UNWINDING THE SMOOTHIES
Packaged Smoothie - a simple and most convenient “healthy” meal for today’s generation. Is it so?
In the current world of highly developed technologies having a proper diet is difficult. Technologies and the busy schedule has forced people to move to more convenient packaged food over a natural diet. Children, teenagers, and adults are starting to believe that tetra packaged smoothies can replace their regular meals, as the companies claim to contain nutrients equivalent to a whole meal. Is it really true that these smoothies are as healthy as they seem to be or is it just another myth in making? Let’s find out!
Smoothies are commonly created with additional sweeteners such as ice cream, honey, or sweetened yogurt that can contribute to even higher sugar content which is very unhealthy. Infact tetra packaged smoothies contain high amounts of sugar which can increase caloric intake and can lead to weight gain. High amounts of added sweeteners cause higher consumption of calories as it tends to make people feel hungry faster than the solid food of the same calories.
2. NUTRIENTS
When it comes to the nutritional aspect, packaged smoothies can never match the freshly prepared smoothies. Due to high chemical processing to increase the shelf life, they tend to lose the precious nutrients that are necessary for a healthy lifestyle.
It is unclear how well synthetic nutrients are absorbed and used in our body. Some may be more easily absorbed and some may not be that easy to absorb. This is because when you eat real food, you’re not consuming single nutrients, but rather a whole range of vitamins, minerals, cofactors and enzymes that allow for optimal use by the body.
3. PRESERVATIVES
In young children, preservatives can lead to hyperactive behavior. Sustained and excessive consumption of artificial preservatives can weaken heart tissues which is dangerous especially for the aged people.
The purpose of a preservative is to delay spoilage and contamination in foods, but these are artificially produced or synthetic in nature. Often these are also called ‘additives’ on food labels. They can cause obesity in some as it also contains fatty acids especially in processed foods.
One study found smoothies to be less satiating despite providing the same amount of energy as unblended foods, which leads to consumption of higher calories than required per meal, this may lead to obesity.
These factors are enough to convey the message that instead of consuming packaged smoothies it is better to prepare fresh smoothies as they contain all the required nutrients. Fresh smoothies can be made more healthy but packaged smoothies stay the same.