Is one of the biggest health food misconceptions the obsession with smoothies and bowls of fruit?

[Anonymous]

No one ever got fat eating just fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an early juicer devotee. Recommended by my osteopath.

Had to stop because the smoothies were making my blood sugar spike and I’d become queasy. I was juicing apples, kale, carrots

Numerous posters have noted that juicing is not the same as making smoothies. Juicing removes all the fiber in a fruit; smoothies keep all the fiber and you ingest it. Drinking juice is very different than drinking a smoothie.

You still have the same amount of sugar. Added fiber won't reduce that amount or significantly slow down that sugar absorption. Smoothies do cause sugar spikes almost the same way as juices.
But you do you. Go ahead, start your day with sugar bomb. And later join 50% of Americans with metabolic issues (type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance (metabolic syndrome))

I drink a smoothie almost every day. One banana, and 140 grams of other fruit, plus greens, protein, milk sub, and hemp seeds. Is this a lot of sugar? I have no metabolic diseases whatsoever, thin, and exercise a lot. Good blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is getting fat off of fruit. Jeez.

You're wrong

NP here. I would actually be really interested in seeing a legitimate study about this, so if you have a citation that would be great. Thanks!

DP. I certainly don’t have a citation, but for those of us who are already overweight, sugar is sugar. Yes, the fruit comes with fiber and vitamins and minerals, but that sugar hit still spikes the blood sugar for some.

You didn’t get fat from fruit. You might stay fat because of too much sugar, but apples didn’t get you there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an early juicer devotee. Recommended by my osteopath.

Had to stop because the smoothies were making my blood sugar spike and I’d become queasy. I was juicing apples, kale, carrots

Numerous posters have noted that juicing is not the same as making smoothies. Juicing removes all the fiber in a fruit; smoothies keep all the fiber and you ingest it. Drinking juice is very different than drinking a smoothie.

You still have the same amount of sugar. Added fiber won't reduce that amount or significantly slow down that sugar absorption. Smoothies do cause sugar spikes almost the same way as juices.
But you do you. Go ahead, start your day with sugar bomb. And later join 50% of Americans with metabolic issues (type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance (metabolic syndrome))

Are you unaware that fiber blunts the glycemic index?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is getting fat off of fruit. Jeez.

You're wrong

NP here. I would actually be really interested in seeing a legitimate study about this, so if you have a citation that would be great. Thanks!

DP. I certainly don’t have a citation, but for those of us who are already overweight, sugar is sugar. Yes, the fruit comes with fiber and vitamins and minerals, but that sugar hit still spikes the blood sugar for some.

You aren’t overweight from a sugar high after eating a piece of fruit.

[Anonymous]

They're the kind of thing that can be perfectly healthy but are also really dangerous for Americans writ large. Obviously if you are a healthy eater making a controlled smoothie at home, this may not be your problem, but for many people, yes, I've seen overweight people drink a HUGE smoothie from Robek's or Smoothie King in the name of health. Some of them are like a week's worth of sugar and up to 1300 calories. For people who think they are making a "healthy" choice, that's a big problem. Many people make them in a way they may as well be a dessert.

Another problem with the above is that often your body doesn't "recognize" liquid calories in the same way it recognizes solid, so as others have said, it is easier to consume a lot more when you are drinking it than if you ate each item individually.

I don't like smoothies and I never find them "worth it" because I like to chew my food and I don't care for sugar, including fruit, all that much. I eat tons and tons of vegetables and I don't really think I am deficient in much that I would NEED to really augment with tons of fruit. If I enjoyed it maybe? But the healthy ones are like a chore. I'd rather throw a few strawberries or mandarin slices onto a spinach salad and call it a day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so baffling - there are really people out there thinking fruit is bad and equating it to candy bars??? OP stop giving your poor daughter whatever eating disorder you have.

I can't believe people are so uneducated about basic nutrition.
Most people add a healthy protein and fat to their smoothie, along with fruit and plenty of leafy greens....so that will not spike your blood sugar.

I agree with your first sentence.

But plenty of people do not add protein and fat to their smoothie - just read the combos posted on this thread, most often described as fruit, water or almond milk (low fat and little protein unless artificially added) and ice. Some people have said they add protein powder, but I personally wouldn’t call that “healthy protein.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is so baffling - there are really people out there thinking fruit is bad and equating it to candy bars??? OP stop giving your poor daughter whatever eating disorder you have.

I can't believe people are so uneducated about basic nutrition.
Most people add a healthy protein and fat to their smoothie, along with fruit and plenty of leafy greens....so that will not spike your blood sugar.

I agree with your first sentence.

But plenty of people do not add protein and fat to their smoothie - just read the combos posted on this thread, most often described as fruit, water or almond milk (low fat and little protein unless artificially added) and ice. Some people have said they add protein powder, but I personally wouldn’t call that “healthy protein.”

I usually use unflavored whey protein. One scoop has 24 g of protein and 2 g of sugar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They're the kind of thing that can be perfectly healthy but are also really dangerous for Americans writ large. Obviously if you are a healthy eater making a controlled smoothie at home, this may not be your problem, but for many people, yes, I've seen overweight people drink a HUGE smoothie from Robek's or Smoothie King in the name of health. Some of them are like a week's worth of sugar and up to 1300 calories. For people who think they are making a "healthy" choice, that's a big problem. Many people make them in a way they may as well be a dessert.

Another problem with the above is that often your body doesn't "recognize" liquid calories in the same way it recognizes solid, so as others have said, it is easier to consume a lot more when you are drinking it than if you ate each item individually.

I don't like smoothies and I never find them "worth it" because I like to chew my food and I don't care for sugar, including fruit, all that much. I eat tons and tons of vegetables and I don't really think I am deficient in much that I would NEED to really augment with tons of fruit. If I enjoyed it maybe? But the healthy ones are like a chore. I'd rather throw a few strawberries or mandarin slices onto a spinach salad and call it a day.

For me, smoothies work very well for my breakfast. I gain weight when I don’t eat breakfast and end up eating crap all day since I skipped breakfast. I would love to be able to make it healthy breakfast at home every morning, but it typically does not happen as I’m rushing to get kids ready for school and me out the door.
It is easy for me to make a smoothie. I typically drink it on my drive into work, very slowly. I usually still have some of it to finish by the time I’m at work.
Smoothies make me feel full, so I do not snack.
That said, most smoothies sold at various restaurants are loaded with sugars and carbohydrates. These really are desserts. And most people drink them very quickly, like it’s a milkshake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one is getting fat off of fruit. Jeez.

You're wrong

NP here. I would actually be really interested in seeing a legitimate study about this, so if you have a citation that would be great. Thanks!

DP. I certainly don’t have a citation, but for those of us who are already overweight, sugar is sugar. Yes, the fruit comes with fiber and vitamins and minerals, but that sugar hit still spikes the blood sugar for some.

So maybe you're getting fatter from fruit? Still nobody is getting fat from fruit. Stop taking your particular situation and thinking fruit is bad. Geez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at it this way. On Weight Watchers, fruit, pieces of fruit is unlimited in quantity. You can eat as much hand fruit as you want, bananas included. Eating whole fruit fills you and provides fiber.

But you can’t take the fruit and make smoothies with it. Why? You destroy the fiber, you destroy the filling serving of food in your stomach, and you eat many more servings with a huge sugar rush.

Let's all take diet advice from someone who needs Weight Watchers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I toss some frozen fruit into a blender along with other stuff and blend it up. Someone please tell me where the fiber goes if not in my mouth and then my stomach.

Did you watch The Leftovers? It's like that. The fiber is Departed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one ever got fat eating just fruit.

I was about to type exactly this, word for word. I dont do smoothies much, but when I do it's fruit and greek yogurt. A little almond milk to thin it out. No extra sugar. Of all the horrible things people eat, this isn't one of them.

[Anonymous]

I do either a smoothie or a good amount of fruit every single day. I've lost and kept off 100 pounds. I'm really not concerned about how or not fruit is.

[Anonymous]

I got fat from fruit!! GRAPEs. Well, fermented grape JUICE. And then I would eat chips and junk food and stuff. But yeah, it was the FRUIT.