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How Healthy Are Smoothies?

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Smoothies are not included in the Wheel of Five. They are sugary drinks. Drinking sugary drinks increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Drinking a smoothie does not fill you up as quickly as eating loose fruit or vegetables. In a short time, you will consume a lot of calories unnoticed.

Less quickly full from a smoothie
When you drink fruit and vegetables instead of eating, you feel less well when you are full. This is because you don’t have to chew and you drink a smoothie faster than if you eat the same amount of fruit or vegetables. A smoothie is, therefore, less satiating than loose fruit or vegetables.

How Much Sugar Are in Smoothies?
A 250-milliliter glass of smoothie quickly contains an amount of sugar that is comparable to 7 sugar cubes (30 grams of sugar). This is because smoothies often contain multiple servings of fruit and vegetables. When you drink smoothies, you get unnoticed a lot of sugar in a short time, and therefore a lot of calories. That can lead to obesity. Sugary drinks also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (diabetes). In the video below, we explain why you can eat fruit and vegetables better than drink them.

Do you still want a smoothie?
Four  tips if you ever make a smoothie:

  • Make the smoothie yourself. Ready-to-eat smoothies from the store often contain added sugar or juice. Making smoothies yourself without adding sugar or juice is therefore usually healthier.
  • Take a small portion: for example, use 100 grams of fruit. Do you also want to put vegetables in it? Then choose a vegetable that contains little sugar, such as spinach or kale. Optionally add low-fat or semi-skimmed yogurt.
  • Do not add sugar, honey, syrup, or juice.
  • Grab a spoon. You eat the smoothie more slowly, so you notice a little earlier if you are full.

Are there vitamins and fiber in smoothies?
A smoothie contains a lot of vitamins and fiber if you puree whole pieces of fruit and vegetables. Because oxygen is added during the mashing, some of the vitamin C is lost. The juice is often also added to a smoothie. Juice contains less fiber and nutrients than whole fruit.

What about vegetable smoothies?
Vegetables generally contain less sugar than fruit. Still, vegetable smoothies sometimes contain a lot of sugar. Some vegetables naturally contain sugar, such as tomato, beetroot, carrot, and rhubarb. In addition, vegetable smoothies often include pureed fruit or juice. In fact, in-store vegetable smoothies, fruit juice is sometimes the main ingredient. So vegetable smoothies are also sugary drinks. That is why you can also eat vegetables better than drink.

The elderly and people with malnutrition
Smoothies are an easy way to get nutrients for people who have trouble eating enough. For example, smoothies with dairy can be good for elderly people who have trouble eating and people with malnutrition. Make sure that the fruits you are using are fresh.

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