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

[Anonymous]

There is nothing healthy about eating 500% of your daily sugar allowance in a glass or a bowl for that matter for breakfast, right? So why do all these health influencers and models on social media constantly post this? My teen daughter is obsessed with smoothies because of these people.

[Anonymous]

Why is she putting that much sugar in a smoothie? It should be mostly protein.

[Anonymous]

I make a smoothie with a bunch of spinach, a banana, and a bunch of frozen mango. And water. I feel like it’s pretty healthy.

[Anonymous]

I agree they can be sugar bombs but try showing your kid how to make a balanced smoothie with additions of protein.

[Anonymous]

Like many foods smoothies can be full of healthy things or a treat. Many of them also have vegetables and protein.

[Anonymous]

Misconceptions like the idea that all sugar is bad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is she putting that much sugar in a smoothie? It should be mostly protein.

It's not added sugar, it's the fruit itself. When you blend it you're mainlining all that sugar into your bloodstream. And really, those pretty bowls overflowing with 5 servings of high-sugar fruit aren't much better.

[Anonymous]

It can be a big challenge to get enough fruits and veggies. I have a fast metabolism, I'm a healthy weight, I exercise, I like meat, so I get plenty of protein. But I do not like fruits and veggies. I just don't. I always have to force myself to eat them. Before I discovered smoothies, one fruit and one veggie in a day was a really good day for me, and I NEVER ate those leafy green veggies like spinach that have so many great nutrients.

Now I have a smoothie packed with fruits and dark leafy greens every day. It's easy, I remember, I don't mind it, and now I'm getting four servings of fruits and veggies a day without a problem.

Plus, some quick googling shows me that the standard recommendation is 50 g of sugar a day. Here are the fruits in my smoothies with their sugar amounts:

Apple: 19 g
Banana: 14 g
Avocado: 1 g
Strawberries, 2 cup: 14 g
Raspberries, 1 cup: 5 g
Blueberries, 1 cup: 15 g

Total is 68 g, and that makes four smoothies, so 17 g of fruit sugars a day. Totally and completely reasonable and packed with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. I don't know what kind of smoothies your daughter is eating, but I can't imagine that they have 250 g of sugar in them if she's making them at home. What's in them, Pepsi?? I feel like you're overreacting, or just have such a SUGAR = BAD complex that you think blueberries are basically candy. Or your daughter is making truly ridiculous smoothies.

[Anonymous]

There's nothing wrong with consuming sugar that is naturally in fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I make a smoothie with a bunch of spinach, a banana, and a bunch of frozen mango. And water. I feel like it’s pretty healthy.

Pulverizing/blending fruit rids it of fiber and you consume many more servings and calories when you get fruit in via smoothies. That’s why they can be unhealthy. It’s like drinking a quart of mango juice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is she putting that much sugar in a smoothie? It should be mostly protein.

It's not added sugar, it's the fruit itself. When you blend it you're mainlining all that sugar into your bloodstream. And really, those pretty bowls overflowing with 5 servings of high-sugar fruit aren't much better.

Your body needs sugar, better from fruit than candy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing wrong with consuming sugar that is naturally in fruit.

But you aren’t eating fruit. You are blending fruit up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make a smoothie with a bunch of spinach, a banana, and a bunch of frozen mango. And water. I feel like it’s pretty healthy.

Pulverizing/blending fruit rids it of fiber and you consume many more servings and calories when you get fruit in via smoothies. That’s why they can be unhealthy. It’s like drinking a quart of mango juice.

No, blended fruit still has the fiber present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I make a smoothie with a bunch of spinach, a banana, and a bunch of frozen mango. And water. I feel like it’s pretty healthy.

Pulverizing/blending fruit rids it of fiber and you consume many more servings and calories when you get fruit in via smoothies. That’s why they can be unhealthy. It’s like drinking a quart of mango juice.

....no, it’s not. Mango juice is not blended mango. It’s mango juice. Educate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing wrong with consuming sugar that is naturally in fruit.

But you aren’t eating fruit. You are blending fruit up.

So am I also not supposed to chew it?? You have some weird misconceptions about fruit