If you're looking for the perfect food processor, you've probably asked yourself 'blender vs juicer: which should I buy?'
Thankfully, we're here to help you come to a decision by comparing the pros and cons of each machine before coming to an overall verdict on which one we think is best.
Let's start with function...
Blender vs Juicer - Function
While there are a few variations, a juicers primary function is to separate the juice from fruit or vegetables and leave the pulp and other fibres behind, thus giving you a smooth drink as a result.
By contrast, a blender combines the whole fruit or vegetable, which is more beneficial for when you want to create thicker smoothies or protein shakes using your best protein powder.
However, as previously stated, there are different kinds of juicers that blend your ingredients in different ways. For example, the Breville Juice Fountain featured in our best juicer list uses a cold-press system to ground the mixture, then applies pressure to extract the juice and nutrients.
With that being said, from a fitness standpoint, you may find a blender to be more ideal as you can include your best protein powder in your mixture, and the high-speed motor should combine the ingredients to give you a smooth shake.
Blender vs Juicer - Price
Typically speaking, blenders are slightly cheaper than juicers as they are simpler machines that involve fewer mechanics.
For example, you can pick up an entry-level blender, like this Ninja Nutri Slim found in our list of the best blenders, for less than a budget juicer, like the Philips Compact Juicer, but the Philips is required to go a step further than a blender by extracting the juice from a combined mixture.
It is worth mentioning though that when you get to the more expensive end of the scale, blenders can start to become more expensive than juicers as they begin to incorporate more features and more powerful motors.
Blender vs Juicer - Health Benefits
It's no secret that juicing removes all the fibrous materials to leave a liquid, but those fibrous materials can be useful for our health.
A 2010 study into fibre and metabolism found the intake of dietary fibre to be inversely related to obesity, type two diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
However, you're more likely to be able to pack more into one drink when juicing, giving you, on average, a higher vitamin content per cup than with a blended shake.
Also, due to its more liquid form, juice tends to be slightly easier to digest, and a study from 2014 on the effects of blending and juicing found the concentration of the antioxidant ascorbic acid in apple, pear, and orange juices was significantly higher in juice that had been processed by juicing, rather than blending.
Blender vs Juicer: Which Should You Buy?
When it comes to choosing between the two, you're presented with a difficult choice as they both have their pros and cons.
If you have the opportunity to own both, then we feel that would be the ideal option, but the real question is which should you buy first?
We feel like a blender is the more beneficial first purchase as there is more variety with what you can make compared to a juicer which, as the name suggests, specialises in juice.
This sentiment is continued if you look at it in terms of fitness. A blender can be used to create delicious and clump-free protein shakes, whereas the filters in a juicer would prevent the protein powder from mixing with your drink, thus removing the benefits of the supplement.
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