Is smoothie king bad for you?

Do you have that one friend who starts every day with a green smoothie and makes you feel like a failure for starting your day with a bagel? Well, let me tell you – this might actually be good news for you. Before diving into the specifics of whether or not Smoothie King is bad for you (Spoiler alert: It’s complicated), we need to first establish what exactly smoothies are.

What Are Smoothies?

According to Merriam-Webster, a smoothie is “a creamy beverage made of fruit blended with juice, milk, or yogurt.” Sounds healthy enough, right? Sure! Unless of course, it’s packed with more sugar than an Oompa Loompa convention.

However, at their core (aka from where they originated) Smoothies were marketed towards health-conscious people looking to up their nutrient game by sipping on something full of fruits and veggies.

Sounds great so far. But over time things started getting out-of-whack…

The Birth Of ‘Smoothicidal’ Drinks

Slowly but surely oily nuts/seeds/butter began being added on top/ in the middle instead of vegetables such as spinach/kale/carrots etc., protein powders became standardised across most recipes which then leads to nutritionally lopsided drinks that could easily do more harm than good if your understanding wasn’t too savvy about balance; hence making different types become known simply as ‘smoothicidal’ drinks!

Ever heard someone mention how unhealthy some smoothies can be because they’re packed fuller than Elvis before his deathbed demise or whatever they say in Texas).

You know those kinds… ones loaded with enough marshmallows/candy/caramel sauce/sugary syrup/glazed donut chunks/pink energy drink V8 concoctions/counts-as-a-meal junk that it’s no longer drinkable without a straw made entirely of insulin. Aka, Smoothie King.

Smoothies 101: Are They Really Healthy?

So here’s the million-dollar question – Are smoothies actually good for you? The short answer is YES – AND NO!

Confusing much? Let me explain it to you in simpler terms (I’ll try my best).

Yes, Because…

  • Fruit and veggies are great sources of fiber that keep you full and aids digestion which helps build immunity
  • Fruits are packed with Vitamins C and E
  • Vegetables like spinach/kale/carrots have Vitamin K12 necessary for blood clotting/heart function etc.
  • Protein powders can help muscle growth/recovery after exercise

No, Because…

You know what else fruits such as pineapple contain besides vitamins right… SUGAR!

“Glory hallelujah!” says Sweet Tooth Satan sitting all cozily on your shoulder.

Herein lies the problem; Sugar creates added calories with no real nutrition benefits leading to people consuming more sugar than their bodies need so then we find ourselves worrying over weight gain or worse diseases linked with overconsumption.

One way many stores mask this huge amount of sugar in each drink is by claiming “no added sugars.” Sure enough though these drinks still contain naturally occurring sugar from fruit/juices/honey Dates etc… (which fun fact contains 15% more carbohydrates as table sugar).

Pretty clever tactic those marketing gurus came up with!

Another side effect of drinking too many sugary drinks is tooth decay. Who wants THAT dentist bill?

Lastly, some protein powders use artificial sweeteners despite claims they’re ‘natural’ either because the brands wish to mask a bitter taste/add flavor variety or even simply justify higher prices; whatever their reasons may be there has been numerous research showing how detrimental these types are especially when consumed daily/frequently (and yes this includes natural sugar substitutes like Stevia/Aspartame).

The Lowdown On Smoothie King

Let’s look at the elephant in the room – Smoothie King.

According to its website, “Smoothie King’s mission is to inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Our goal is to help each customer become better, one smoothie at a time.”

Noble words indeed!

But does anyone really know what goes into these “nutritious beverages?” I mean…nothing on their menu screams wholesome!

What You’re Getting In A Small (20 Oz) Pineapple Surf®

Ingredients:

  • Pineapple Juice Blend
  • Vanilla Nonfat Yogurt
  • Mango Sorbet
  • Papaya Juice Blend
  • Turbinado

Calories: 270 | Protein: 4g | Total Fat: .5g | Total Carbohydrate 65g

The ingredients don’t seem too bad if we don’t take turbinado into account (a kind of unrefined sugar); …aaaannndd then you see it piled high under calories! See? It creeps up on ya without warning just like those silly clown jump scares popping onto our screens!

Enlightenment however can be achieved simply by reading labels which uhm… isn’t as easy with fast-food counterparts but still mandatory according legits in health sciences who will tell you that most people end up getting more than they bargained for when ordering from places such as Smoothie King.

Final Thoughts

Are smoothies good for your nutritious intake? Probably so long as you use correct portion sizes and avoid anything containing cane sugars or all sorts of artificial sweeteners in them; go ahead make yourself some simple ice blended drinks filled with real fruit and yogurt next week…

Is putting faith/trust blindly in some retailers’ healthy claims ever good? Absolutely not. More often than not behind the brand mask there’s little-to-nothing healthy going on!

So, if you’re in a bind and have no other wholesome options available to you while getting your health-kick don’t traumatize yourself over it…but what about that daily morning visit? Yeah, keeping on mum might be best or switching up with more protein bars/healthy grains/nuts etc.

But hey! At least nobody said anything negative about Milkshakes (especially those darned pumpkin spice)… right?!

Random Posts