Thoughts on fruit smoothies? sugar content?

plor225
plor225 Posts: 13 Member
edited November 19 in Food and Nutrition
ive started having fruit smoothies for breakfast, as I usually have no time to sit and eat.
I quickly cut up fruit and put it in the blender and run out the door.
Do you think that the following is TOO much sugar? Or is it acceptable, given the nutrients involved?
One eighth of a pineapple
Two oranges
Frozen berries
Chopped up dates
Half of passion fruit
Ice

Thanks for your opinions!

Replies

  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    If it keeps you full tIL lunch, doesn't cause you to crash or get a headache, and fits into your calorie and macro goals, it's fine
  • plor225
    plor225 Posts: 13 Member
    Yeah it fills me up until lunch and makes me feel great! Was just concerned if I was having too much natural sugar in my diet.

    Thank you for your response :smile:
  • ProfessorPupil
    ProfessorPupil Posts: 76 Member
    Nah, don't worry about it. You might want to consider trying adding some mild greens though, like spinach. In my personal experience, a smoothie that is more green gives me a HUGE energy boost, better than coffee. :)
  • tiffanybrooks530
    tiffanybrooks530 Posts: 140 Member
    What I do to control the sugar is use fruits that have low surgar content...like berries mostly...and/or use very little citrus and dried fruit.
    here's a list of fruit with sugar content http://thepaleodiet.com/fruits-and-sugars/
  • shanteel612
    shanteel612 Posts: 434 Member
    VeridianDynamics wrote: »
    Nah, don't worry about it. You might want to consider trying adding some mild greens though, like spinach. In my personal experience, a smoothie that is more green gives me a HUGE energy boost, better than coffee. :)
    VeridianDynamics wrote: »
    Nah, don't worry about it. You might want to consider trying adding some mild greens though, like spinach. In my personal experience, a smoothie that is more green gives me a HUGE energy boost, better than coffee. :)

    I second the greens. Spinach is mild tasting so it is a good choice.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Would you ordinarily eat that much fruit in a day if it wasn't blended up in to a drink? Is it using up calories that could go to more nutrient dense vegies? Are you getting sufficient protein and fat?

    Your fruit smoothies are nearly 100% carbs. Personally I don't feel satisfied very long on that kind of meal, nor do I feel satisfied drinking my calories.

    When I did make smoothies, they'd be a few cups of leafy greens, celery, fresh herbs and one piece of fruit or 1/2 - 1 cup berries. I'd also incorporate fat (nut butter or avo) and protein powder to make it more balanced.
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    No..i don't even count natural sugar.
  • isulo_kura
    isulo_kura Posts: 818 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition that sugar is an issue don't worry about it. If anyone tells you to eat less fruit due to the sugar content run away. Fruit is great full of fibre and vitamins and tastes great
  • Agathokakological
    Agathokakological Posts: 136 Member
    isulo_kura wrote: »
    Unless you have a medical condition that sugar is an issue don't worry about it. If anyone tells you to eat less fruit due to the sugar content run away. Fruit is great full of fibre and vitamins and tastes great

    I agree, unless you shouldn't be eating an excess of sugar for a medical reason, natural sugar is not your enemy. Calories are calories. When I make a breakfast smoothie I use 6oz of frozen berries, 1/4 cup of oats, half a tbs of coconut oil, and water to get my desired consistency. Without the oats I'm hungry in an hour, but with them it keeps me full. So if you're worried about all of the fruit, sub a little out and try some oats. If you're not worried about it and it keeps you satisfied, then don't worry about it and do what's working for you.
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    I like fruit sometimes, tart ones especially!

    Kiwi cold, mmmm

    The main Blog had an article on the difference in glucose in fruit vs table sugar if you want to check it.


  • plor225
    plor225 Posts: 13 Member
    :) Thank you everyone
  • Sarasmaintaining
    Sarasmaintaining Posts: 1,027 Member
    TweetEscape wrote: »
    isulo_kura wrote: »
    Unless you have a medical condition that sugar is an issue don't worry about it. If anyone tells you to eat less fruit due to the sugar content run away. Fruit is great full of fibre and vitamins and tastes great

    I agree, unless you shouldn't be eating an excess of sugar for a medical reason, natural sugar is not your enemy. Calories are calories. When I make a breakfast smoothie I use 6oz of frozen berries, 1/4 cup of oats, half a tbs of coconut oil, and water to get my desired consistency. Without the oats I'm hungry in an hour, but with them it keeps me full. So if you're worried about all of the fruit, sub a little out and try some oats. If you're not worried about it and it keeps you satisfied, then don't worry about it and do what's working for you.

    never thought to put oats in my green smoothies-brilliant :) Going to try this next time!
  • Emilia777
    Emilia777 Posts: 978 Member
    I will chip in to second the sentiment that sugar doesn’t really matter, imo, as long as you’re hitting your macros. I’d also recommend you weigh the fruit, cause the calories do add up.

    I used to have smoothies for breakfast way back in the day (when I still thought I *have* to eat breakfast), and one thing I’d suggest is adding more to them than just fruit. I liked frozen spinach/kale, ground flaxseeds, greek yogurt, avocado.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    You should try adding in acouple cups of spinach or kale but make sure to switch your greens on a weekly basis. By the time it's all blended I can't taste any of the greens which are easily covered by 1 cup of fruit, whey protein is also another great additive which will give you some extra energy and keep you full longer. Plus that high protein content. The main concern would be the glycemic levels of all your fruits, higher glycemic rating will equal a greater insulin response which inturn can result in fat storage.
  • jessef593
    jessef593 Posts: 2,272 Member
    And unfortunately sugar is sugar, yes natural sugar has a much higher health rating, but the amount of carbs and sugars from high fruit content can be hard to keep up with even through exercise. Even with natural sugars you should not go above 150g in any given day, this isn't "in my opinion" but scientific fact found through hours of research.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    livingleanlivingclean wrote: »
    Would you ordinarily eat that much fruit in a day if it wasn't blended up in to a drink? Is it using up calories that could go to more nutrient dense vegies? Are you getting sufficient protein and fat?

    Your fruit smoothies are nearly 100% carbs. Personally I don't feel satisfied very long on that kind of meal, nor do I feel satisfied drinking my calories.

    When I did make smoothies, they'd be a few cups of leafy greens, celery, fresh herbs and one piece of fruit or 1/2 - 1 cup berries. I'd also incorporate fat (nut butter or avo) and protein powder to make it more balanced.

    Pretty much this. The sugar isn't an issue at all, unless you're diabetic, but the problem with such a high calorie/carb breakfast is that it's probably hard for you to meet your fat and protein goal.
  • ProfessorPupil
    ProfessorPupil Posts: 76 Member
    edited June 2015
    "TweetEscape wrote: »
    "When I make a breakfast smoothie I use 6oz of frozen berries, 1/4 cup of oats, half a tbs of coconut oil, and water to get my desired consistency. Without the oats I'm hungry in an hour, but with them it keeps me full. So if you're worried about all of the fruit, sub a little out and try some oats.


    Why have I never thought of this??!?!! You just made my day!

  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
    Unless you have diabetes, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, or PCOS, there's no reason to worry about sugar.
  • Mrsfreedom41
    Mrsfreedom41 Posts: 330 Member
    My Dr. told me not to worry about natural sugars in fruit. I don't have any condition that I need to watch natural sugar consumption.
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  • babbsisthebest
    babbsisthebest Posts: 18 Member
    Add some nut butter for protein and some ground flax seed for fiber and omega 3. Flax is very filling as well. I only use a table spoon of peanut butter. I also add 1 tbs old fashion oats.
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