Smoothies? How healthy are they really?
- By:Todd Scott
Not long ago I did a bit of research on the biggest smoothie retailers in the country. Most of you who know me understand that I’m not a low carb advocate in any sense of the word. However, I am not high carb promoter either.
First off, your body needs carbohydrates to function. It's what our body prefers for fuel. Secondly, they give us energy to complete everyday tasks. Carbohydrates aren’t what adds fat. The enemy is misinformation. For example, in the late 80’s and early 90’s the FDA began promoting that fat was the cause of obesity. The next thing you know, everything from keebler elves to snack wells began placing low or fat free on their labels. This was the key, less fat equals less FAT. So to keep the taste consistent, food manufacturers replaced the fat in their foods with sugar. Then about 7 years later after examining the state of our nation’s health and realizing that America is fatter than its ever been before, the FDA made a U-Turn. They concluded that fat in foods must not be the real cause of obesity, it’s got to be the sugar! Here come the promotions, low carb ketchup, low carb spaghetti sauce (gotta love that one-what exactly do you use spaghetti sauce for?), low carb popsicles, low carb cheese, low carb cookies, low carb chips, low carb bread, low carb pizza, and I just heard on the radio that a popular pizza chain is promoting “pizza in a bucket”: all the pizza toppings mixed in a metal bucket, Whamo! Low carb, low carb, low carb. . . .
Here’s the new statistics: America is STILL fat despite the ‘low carb’ craze!
This is not exactly a healthy lifestyle and it will only be around for a short period. Mark my word.
Now, the information I’m about to share with you is based on carbohydrate count. I don’t want you to think that I’m actually anti-carb, that’s not the case. When you consume the things that we are about to discover, your body can only do three things, STORE IT AS FAT, use it to replenish glycogen stores, or use it for immediate energy.
Just recently researched {over|}}} 57 different types of smoothie drinks from one of the largest smoothie retailers in the country that promote their product to help you lose fat. Of those 57 smoothies Thirty (30) of them contained more than 80 grams of carbohydrates (mostly simple sugar) and only Four (4) contained less than 41 grams of carbohydrates!
This is calculated using a 20 oz. serving. To calculate 32 and 40 oz. servings multiply by 1.5 and 2 respectively. Ok. ready? . . .
32 oz serving- 30 smoothies with 120 grams of carbohydrates!
40 oz serving- 30 smoothies with 160 grams of carbohydrates!
How many times do you actually order the smallest size, especially when it’s perceived as a fat loss aid?
Now, let’s say that you don’t already know this and you begin on a path to a Lean Life. Smoothie promotions catch your eye and you think, “Hey, I can just drink a few of those a day and my problems will be solved.” Nuh uh. Now let’s say you decide to drink 3 per day and you unknowingly choose one of the 30 smoothies that contain 80 grams of carbohydrates. When you consume this drink all three things we talked about earlier will happen: Assuming you are in somewhat of a glycogen depleted state, muscle tissue and organs will be replenished first. The next thing that happens will be for your body to use them for immediate energy requirements, and the left overs will be (you guessed it!) stored as FAT! Now there are only 2 meals per day that you should even come close to consuming 80 grams of carbohydrates, assuming that you live an active lifestyle. Those meals are the first meal of the day and your post workout meal with the post workout meal containing a higher percentage of carbs than your first meal. The reason for this is that these are the times that your body is in its most severe state of glycogen depletion.
Ok, I know what you’re thinking, “I thought you weren’t anti-carb.” Again, I’m not anti-carb. If you have read any of my previous articles, I explain what high consummation of carbohydrates does to your fat burning capability. The insulin output in turn shuts down your fat releasing hormone. So no matter what you do, your body is temporarily prevented from burning fat!
It sounds like you are saying to stay away from carbs? Nope, not at all. It isn’t the carbohydrates that make us fat, it’s the shutting down of the fat burning capability that is caused by not consuming them with protein or some type of good fat as this slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream preventing a surge of insulin from being released.
Stabilizing your insulin levels is the key. You can do this by consuming moderate amounts of carbohydrates combined with a lean protein every 3-3.5 hours. The frequent eating keeps your insulin levels stable by giving it consistent amounts of food. Adding a lean protein or a good fat to the mix slows the absorption of glucose into your blood stream preventing a tremendous spike in insulin levels and a dramatic consequence: Shutting down fat burning capability.