Are smoothies good or bad for you?

TMOEPW
TMOEPW Posts: 1
in Food and Nutrition
I've recently been trying bulletproof coffee and it's great. Since then I've been using my blender a LOT! I've been blending up Kale and also making fruit smoothies lately.

For the Strawberry Banana smoothie I put: Ice, 1 cup of milk, 5 strawberries, and 1 banana. Then I just blend it and it tastes amazing! Makes 2 cups. Now I'm pretty sure it's not bad but is it good for me?

Replies

  • DaveneGfit
    DaveneGfit Posts: 338 Member
    Smoothies are great! But for me when I started doing smoothies I put on about 10 pounds within the first month because of the high sugar. So I would be careful and just watch and see how your body does
  • drop_it_like_a_squat
    drop_it_like_a_squat Posts: 377 Member
    Smoothies are great! But for me when I started doing smoothies I put on about 10 pounds within the first month because of the high sugar. So I would be careful and just watch and see how your body does

    That's just not true. You gained weight because you ate more than your body burned. Not because of the sugar. Sugar = carbs.

    Why should a smoothie be bad for you? Would it be bad if you just drank a cup of milk and ate 5 strawberries and 1 banana? No. As long as you hit your macro targets and you get enough fiber and micros you're fine.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
    Smoothies are great! But for me when I started doing smoothies I put on about 10 pounds within the first month because of the high sugar. So I would be careful and just watch and see how your body does

    That's just not true. You gained weight because you ate more than your body burned. Not because of the sugar. Sugar = carbs.

    Why should a smoothie be bad for you? Would be bad if you just drank cup of milk and ate 5 strawberries and 1 banana? No. As long as you hit your macro targets and you get enough fiber and micros you're fine.

    Spot on.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
    The argument against smoothies is that you pack a lot of calories into what is, essentially, a drink, so it's easy to over consume. You would struggle to eat all that in the time it took you to drink it. People focus on the amount of sugar (and curiously seem to ignore all the good stuff) , which, it is claimed, is no different than table sugar, and can be as high as the sugar in soft drinks.

    I've read that the act of blending the food to liquid breaks it down so much that the sugars are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream causing an insulin spike you wouldn't get if you ate the food.

    I also read somewhere that the physical act of chewing contributes to our feeling of satiety. Something to do with how your brain works out you've had enough to eat.

    Personally, I think that, as long as it fits your calorie limit, and it helps you choose fruit/veg over coke/Pepsi, then it makes sense to have the smoothie.

    Having said that, I think jim beam would taste like crap in a smoothie.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
    They bad , you can die from them
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Try not to look at foods in terms of good and bad. As long as you account for the calories and enjoy drinking them then you'll be fine.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member

    Having said that, I think jim beam would taste like crap in a smoothie.

    I haven't tried a whiskey shake but I have some rum'n'raisin protein powder and it's pretty tasty!
  • RoyBeck
    RoyBeck Posts: 947 Member
    Try not to look at foods in terms of good and bad. As long as you account for the calories and enjoy drinking them then you'll be fine.

    Exactly this. Nothing is off limits people must understand this for sustained weight loss in my opinion.
  • 89nunu
    89nunu Posts: 1,082 Member
    The general rule is not use rotten fruit and milks that's gone off!
  • ujjz
    ujjz Posts: 24 Member
    I love banana smoothies. I add pumpkin seeds, greek yogurt, or whatever I have on hand to make it more nutritious.

    Add unsweetened cocoa powder. The sugar in the fruit and milk is enough to sweeten it.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I've recently been trying bulletproof coffee and it's great. Since then I've been using my blender a LOT! I've been blending up Kale and also making fruit smoothies lately.

    For the Strawberry Banana smoothie I put: Ice, 1 cup of milk, 5 strawberries, and 1 banana. Then I just blend it and it tastes amazing! Makes 2 cups. Now I'm pretty sure it's not bad but is it good for me?
    This smoothie sounds fine - it's *one* banana and five strawberries and a cup of milk - i'm thinking approximate 250-350 calories (depending on size of banana and what kind of milk). is that a meal? is that a snack? depends on how you look at it. does it fit into your daily numbers? that's the key.
  • Chiefkeef420
    Chiefkeef420 Posts: 11
    Use that as a meal replacement and you should be fine, they're a bit high calorie for a simple snack.
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    Use that as a meal replacement and you should be fine, they're a bit high calorie for a simple snack.


    Whether or not a smoothie is "a bit high calorie" would depend entirely on one's calorie goal.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    The argument against smoothies is that you pack a lot of calories into what is, essentially, a drink, so it's easy to over consume. You would struggle to eat all that in the time it took you to drink it. People focus on the amount of sugar (and curiously seem to ignore all the good stuff) , which, it is claimed, is no different than table sugar, and can be as high as the sugar in soft drinks.

    I've read that the act of blending the food to liquid breaks it down so much that the sugars are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream causing an insulin spike you wouldn't get if you ate the food.

    I also read somewhere that the physical act of chewing contributes to our feeling of satiety. Something to do with how your brain works out you've had enough to eat.

    Personally, I think that, as long as it fits your calorie limit, and it helps you choose fruit/veg over coke/Pepsi, then it makes sense to have the smoothie.

    Having said that, I think jim beam would taste like crap in a smoothie.


    Smoothies can be good as long as you measure them. If you want a good read on sugar, I would suggest the below link. It references some of the top people in nutrition and has links to their discussions.


    Personally, I don't drink smoothies but my wife loves them as she has a very active job and doesn't get to sit down to eat.
    http://www.fitnessbaddies.com/your-problem-with-sugar-is-the-problem-with-sugar/
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
    I have a smoothie every morning. Measure what you put in and make sure your counts are accurate. Mine comes in just under 300 calories and is my biggest carb source of the day. I added smoothies about half way through this weight loss process and they don't seem to have affected my rate of loss at all.

    Probably because my smoothie is my only source of sugar all day, I really look forward to it.
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,170 Member
    i love smoothies!
    mine are normally around 500 calories but thats the way i like them :D
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    They bad , you can die from them
    True, everyone who has ever drank a smoothie has, or will eventually, die.
  • eric_sg61
    eric_sg61 Posts: 2,925 Member
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  • walterm852
    walterm852 Posts: 409 Member
    In the morning after a tough workout, I love smoothies for a few reasons
    1) packed with ice, they help cool me down so I stop perspiring before shower
    2) Protein powder, banana, spoon of peanut butter, sometimes kale is organized nutrition after workout
    3) Taste great and quick so I can get going

    I like them at night too, I can take frozen pineapple, add ice and make a low cal frozen treat when I feel like I need something. It used to be ice cream ... this is way better for me
  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
    The argument against smoothies is that you pack a lot of calories into what is, essentially, a drink, so it's easy to over consume. You would struggle to eat all that in the time it took you to drink it. People focus on the amount of sugar (and curiously seem to ignore all the good stuff) , which, it is claimed, is no different than table sugar, and can be as high as the sugar in soft drinks.

    I've read that the act of blending the food to liquid breaks it down so much that the sugars are more easily absorbed into the bloodstream causing an insulin spike you wouldn't get if you ate the food.

    I also read somewhere that the physical act of chewing contributes to our feeling of satiety. Something to do with how your brain works out you've had enough to eat.

    Personally, I think that, as long as it fits your calorie limit, and it helps you choose fruit/veg over coke/Pepsi, then it makes sense to have the smoothie.

    Having said that, I think jim beam would taste like crap in a smoothie.

    This, I personally don't even register it as food, it's a drink just like coke would be so I still want food... For me, it becomes unsatisfying calories. Not bad, but not worthwhile, I'd rather eat a cookie....
  • moonbugs
    moonbugs Posts: 1
    A calorie is not a calorie anymore. The problem is sugar without fiber. Fat Chance by Robert H. Lustig is a good book to start with. He is also against smoothies and makes a good point. Here is his video that goes with the book, which also explains why a calorie is no longer a calorie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    Like damn near everything else, I'm betting smoothies are good or bad for you based on your individual reaction to them.

    I just had an experience with this over a few days with fruit smoothies, including a 30 hour period with just fruit smoothies. It was nice fuel for my workouts, but afterward I crashed and burned. Not hungry, surprisingly, I could just could feel that I had too much sugar and nothing much else in my system. I got a little lightheaded and a lot cranky.

    Funny thing is, I go 30+ hours a couple days a week with zero food and I don't get lightheaded or cranky.

    I'll still drink smoothies. But I'm not going to go long stretches on just a smoothie again.
  • mommy22alyns
    mommy22alyns Posts: 25 Member
    I have a 300 calorie smoothie for my lunch about half the time. I've been steadily losing weight with it. For me, it's a meal, not a drink.

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