feel significantly different.

So, I am ready to go! This is day 1, and I shall keep you posted on my progress. 

Please note that I am not a medical expert, nor am I trained or qualified to give an advice regarding this condition. This post is based purely on my own thoughts and experiences. You should see your GP if you think you have IBS symptoms, so they can try to identify the cause.