To think smoothies are more than one of your five a day

[feellikeahugefailure]

I've just had a smoothie with a handful of grapes, two kiwis, handful of spinach, handful of kale and a handful of frozen mango. At least 80g of all the fruit and probably 40g of the leaves. This is 4 portions right?

[smallspikyleaves]

I hope it does as I am obsessed with my nutribullet I got for Christmas! have been feeling very virtuous with my fruit and veg smoothies I am making every day

before I got it I literally struggled to force down 2 - 3 a day but its delicious blended. and I have been feeling and looking a lot healthier and have even lost a few pounds

just had a spinach, carrot, beetroot, apple and avocado one before I clicked on this thread. I have similar most days, I honestly thought that was my five a day

[ZVBC]

Surely it depends on if the smoothie is made in a juicer or a blender?

[smallspikyleaves]

whats the difference zvbc?

[OurBlanche]

Not really, ZVBC. The theory is that the bonds, the strings of connective tissue, aka fibre, is broken down, making it easier to digest and therefore not as much use for health.

So cooked, whizzed or blitzed there are changes. It is just that there is now more research that is finding that every negative change seems to be balanced by a positive one.

It might make more sense for someone trying to eat less not to drink smoothies, as lumpy food, including soups with bits, have longer transit times, so you stay feeling fuller longer.

[unlucky83]

Smoothies are the work of the devil... but really they are. They make you feel like you are being healthy but you aren't really . (Guess better than a coffee, doughnut and a fag though...)
Your body can't digest plant walls (cellulose) that's why you poo out whole peas and sweetcorn -the ones you haven't chewed properly..
The only way you get the nutrients out of eg an apple is from what you break down by physically chewing before swallowing, which isn't very efficient. Otherwise the intact plant cells (full of most of the 'nutrients') go straight through you in largish chunks, making real 'fibre', bulk which is what you need for healthy digestion and which is what 5 a day is mostly about.
(5 a day is a made up figure - we just need to eat more fruit and vegetables and calling it 5 a day is catchy) .
Smoothies basically take away the need to chew - the machine has done it for you and a whole lot more efficiently than your body could ever have done. (It will break down more cell walls than chewing can - eg scientists can use basically a blender to break down bacterial cells which are up to 50x smaller than plant cells...)
Also we basically work out the calorie content of stuff by burning and seeing how much energy is released (we do now take away a figure for the cellulose though now) - so an apple that has gone through your digestive system will give your body less calories and also make it work harder trying to digest it than the 'calorie' figure, a smoothie will give you more energy than a digested apple - but still probably less than the calorie count.
Over eating ...you could never sit down and eat 4 apples and half a mango etc in one sitting but you could drink a smoothie containing the same and because you digest it quicker you feel hungrier sooner.
Fruit juice is even worse... but smoothies aren't far behind.
One nutritional scientist (Prof Tom Sanders, from Kings I think) described fruit juice as 'obesity in a bottle'.

[snowymountaintops]

I think you are completely right unlucky83 but do think at least it is better than drinking coke, fanta or whatever and as you say better than a doughnut and a fag!

Like the OP I struggle to munch my way through apples, celery and all that stuff though, god knows why as I know it's much better for me.

[snowymountaintops]

actually was it this OP who found an apple unappetizing and cold or am I posting on a different thread . They wanted custard creams instead !

[MumsTheWordYouKnow]

I knew fruit smoothies were bad, but had no idea about any smoothies being bad. How disappointing and these blenders currently being promoted give the impression they are so healthy.

[mumeeee]

Smoothies do count but only 2 of your 5 a day. Even if you had more than one you can only count them as 2 of your 5 a day.
Think that's because you are supposed to have some whole fruits or vegetables in a day.

[Charley50]

I read somewhere that chocolate milk is the best post-exercise recovery drink.

[EmGee]

A homemade smoothie is most definitely not the work of the devil. For goodness sake! A healthy homemade smoothie once a day is hardly going to do anyone any harm as part of a balanced diet.

OP, you could try adding avocado to your smoothie. These are seriously delicious! Also a bit of coconut oil for fat absorption. I used to make mine with plain yogurt too (if I didn't want avocado). Makes it nice and creamy.

Treat is as only 1 or 2 portions a day, and eat the rest as whole fruit. Or even better, just lots of vegetables.

You could also try just juicing apples or pears (rather than grapes which are essentially just sugar) and using more veg. These are lower sugar fruits than pineapples, mangos, melon etc. I have to admit though juiced pineapple does make a delicious smoothie!

Apparently the Vitamix is the best machine for smoothies. Although this could well be marketing guff.

[EmGee]

Whoops, Unlucky. Just reread your post and see you are being sarcastic :)

[OurBlanche]

Charley, that's one of those truths that the protein shake industry tries very hard to bury, deep!

Chocolate milk, the low fat version that is sold for kids, is often found to be the best post workout drink. Loads of studies have measured that to be the case. One even tried to make it better, adding protein etc. But they found the original bottle contents were best.

I doubt many lifters etc will buy it though. It would need a rebrand

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

'Better than a fag and a doughnut'. My new benchmark!!

[ovenchips]

I cannot understand how anyone thinks a completely unprocessed, homemade smoothie of raw kale, grapes, mango and spinach is a bad food choice. It's fruit and vegetables! A point can be made about what the blitzing process does, but you are still consuming fresh fruit and vegetables. IMO it is a great choice.

The policymakers behind the NHS's five-a-day mantra would dance a jig if everyone had one or two of those homemade smoothies a day.

[OurBlanche]

Sorry ovenchips, but there have been some really illuminating posts and links here about the truths and myths about smoothies.

Smoothies are processed by the way, or they would just be bowls of fruit and veg.

[EatenEasterChocsAlready]

I've just had a banana, peanut butter, blueberry and spinach smoothie with almond milk, and have chicken and vegetable soup for lunch. I know that a smoothie is very sugary and calorific to have as a drink or a snack, but it's not a bad breakfast, surely?

who knows, but I would personally think that as breakfast that is fine, having breakfast and that on top...no..

[ovenchips]

Hi OurBlanche I think what I mean is if you chose the smoothie the OP described for breakfast, rather than what a majority have: toast or coffee or cereal or a bacon sandwich etc (all the common items people have) you would be making a great choice. I am not trying to to disagree with your posts or argue a smoothie's merits against a bowl of vegetables or fruit.

I think you are right that a smoothie is processed in the sense of it has been through a mechanical process. I am using unprocessed to mean it is not a 'processed food' which is a food that has been adulterated chemically or industrially and usually produced in a factory. A shop bought smoothie is, of course, processed. But I would still say a homemade smoothie is not.

[EatenEasterChocsAlready]

OP, you could try adding avocado to your smoothie. These are seriously delicious! Also a bit of coconut oil for fat absorption. I used to make mine with plain yogurt too (if I didn't want avocado). Makes it nice and creamy

pray tell why an acavaod please...


and why yogurt or avacoado> i had had with both together.

[unlucky83]

oven the problem is a bit like the OP said ...people thinking they have had their '5 a day' in a smoothie/smoothies. And they haven't really.
And they contribute to another 'problem' - you are not supposed to eat what you normally would plus 5 a day - you are supposed to eat less of the other things . And people will genuinely eat lots of crap and then have extra calories in a '5 a day' smoothie (easier without feeling too full than actually eating 5 portions) and think they are being really healthy...
or worse feed their children them and then wonder why they are overweight...

[EatenEasterChocsAlready]

we all hate greens in our family so in a smoothie I can get us all to have a good handful of kale and spinach in one go...

[ovenchips]

unlucky it wasn't the OP who said that - she was quoting me!

[feellikeahugefailure]

Depends what you mean by 'illuminating'? Many posters are confused with the difference between juice and smoothie and many think blending removes fiber....

There is clearly a world of difference between a mixed fruit and veg smoothie made with whole fruit and veg and drank stright away. Compared with an innocent smoothie that is 100% high sugar fruit with no veg, mostly juice, lots of fibre removed, made weeks ago, pasteurised, frozen, bottled, shipped, sat in fridge for a few days and drunk.

[OurBlanche]

But there are also links and discussions about the changes in our knowledge about them, peoples opinion, other options and thoughts. Even a homemade smoothie has different characteristics to that the raw ingredients have, like the carb profile and changes in fibre. They aren't all bad, just different, as at least on of the links outlined.

And putting food though a food processor is processing it, it is no longer in its raw state. Which obviously means that most of our food is processed

[unlucky83]

feeling blending DOES remove bulk - think of a plant cell like a balloon filled with sand. The balloon is the cell wall. The sand is its contents.
Pop the balloon. You do have the same amount of fibre but in a smaller volume -less bulk. You do still have the volume from the contents (the sand) but you can digest that so you less bulk

From this article....www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20858809

The Food and Drink Federation says all fruit and vegetables count, even if they are in a smoothie or a tin.

But Prof Sanders say that misses the point.

"It's chomping your way through the fruit and veg that has an effect on satiety. Once you mash it up into goo so you can consume much more it doesn't really have the same effect."