I Don't Eat Fruit, I Sure Wouldn't Drink Fruit Juice, And I'd Have A Chocolate Chip Cookie Before I Had A Smoothie
Finally, some are waking up to how unhealthy smoothies and fruit juices are. From an article in The Guardian by Sarah Bosley:
Fruit juices and smoothies represent a new risk to our health because of the amount of sugar the apparently healthy drinks contain, warn the US scientists who blew the whistle on corn syrup in soft drinks a decade ago.Barry Popkin and George Bray pointed the finger at high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks in 2004, causing a huge headache for the big manufacturers, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
"Smoothies and fruit juice are the new danger," said Popkin, a distinguished professor at the department of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, in an interview with the Guardian.
He added: "It's kind of the next step in the evolution of the battle. And it's a really big part of it because in every country they've been replacing soft drinks with fruit juice and smoothies as the new healthy beverage. So you will find that Coke and Pepsi have bought dozens [of fruit juice companies] around the globe."
In the UK, Coca-Cola owns Innocent smoothies while PepsiCo has Tropicana. Launching Tropicana smoothies in 2008, Pepsi's sales pitch was that the drink would help the nation to reach its five a day fruit and vegetable target. "Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to boost daily fruit intake as each 250ml portion contains the equivalent of 2 fruit portions," it said at the time.
However, Popkin says the five a day advice needs to change. Drink vegetable juice, he says, but not fruit juice. "Think of eating one orange or two and getting filled," he said. "Now think of drinking a smoothie with six oranges and two hours later it does not affect how much you eat. The entire literature shows that we feel full from drinking beverages like smoothies but it does not affect our overall food intake, whereas eating an orange does. So pulped-up smoothies do nothing good for us but do give us the same amount of sugar as four to six oranges or a large coke. It is deceiving."
Depends on the smoothie. I make my own using whole-milk yogurt, peanut butter, and a banana or other fruit. I also toss in some frozen whey from the cheese I make. It keeps me full about as long as bacon and eggs does.
That said, I'm sure businesses are relying mostly on sugar.
MonicaP at September 7, 2013 7:30 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/09/07/i_dont_eat_frui.html#comment-3896263">comment from MonicaPBananas are the sugar beasts of the fruit kingdom!
Amy Alkon at September 7, 2013 7:39 AM
I love V-8.
Patrick at September 7, 2013 5:41 PM
We make our own smoothies with just berries (typically blackberries, raspberries and blueberries- all low sugar), a little stevia/erythritol blend for sweetener, and heavy cream. Full of good, energizing fat, very low carb, and so tasty my little girls think it's ice cream.
Jess at September 7, 2013 6:52 PM
Apples, blueberries and grapes help keep diabetes away, don't they?
Jason S. at September 7, 2013 10:23 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/09/07/i_dont_eat_frui.html#comment-3897632">comment from Jason S.Apples, blueberries and grapes help keep diabetes away, don't they?
All have sugar in them. Why eat them at all?
Amy Alkon at September 7, 2013 11:36 PM
Eat healthy, live right, die anyway
lujlp at September 8, 2013 9:44 AM
All have sugar in them. Why eat them at all?
Because when the summer gets hot hot hot around here, all that I can bear to consume is something fruit-based. (Got especially severe when I was pregnant -- I'm surprised my kids weren't born with watermelon-colored skin.) I go through phases in which I can take or leave food -- especially when the weather gets hot -- but not eating enough leaves me tired and run down. (No, I'm not expecting any sympathy for this, believe me!)
Anyway, having a smoothie is the only way I can sneak some protein in via protein powder -- but I *hate* having added sweetener/thickeners/etc., so my smoothie sources are limited. I don't think people realize -- or want to realize -- how much additional stuff goes into most smoothies. They really should be viewed like cupcakes rather than "healthy" treats.
marion at September 8, 2013 12:05 PM
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