As it turns out, quite a bit.

1) Size: Smoothies often vary in size from 16 ounces to 40 ounces. Let me put that into perspective; an 8-ounce [...]]]> You may think smoothies are a better, healthier option to soft drinks. After all, smoothies are just fruit in a blender… What could be wrong with that?

As it turns out, quite a bit.

1) Size: Smoothies often vary in size from 16 ounces to 40 ounces. Let me put that into perspective; an 8-ounce smoothie is equal to about three pieces of fruit. Do you regularly eat fifteen pieces of fruit in one sitting?

2) Processing: Many of the valuable ingredients contained in whole fruits and vegetables, things like fiber, anti-oxidants and vitamins, are destroyed in the process of making a smoothie.

With their growing popularity, you can buy smoothies just about anywhere… including many local grocery stores. Grocery stores are renowned for their shortcuts to efficiency, and that means most of the smoothies are highly processed. What’s more, if the fruits and vegetables aren’t certified organic, there’s a good chance you’re consuming a cocktail of pesticides and other environmental toxins.

3) The carbs: A report published overseas found that a single serving of a popular smoothie contained over five teaspoons of sugar, beating out a can of Coke. Yum!

To review: smoothies may come from natural ingredients, but those ingredients are often packed into abnormally concentrated amounts. Some smoothie makers even add artificial sweeteners (think high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) here) further reducing the “health” benefit. If you’re unfamiliar with the negative effects of HFCS, please read this article.

And high-carb smoothies WILL pack on the pounds. When you blend fruits you very much increase the rate that your body can absorb the sugar. Even something that’s normally healthy, such as a carrot, takes on the fast sugar characteristics of a soda when you puree it.

Diets high in fast release carbohydrate are linked to higher rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Sugary high-carb foods produce a spike in your blood sugar level. This in turn triggers an insulin response.

Higher insulin levels tell your body to start storing fat. And the more fat you’re signaled to store, the greater your eventual obesity. And it only gets worse from there… Obesity leads to heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, even joint pain from the additional weight.

The good news? The reverse is also true; a low-carb intake equates to lower heart risk. The New England Journal of Medicine reported results from Harvard researchers involving 80,000 women over the course of two decades. Those who followed a low-carb diet reduced their risk of heart disease by 30 percent.

Results of another study by U.S. and New Zealand scientists, released a couple of years ago, showed that about 3 million heart disease, stroke and diabetes-related deaths are caused by high blood sugar levels each year worldwide.

One of the authors noted that the only way to raise blood sugar is by consuming sugars and refined carbohydrates. So packing a single beverage (like a smoothie) with a high concentration of sugar, regardless of that sugar’s source, isn’t a great idea.

If you’re looking for a cool, refreshing drink that won’t add inches to your waistline, try combining freshly squeezed lemons, oranges and/or grapefruit to ice water. If you need to sweeten it up, try Stevia extract. It’s the only sugar substitute that’s not toxic or linked to side effects.

And in this heat, that sounds pretty good right now…

Yer Uncle Steve

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What could be wrong with that?

A lot, it turns out. Here’s the lowdown:

1) Size: Smoothies often vary in size from 16 ounces to 40 ounces. Let me put that into perspective; an [...]]]> You may think smoothies are a better, healthier option to soft drinks. After all, smoothies are just fruit in a blender…

What could be wrong with that?

A lot, it turns out. Here’s the lowdown:

1) Size: Smoothies often vary in size from 16 ounces to 40 ounces. Let me put that into perspective; an 8-ounce smoothie is equal to about three pieces of fruit. Do you regularly eat fifteen pieces of fruit in one sitting?

2) Processing: Many of the valuable ingredients contained in whole fruits and vegetables, things like fiber, anti-oxidants and vitamins, are destroyed in the process of making a smoothie.

With their growing popularity, you can buy smoothies anywhere – including many local grocery stores. Grocery stores are renowned for their shortcuts to efficiency, and that means most of the smoothies are highly processed. What’s more, if the fruits and vegetables aren’t certified organic, there’s a good chance you’re consuming a cocktail of pesticides and other environmental toxins.

3) The carbs: A report published overseas found that a single serving of a popular smoothie contained over five teaspoons of sugar, beating out a can of Coke. Yum!

To review: smoothies may come from natural ingredients, but those ingredients are often packed into abnormally concentrated amounts. Some smoothie makers even add artificial sweeteners – high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in particular – further reducing the health benefit.

And high-carb smoothies WILL pack on the pounds. When you blend fruits you very much increase the rate that your body can absorb the sugar. Even something that’s normally healthy, such as a carrot, takes on the fast sugar characteristics of a soda when you puree it.

Diets high in fast release carbohydrate are linked to higher rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Sugary high-carb foods produce a spike in your blood sugar level. This in turn triggers an insulin response.

Higher insulin levels tell your body to start storing fat. And the more fat you’re signaled to store, the greater your eventual obesity. And it only gets worse from there… Obesity leads to heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, even joint pain from the additional weight.

The good news? The reverse is also true; a low-carb intake equates to lower heart risk. The New England Journal of Medicine reported results from Harvard researchers involving 80,000 women over the course of two decades. Those who followed a low-carb diet reduced their risk of heart disease by 30 percent.

Results of another study by U.S. and New Zealand scientists, also released last year, showed that about 3 million heart disease, stroke and diabetes-related deaths are caused by high blood sugar levels each year worldwide.

One of the authors noted that the only way to raise blood sugar is by consuming sugars and refined carbohydrates. So packing a single beverage (like a smoothie) with a high concentration of sugar, regardless of that sugar’s source, isn’t a great idea.

If you’re looking for a cool, refreshing drink that won’t add inches to your waistline, combine freshly squeezed lemons, oranges or grapefruit into ice water. If you need to sweeten it up, try Stevia extract. It’s the only sugar substitute that’s not toxic or linked to side effects.

Steve

During the last day of the seminar we were given the “secrets” to a healthy eating regimen and suffice [...]]]> I attended a seminar several years ago hosted by a very famous, very tall, motivational speaker who later played himself in the Jack Black film “Shallow Hal”. In the film, Jack called him “Banana Hands.” Anyway….

During the last day of the seminar we were given the “secrets” to a healthy eating regimen and suffice to say, protein was portrayed as the evil scourge of mankind.

I swear...I never knew!

Here’s my advice: Be EXTREMELY wary of any eating plan that informs you to strictly limit the protein you eat … or the fat … or the carbohydrates. In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, your body needs ALL of these macronutrients. You need the right kind.

In this segment I’ll briefly discuss the importance of protein.

Each and every meal you consume should be built around a healthy source of protein. Protein helps to build, repair, and replace the cells of your body. It is vital for a strong immune system – and it boosts your metabolism and helps preserve muscle when you are burning fat.

If you eat meat and dairy (which I HIGHLY recommend), choose products (including eggs, yogurt, cheese, and milk), if you can get them, from animals raised on their natural diet: grass-fed beef, bison, lamb, wild game, and free-range poultry. You should also eat wild – not farm-raised – fish that is known to be free of mercury (such as sardines and wild Alaskan salmon).

Nuts and beans are also excellent sources of protein. And if you use a protein powder, choose one WITHOUT artificial sweeteners.

I heartily encourage you to make it one of your health goals from now on to base all your meals around your healthy protein sources – and to choose protein sources that are as close as possible to the design God gave them and intended.

Steve
Your Prograde Pro