Most people trying to eat healthy or lose fat automatically think that all smoothies are healthy.
NOT true!
In
fact, I stopped at a smoothie shop after I was done at the gym today
hoping to find a reasonably healthy smoothie, and as is almost always
the case, it was pretty much impossible to find any smoothies that were
made in a truly healthy way.
There are TWO major issues that I see at almost every single smoothie shop I've ever been to:
1. Death by Sugar!
Most
smoothies are absolutely LOADED with sugar... this comes not only from
the fruit juices and syrups used in many smoothie shops, but also the
frozen fruit purees that contain added sugars on top of the fruit sugar,
as well as the liquid bases that many smoothie shops use such as rice
milk (which is basically sugar water with no protein; I have no idea why
anybody thinks rice milk is healthy).
In fact, did you know that
an average smoothie at some of the most popular smoothie shops contain
as much as 80-120 grams of sugar...Ouch! If you don't know the math,
100 grams of sugar is a whopping 25 teaspoons... Just think that every
time you gulp down one of their supposed "healthy" smoothies, you could
be eating as much as 25 teaspoons of pure sugar. No wonder so many
struggle to lose any body fat while they think they're eating "healthy".
I've
found it almost impossible to avoid the extra sugar and carbs at most
smoothie shops, and aside from a few rare places that do it right, your
best bet is always to make smoothies at home and NOT at a smoothie
shop. Just use REAL frozen berries as the frozen part of your smoothie
and natural stevia if you need a little extra sweetness. And I either
use unsweetened almond milk as the base, or a grass-fed plain Kefir
mixed half and half with water (since most Kefirs are pretty thick to
use as a smoothie base)
2. Terrible protein sources used in smoothies with toxic chemicals
The
2nd MAJOR problem I find with almost all smoothie joints is that they
use terrible protein powders that are pretty much ALWAYS sweetened with
deadly artificial sweeteners.
Just ask to look at the
ingredients of the protein powder that the smoothie joint is using. I
guarantee you'll see either sucralose, aspartame, or acesulfame
potassium most of the time, all of which are artificial sweeteners that
are terrible for your health. As you know from this article,
sucralose (splenda) has even been shown to DAMAGE your gut flora
balance by killing off good bacteria that are responsible for dozens of
functions to keep your body and immune system healthy.
To make
things worse, most smoothie shop employees are clueless on what an
artificial sweetener even is... I'm not kidding! Just today, when I
stopped at my gym's smoothie shop, I asked the employee if the protein
powders they use in their smoothies have artificial sweeteners or if
they have any that use only natural sweeteners like stevia. He looked a
little confused, but replied that he "thinks" all of them are natural.
So I asked to see the bottle that they use, and sure enough... it
contained BOTH sucralose and acesulfame potassium. I chose to decline
any smoothies at this place, because they simply didn't have any healthy
options at all.
If you haven't tried it already, the protein
powder that I've been using for the last year, which is naturally
sweetened with a blend of non-caloric natural sweeteners, AND is the best-tasting protein I've ever had, is this protein here (shockingly tasty!)
Aside
from the artificially-sweetened protein powders that most smoothie
shops use, another problem is that many smoothie shops also use soy
protein, which is something you want to avoid if you want to lose fat.
Most soy protein comes from GMO soy, and also contains a high level of
both phytoestrogens and xenoestrogens, both of which can contribute to
hormonal issues in both men and women. I personally always stay away
from soy protein at all times. Remember, a little fermented soy like
miso occasionally is fine, but soy protein is the worst of the worst in
terms of concentrated estrogenic compounds.
So as you can see in
today's article, about 99% of most smoothie shop smoothies are a
disaster for your health, almost always using deadly artificial
sweeteners in the protein powders, and/or as much as 80-100 grams of
sugar with the syrups and sugary liquid bases that they use. You're
better off making them at home with just frozen berries, raw nuts,
kefir, unsweetened almond milk, a good naturally sweetened protein, and a
little stevia if you need any more sweetness to it.
My good friend Dr Jonny Bowden, has another warning about smoothies for you here.
PS -- if you liked today's article, please fwd this email on to any of your friends, family, or co-workers that would enjoy it.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer