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Green smoothies = bad, according to Happy Herbivore


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What do you guys think of this article? For awhile now I've found her "scientific health claims" annoying, as usually there is no actual science anywhere in sight, but I feel like this is taking it to a new level. I'm not attacking her personally, but there are a lot of claims in the post that don't seem to have a basis in reality - like chewing a salad burning 100 calories.

 

I'd be happy to hear other people's thoughts.

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My thoughts are that green smoothies rule! Hey, if someone is saying something profoundly ludicrous, you know what to do: smirk, do an about face, and move quietly and confidently in the direction of sane people. Don't give the nut bag another thought. Focusing too long and intently on weirdos will give you a headache, a heartache, and an unusually strong craving for primetime television.

 

Relax and have a green smoothie.

 

Baby Herc

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Oh, I was relaxed. I was just interested in what other folks thought. I wasn't asking because I was looking for advice.

 

It wasn't my intention to offend. I was aiming at lighthearted sarcasm directed at the article writer.

 

Baby Herc

 

ha, oh geez, I didn't mean to sound offended to your post. Sorry, now that I re-read my post it does sound bitchy, but that wasn't my intention at all! I just meant that I wasn't asking to get feedback for myself, I just wondered what others thought about the benefits of chewing vs. blending.

 

Personally I think it's poppycock to say a green smoothie should be thought of as a milkshake and only consumed on a very rare basis as a treat. I love me my smoothies!

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I laughed while reading this. Thanks for the laugh

 

I love green smoothies and juices. Sure fruit juices in my opinion aren't the healthiest but veggies juices are awesome for my health.

The blender does a better job than my chewing, I think I get more out of the food when I blend them, I still chew my green smoothies a bit because I love the taste.

Nothing beats eating foods in their whole state though its the best of the best, monomeals are great too but I don't think green smoothies are bad for my health.

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Truth be told, I hadn't even read the article because my Full-of-Crap-O-Meter was burying the needle. I just went back and read it and, Glory be, wouldn't you know it? I was completely right.

 

Paging Dr. Campbell:

 

Every statement you made is easily--and I mean easily--refuted. Fiber too finely broken down because it's blended, not chewed? What do you do, swallow your fruit whole? If you chew, you're breakin' it down, fella. It's called a smoothie because it's thick and it's thick because it's packed with suspended fiber. Back to eight grade physics with you.

 

Not enough saliva to digest it properly? Take smaller sips; stop imitating a summer cola commercial by tipping it back like a volleyball player on the beach. Smoothies are more fun when they're savored, anyway. If it doesn't taste good enough to savor, you're not makin' it right. Experiment until you look forward to your Blender Time every day. Life is too short for nasty smoothies. I'm gonna put that on a bumpersticker.

 

Smoothies are solid sugar? Duh--depends on what you put in them, Mr. Science. I've always thought a "smoothie" was when you put the apple in the blender and a "juice" was when you put the apple in the juicer. What, do you open a carton of Minute Maid, upend it over tub of fruit on the bottom yogurt, and hit "Pulse?" That ain't a legal smoothie. I've always used whole fruit. As a matter of fact, the aforementioned apple goes right into my blender unscathed by knives. I only remove the stem and the organic sticker from the peel. A good blender fears no seeds; a good smoothie needs no sweeteners.

 

I really don't think anybody in a bodybuilding forum is gonna give a rat's patootie about a measly 100 calorie discrepancy just because they swallowed their fruit instead of working up a sweat chewing it. Heck, I'm burning more than 100 calories pounding out this love letter to you right now, Herr Doktor. Wanna score an extra 100 calories? Pick up the weights that other people left laying around the weightroom and put them back where they belong in between your sets. Nothing bad about that. And you can celebrate with a green smoothie.

 

Gasp! Smoothies are 400 to 800 calories? Well, clutch the pearls, I sure as peanuts hope they are! This is a bodybuilding community, Sir. Our daily challenge is finding enough fuel to keep our super powered engines gunned. Athletes live in a rarified zone of high performance workouts and high performance food. Otherwise, why would anybody come up with bizarre things like powdered protein and Goo? Criminy, if I drank a mere 200 calorie smoothie before working out, I'd have to run home twice for more before the end of my workout just to keep my stomach from rumbling. Luckily, I live across the street from my gym...hmmm....

 

Dr. Campbell, I think you got a skewed sense of nutritional reality by watching non-athletes file in and out of a Jamba Juice or something. Yes, some smoothies are glorified ice cream sodas. Yes, many people shovel it in without thinking. Yes, low calorie is the way to go if you lead a sedentary life and own no gym clothes.

 

But this is Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness. So, stick that in your blender and puree it.

 

Baby Herc

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Personally I think there's some truth to some of it.

 

I do think that it's better for the sugar in fruits to have a good mechanical interaction with saliva. Saliva exists for a reason, and that is to help digest sugars. When we drink juice or drink smashed up fruits and liquid, it makes sense to give it a good swish before swallowing. Saliva is good for other things too, like when you are mad at people... what?

 

I don't know about the fiber business in blended smoothies. It seems like the blender would have to be pretty damn strong to render all that fiber useless. I don't think most regular blenders are that good.

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That's an interesting point viva. I think I read somewhere that Dr. Campbell (or it might have been Dr. Esselstyn, I don't remember) said that Vita Mixes were the worst and you shouldn't use one for that very reason - they work TOO well.

 

I think at the end of the day if a green smoothie means you are getting greens and fruits that you wouldn't otherwise be eating, they're a wonderful thing. Maybe it would be better if you actually chewed all of that food, I don't know. But I do know for myself it allows me to get greens in at breakfast. Breakfast salads just aren't my thing - props to those that eat them.

 

I think Herc has a good point too - it really depends on your goals. Not everyone wants to follow a low calorie diet. If you are trying to get in lots of nutritious calories for bodybuilding or some other such thing, it makes sense that you would want dense nutrition like that.

 

I feel like there are shades of grey here and the article is trying to make it black and white (i.e., smoothies are like milkshakes and BAD, eating salads GOOD). Food for thought anyway.

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BH, that was so amazing i'm clutching my synthetic pearls with laughter.

 

There is no way I would ever just sit down with a glass of almond milk, a banana, 3-4 cups of spinach, a scoop of protein powder (that is probably also horrible for me) and go to town. That would also take a lot longer. Sometimes after I workout, or if i'm busy doing chores around the house, I don't even WANT to eat but I know I should, so I make a green smoothie.

 

I don't use any added sweeteners either, and my almond milk is unsweetened, so i'm not consuming any extra sugar in the glass than I would by eating everything outside of the blender.

 

But I am not trying to maintain a 1200 calorie diet devoid of oil, avocados, nuts, or seeds, so what do I know.

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I think at the end of the day if a green smoothie means you are getting greens and fruits that you wouldn't otherwise be eating, they're a wonderful thing.

Exactly! I have a smoothie for breakfast every weekday. It's just water, fruit, veg, and protein powder. Through it I start my day with a few handfuls of spinach, half an apple, half a pear, half a banana, and a handful of blueberries, plus 25g of protein. If I weren't having my smoothie, I wouldn't be sitting down and starting my day eating that same food. I'd be having a bowl of cereal in soya milk or something.

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Truth be told, I hadn't even read the article because my Full-of-Crap-O-Meter was burying the needle. I just went back and read it and, Glory be, wouldn't you know it? I was completely right.

 

Paging Dr. Campbell:

 

Every statement you made is easily--and I mean easily--refuted. Fiber too finely broken down because it's blended, not chewed? What do you do, swallow your fruit whole? If you chew, you're breakin' it down, fella. It's called a smoothie because it's thick and it's thick because it's packed with suspended fiber. Back to eight grade physics with you.

 

Not enough saliva to digest it properly? Take smaller sips; stop imitating a summer cola commercial by tipping it back like a volleyball player on the beach. Smoothies are more fun when they're savored, anyway. If it doesn't taste good enough to savor, you're not makin' it right. Experiment until you look forward to your Blender Time every day. Life is too short for nasty smoothies. I'm gonna put that on a bumpersticker.

 

Smoothies are solid sugar? Duh--depends on what you put in them, Mr. Science. I've always thought a "smoothie" was when you put the apple in the blender and a "juice" was when you put the apple in the juicer. What, do you open a carton of Minute Maid, upend it over tub of fruit on the bottom yogurt, and hit "Pulse?" That ain't a legal smoothie. I've always used whole fruit. As a matter of fact, the aforementioned apple goes right into my blender unscathed by knives. I only remove the stem and the organic sticker from the peel. A good blender fears no seeds; a good smoothie needs no sweeteners.

 

I really don't think anybody in a bodybuilding forum is gonna give a rat's patootie about a measly 100 calorie discrepancy just because they swallowed their fruit instead of working up a sweat chewing it. Heck, I'm burning more than 100 calories pounding out this love letter to you right now, Herr Doktor. Wanna score an extra 100 calories? Pick up the weights that other people left laying around the weightroom and put them back where they belong in between your sets. Nothing bad about that. And you can celebrate with a green smoothie.

 

Gasp! Smoothies are 400 to 800 calories? Well, clutch the pearls, I sure as peanuts hope they are! This is a bodybuilding community, Sir. Our daily challenge is finding enough fuel to keep our super powered engines gunned. Athletes live in a rarified zone of high performance workouts and high performance food. Otherwise, why would anybody come up with bizarre things like powdered protein and Goo? Criminy, if I drank a mere 200 calorie smoothie before working out, I'd have to run home twice for more before the end of my workout just to keep my stomach from rumbling. Luckily, I live across the street from my gym...hmmm....

 

Dr. Campbell, I think you got a skewed sense of nutritional reality by watching non-athletes file in and out of a Jamba Juice or something. Yes, some smoothies are glorified ice cream sodas. Yes, many people shovel it in without thinking. Yes, low calorie is the way to go if you lead a sedentary life and own no gym clothes.

 

But this is Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness. So, stick that in your blender and puree it.

 

Baby Herc

 

 

I'M NOT WORTHY I'M NOT WORTHY!!! You are my new idol!!! I love picking up after everyone at the gym and putting the weights away I love my green smoothies although I am guilty of adding Simply Orange orange juice..... But mine is loaded full of other yummy goodies

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adding Simply Orange orange juice..... But mine is loaded full of other yummy goodies

 

When the oranges I'm using are a little on the pithy, bland side, I'll drop in a dollop of organic orange juice concentrate to bump it up, but only in desperation or when I need a little extra sugar. Like on a leg day.

 

Baby Herc

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I say if it helps you get in more produce, it's a keeper. Most of the stuff offered at Jamba Juice and Smoothie King are not worth it. But a green smoothie or juice from my kitchen or a fab raw place in town are fantastic. Smoothies don't always have to be pseudo milkshakes.

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Wish I'd seen this sooner, I could have used a few good laughs last week (especially thanks to Herc and her awesome response to the article!)

 

Like I say often 'round these parts, there's always people in the vegan community who need to "stir up controversy" in order to draw attention to their websites, blogs, etc. by coming up with semi-junk science just for the sake of increasing visibility and web traffic. I take the article as being along those lines based on what I was able to see.

 

Anyone who makes a blanket statement of inferring that green smoothies in general are like eating a milkshake obviously either has ZERO concept of how to make a decent healthy smoothie without turning it into a health disaster, or, is simply just saying a bunch of b.s. to see what responses they'll get (again, to simply drive up web traffic and get more attention, which for some will translate to more advertising revenue dollars in the end).

 

I was going to type out a lot of ranting and raving to continue to pick apart the absurdities in the article's logic that are so terribly obvious, but it's hardly worth the effort. Let's just hope it hasn't convinced people who were drinking otherwise healthy green smoothies to abandon their drinks in favor of something less beneficial, such as the old bowl of cereal and soy milk....

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Wish I'd seen this sooner, I could have used a few good laughs last week (especially thanks to Herc and her awesome response to the article!)

 

As long as we're sharing the love, Ryan, I will point out that Vegan Essentials was posted clearly by somebody as a go-to source for vegan calimari on my local New Seasons Questions and Answers Board.

 

Baby Herc

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