Are you a smoothie lover? Potential health benefits of smoothies

Made from colourful fruits and vegetables, smoothies are a convenient form of getting in those key foods into your body which you might dislike. A smoothie can be a part of a healthy breakfast or snack.

Smoothies can be a wonderful combination of your favourite whole fruits and vegetables, and if desired, a little soymilk or non-fat dairy, are healthy and nutritious enough. 

What else can you add to your smoothies?

Protein and calcium can added in the form of chia, hemp or flax seeds, plain yogurt or nut milk while fat, helps fill you up and is the other key factor in a smoothie. Good sources of fat in smoothies are walnuts, sesame, or hemp seeds, yogurt.

Benefits of smoothies:

While smoothies give have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, balance fruit smoothies by adding a dark leafy green like spinach, kale or Swiss chard which provides fiber, calcium, vitamins A, C and K, as well as powerful phytochemicals and protein to keep blood sugar in check and control cravings and hunger. Here are a few more advantages:

• Aids in boosting fruit and vegetable intake

Smoothies made primarily from fresh ingredients may increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables and may develop a habit of having fruits and veggies daily in kids and may also develop new tastes to them in their growing age. This provides a variety of essential vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. In adults, these nutrients may enhance digestion, reduce inflammation, and lower your risk of chronic conditions like heart disease, osteoporosis, obesity, and age-related mental decline

• Smoothies can be tailored to meet your needs

Whether you want to add spinach or not or want to have them but in invisible forms? The choice is yours as smoothies can be made from almost all fruits and veggies and every combination which has variety of colors is healthy. You can even prefer to add some extra dose of your favourite ingredient like pineapple!

• Nutrient variety

You can add diversity to your overall diet with green veggie smoothies, especially based on the season which has good folate, vitamins and minerals. Rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, smoothies improve the absorption of the nutrients, as well as increase satiation.

• Great for fussy kids and picky-eaters

Picky-eaters and/or kids who don’t like eating much love smoothies, even green smoothies. A combination of green veggies like spinch and kale with kiwi and orange tastes so good that your kid won’t resist it anymore.

• Easily digestible

Smoothies are a great source of plant protein which helps provide collagen if added few protein rich sources like soy milk and more. Blending makes anything super digestible. Greens might be difficult to eat but easier to digest when in smoothies form, especially compared with chewing. You can further improve digestibility by gently steaming the greens before adding them to the blender.

• Quick and easy to prepare 

Running late to have a bite of fruit? Put the ingredients in a blender and viola! You are ready to carry it with you. You can also assemble most of smoothie fruits and veggies a day before, store it in the fridge, and just blend it in the morning. 

Processed smoothies are an increasingly popular wellness trend and frequently marketed as a health food but it may use artificial sweeteners, preservatives, large amounts of fat or sweetened dairy products, contributing to higher amounts of sugar, fat and calories. It is best to have fresh and healthy one made at home.

Smoothies for weight loss should not be substituted with food and the best choice for losing weight is consuming good whole vegetables and whole fruits.

Caution: You should discuss this with your doctor if you have a history of metabolic or kidney disease or are taking medications such as blood-thinners.

Over to you

Smoothies should not be meal replacement as it tends not to be a good choice because they’re liquids. Calories in liquid form have less satiety, or hunger-curbing power, than calories in solid form and may later lead you to over eat.

Also, this should not stop you from having whole fruits, so we suggest rather than pulverizing your fruits and veggies with a blender, enjoy them whole. Peel a banana. Bite those baby carrots. Pick some fresh strawberries. Keep a big bowl of fresh fruits on the kitchen counter and dining table to have at least two to three servings in a day.