Be healthy, don’t add sugar
Put down the smoothie — it’s probably what’s keeping you fat. Juicing’s creamy cousin has been embraced as a healthy snack or meal substitute, largely thanks to celebs such as Kim Kardashian and Gwyneth Paltrow touting them as super detoxers and weight-loss miracle workers.
It’s true that smoothies — which often blend together fruits, veggies, dairy products (or their almond/coconut/soy milk substitutes), herbs and spices — can be great for people who wouldn’t eat enough produce otherwise.
But the problem is, some decidedly unhealthy diet sabotages also get tossed into that blender, especially in super-sized store-bought concoctions. “Smoothies often end up being glorified milkshakes,” warns Tanya Zuckerbrot, registered dietitian and founder of the F-Factor diet. “All it takes is a look at the Jamba Juice menu to realize just how slippery of a slope ordering a seemingly innocent smoothie can be,” she adds, noting a medium Banana Protein Smoothie from the juice chain packs 570 calories, 23 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbs and 49 grams of sugar.
“To put that in perspective: Calorically, you’re better off having a McDonald’s Big Mac (540 calories),” she says. “In terms of carbohydrates, you’re better off having TWO Starbucks Butter Croissants (28 grams each). A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola even has less sugar (39 grams).”
Sweeteners are the biggest dietbusters that get mixed up in smoothies. “People tend to unconsciously add too much sugar from additional sweeteners such as honey or agave, sugar water and/or juice,” says Jessica Shapiro, a registered dietitian at Montefiore.
And it’s not just the hidden calories and additives that are tipping the scale against you. Sipping a liquid — even one as thick as a smoothie — doesn’t satisfy your hunger the same way eating solid food does. So you’ll end up eating even more later. Studies show that people who drink the beverage form of a carb-rich food end up scarfing down 12% more calories overall than if they’d simply eaten the food in its solid form.
Science also shows that smoothies spike your blood sugar more than eating the individual ingredient does, since the blending process reduces a fruit or veggie’s fiber and lets the sugar hit the blood stream faster. That sugar rush makes you get hungry again — and snack again — sooner.
But if you can’t stomach the thought of actually chewing your kale, the secret to a healthy, well-balanced smoothie is keeping it simple. Just mix high-fiber fruit and vegetables, a protein (or protein powder) and ice.
Just don’t exceed 1½ cups of fruit, as it can pack a lot of sugar. And stick to two portions of protein at the most, which can also layer on calories. Skip adding any sweeteners, including honey and agave, sweetened almond/soy milk, or sweetened flavored yogurts, especially if you have already added fruit.