Smoothies and fruit juices are a new risk to health, US scientists warn

AsarAlubat
Dear ATS,

This got posted yesterday on The Guardian and I was wondering your thoughts.

Quite right. Processed juice is one of the worst single things for anyone considering diet and health intake. It's the processed nature, and the fact it is usually touted as a healthy alternative (I mean it's fruit right??) which makes it misleading. Most processed juices have had any beneficial sugars sucked out of them and what is left is just the crap left over, including loads of added stuff to make it taste 'nice'. People still see it as 'fruit juice' though.

You see, I live somewhere beautiful in the Western U.S... and for the last month I have been organizing the setup of an organic, non-gmo Juice & Smoothie Bar, right in the center of town.

I'm quite young, never started a business before, but I'm completely confident I can handle it.

from me. All I can say is have a go. If you really want some insight into how food is killing us in this day and age, go out and have a look at two dvds, Hungry For Change, and Fat. Sick, And Nearly Dead.



Both are eye-openers in terms on what we are putting into our bodies and why things such as obesity are so bad.

In terms of your smoothie bar, I may make a suggestion based on another business owner here in Aust who is doing something similar to you, reverse the trend. By saying that, I mean we are traditionally taught to say Fruit and Veg. It should Veg and Fruit.

What do you have to say about the article? What's your take? Any suggestions for my recipes?

I just want to make healthy, happy food.

Let's just hope I have time to prosper here before economic collapse, or invasion...

Try incorporating vegetable creations as well as fruit, as green veg is more beneficial and a real source of good food for people on a health kick. It may sound weird, and people may not initially go for it, but experiment with different flavour ideas (such as lime and lemon for offset flavouring) and people will try it out. A personal favourite is a mix of celery, carrot and lime and lemon for veg, watermelon, mandarin (or blood orange), and pink lady or royal gala apples over crushed ice for fruit. Try different things, give people a chance for input, ideas and samples, and just work up from there. You will soon figure out what works and what doesn't.

I would also go from fresh fruit right before people. Mix it up from the source before them, so they know what is going in isn't just from a cardboard box from a supermarket.
Just my 2c, I wish you the best of luck.

reply to post by awhispersecho


Thank you for your kind wishes for my endeavors!

reply to post by TheEthicalSkeptic

TheEthicalSkeptic
The hardest thing to do is declare your organizational structure and subchapter (Subchapter 'S' - will allow you to take profits as personal income at up to 42.5% of income in California, rather than corporate income at 48.5%, and an LLC should allow you to do the same thing.) The rest is you just doing what you love to do.

I planned on starting as a sole proprietorship, with plans of upgrading to an S corporation sometime later in 2014. It would be around this time that hopefully I will be doing well enough to open another store. Do you think my plans are decent, or have suggestions? I feel this way I can assure that my business will be continually viable before starting a corporation.

The body knows how to handle sugar. It has been handling sugar for millions of years, even in the homo genus context. What it does not know how to handle are foods which are suddenly a giant leap different than they used to be genetically, and now carry combination locks which do not allow a clean discernment between toxins and nutrients. This confusion leads to auto-immune disorders.

What I find in developing nations is one common equation when newly skyrocketing diabetes is observed = a commensurate introduction of US hybridized wheat. In one nation my company recently completed a medical assessment of the population - diabetes had jumped from #35 to #1 on the malady list among the genetic natives, in just 15 short years. It was not caused by softdrinks.

It is plain and simple, if we imbue our diet with toxins - we gain weight through Hashimoto induced endocrine system damage, intestinal bacteria imbalances and destruction, auto-immune disorders, feeling bad and lethargic, and edema (warehousing of toxins in skin and abdominal fat).

Smoothies are not going to do any of this.

We've got to maintain keen awareness on what we are putting in our bodies, more in recent years than ever. Percentage of U.S. citizens overweight hit nearly 70% a couple years ago I believe. Sort of crazy.

Starting your day with a green smoothie can really bring your life back to you, I hope to make it easier for people to fulfill that task.

Thanks for your participation and knowledge!

-AA

reply to post by mangust69

mangust69
We tv horseradish snack niksya.ru... ( scrolled through the wringer tomatoes, horseradish root , garlic , sometimes pepper chili ) allegedly grandmother collected at the dump rotten tomatoes make horseradish snack and sell rotten citizens . listen to the media and do the opposite , they have given impetus by his denial and horseradish bought on the street grandmothers NOT IN THE SHOP "kiss of cobra" openok.ru... will be on my desk every day

edit on 8/9/13 by mangust69 because: (no reason given)

..Looks tasty!

reply to post by new_here

new_here
reply to post by AsarAlubat

 

Hello AsarAlubat! Just another idea for your smoothies...
Sweet Potatoes! Even though they are not a fruit, they are quite delicious, full of vitamin A & fiber, and would have the added benefit of enhancing the creamy, thick consistency of a smoothie. Of course you'd have to bake them first!

I'm sure they would go better with some fruits rather than others. (Probably better with peach, pear, apricot and/or apple, rather than citrus.) Or I could be wrong about the citrus-- might really add 'body' and balance out the acidic taste.) Also not sure about the berry family. I guess it would just take some experimenting, eh?

I dunno, what do you think?

Sounds delicious, I simply love sweet potatoes. Their orange color lets us know they're packed with beta-carotene.. even more than carrots apparently! They're #1 here. I think they'd go alright with banana... or check out this recipe.

Also, I got your U2U-- too bad I'm in the southeast! Maybe when you strike it rich, you can expand into mail order, shipping your delicacies in specially designed temperature-controlled boxes, like Shari's Berries!!! Otherwise, I'll just have to drop by if I ever make it out that way.

Best of luck, in any case!

I only moved out west early this summer (never been out here before)- I plan in the future on opening one at least east.. (more like Portsmouth, NH)

Thanks for all of your ideas!

reply to post by tl1977

tl1977
I thought the headline of that article was very misleading; when I hear "smoothie" I don't think of Coke or Pepsi or McDonald's. Those "smoothies" are probably mostly bad for you.

I agree- I definitely don't think of 'McDonald's', 'Coke', or 'Pepsi' when I hear "smoothie"; I hope no one else does either, alas I bet some do.. The article seems to push that idea doesn't it? I sure hope that wasn't the intention, but who knows.

I actually got into juicing a few months ago after watching a documentary called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead". I love my juicer, but want to get a Vitamix next so I can blend smoothies as well as juice to keep the fiber. I drink "green juice" almost every day, and it has changed my life! I almost never just juice straight fruit, though.

Juicing is great, nothing better than the freshest! We'll be ordering quite a few blenders soon as well. The CIA Professional series looks like it'll last.

Veggies are a lot sweeter than I thought they would be juiced. My typical green juice is leafy greens, usually kale or collard greens, and sometimes others, like dandelion greens, chard, or bok choy, a fresh herb, either parsley or cilantro, celery, cucumber, lemon, ginger, and either apple, orange, or pineapple- though usually pineapple because I read it is good for inflammation. Actually, I have read that celery and ginger are also specifically good for helping with inflammation pain.

Many don't realize the true importance of diet, and realistically- a large percentage of people with debilitating pains or diseases, weight problems, etc.- could be cured or at least helped greatly with more organic veggies and fruits. All of the foods you mentioned hopefully will all make it onto the menu.

Before I drank "green juice" I was in chronic inflammatory pain that seriously affected my quality of life. I was taking so much ibuprofen that I started having weird stomach pains, and probably screwed up my body. As long as I drink the green juice, I don't have any pain anymore! I WISH there was somewhere near me that I could buy this juice already made, because it is a lot of work to wash and prep and clean the juicer, and because it is unpasteurized, it only lasts 12 hours or so. I have a pipe dream of one day opening a juice/smoothie place, because it is so good for people!

I hope you do! I think more of us need to spread the good health through retail food establishments- and let people find out themselves how much better they feel after they try it.

My favorite recipes:
Green Juice- 1 bunch kale, 1 bunch parsley, 4 (or more) stalks celery, 1-2 cucumbers, 1 lemon, 1 thumb sized piece ginger, 1/2 pineapple --This makes me 4 servings. I share 2 with family, drink 1, and save 1 for later. This tastes sweeter than you would think, and each serving only has 1/8 of a pineapple in it. Not only does it work faster than ibuprofen, but it gives me energy, when I used to have fatigue to go with the pain.
Watermelon Lemonade- This is the only all juice recipe I drink, just straight watermelon and lemons, made to taste. So yummy! Also can add mint to change it up.
Watermelon Ice- Run watermelon through blender, then freeze it (I just use an ice cube tray). Then, when I am ready, I put the frozen watermelon in a blender with a little bit of honey and lemon juice. It's sort of like sherbet.
Banana "Ice Cream"- This recipe is why I dream of owning a Vitamix someday- I killed my cheap-o blender due to my addiction to this past summer. You just peel and freeze bananas, then blend them. I usually sweeten it with honey. There are tons of add ins you could use, too; my favorite is frozen bananas blended with frozen blueberries and honey.

Great recipes, they sound great and I'm glad they have taken care of your pain and fatigue.

Thanks so much for sharing!

-AA

reply to post by spartacus699


But chronic toxicity is a real concern.

And just as an aside...

Be careful with acai and other supplements that superdosed with anti-oxidants and polyphenols. There's mounting evidence that too much can have negative consequences.

aboutface
Congratulations on your adventure. It sounds like a wole lot of fun, and I truly wish you success.

My fav smoothie combines banana, yogurt and nutmeg which I thin a little with skim milk.

The article leaves me suspicious of the big multinational companies and anything they endorse probably has all kinds of bad stuff in their products. Their warnings equally make me suspicious as to their intentions.

edit on 9-9-2013 by aboutface because: (no reason given)

Thanks! The smoothie sounds good; banana + yogurt + nutmeg

I'll have to find the right milk substitute- coconut milk, hemp milk, soy milk?

Cheers!

reply to post by Asikakim


Hmm.. Stevia, eh? I'll do my research.

Thanks for your contribution!

-AA

UnifiedSerenity
I make my own fruit smoothies with nutritional supplement regularly, and when I want to lose weight I do a meal or two replacement for two weeks and I am down 15 pounds, so not sure about health issues. I don't add any sugar though, and it's frozen fruit and water.

Congratulations on the weight loss. It's usually the other way around for me... if I've been burning a bit too much and feeling a bit lean, adding this stuff to the smoothie.

Thanks for sharing,

-AA

74Templar
If you really want some insight into how food is killing us in this day and age, go out and have a look at two dvds, Hungry For Change, and Fat. Sick, And Nearly Dead.

Both are eye-openers in terms on what we are putting into our bodies and why things such as obesity are so bad.

I have not seen either of these movies, one has already been mentioned so I'll have to give them both a gander before we open. I'd like to absorb all the TRUTH about food and nutrition I can.

In terms of your smoothie bar, I may make a suggestion based on another business owner here in Aust who is doing something similar to you, reverse the trend. By saying that, I mean we are traditionally taught to say Fruit and Veg. It should Veg and Fruit.

Try incorporating vegetable creations as well as fruit, as green veg is more beneficial and a real source of good food for people on a health kick. It may sound weird, and people may not initially go for it, but experiment with different flavour ideas (such as lime and lemon for offset flavouring) and people will try it out. A personal favourite is a mix of celery, carrot and lime and lemon for veg, watermelon, mandarin (or blood orange), and pink lady or royal gala apples over crushed ice for fruit. Try different things, give people a chance for input, ideas and samples, and just work up from there. You will soon figure out what works and what doesn't.

I would also go from fresh fruit right before people. Mix it up from the source before them, so they know what is going in isn't just from a cardboard box from a supermarket.
Just my 2c, I wish you the best of luck.

Thanks for the post! We will have plenty of green smoothies as well as just fruit. Smoothies are not only a great way to disguise and sneak in some less-liked veggies (like kale, spinach, zucchini).

I really want the menu to be split up in different smoothie sections. Breakfast smoothies, smoothies to heal the skin, smoothies to hydrate (celery! watermelon! etc.)...

Thanks for the ideas!

DevolutionEvolvd
And just as an aside...

Be careful with acai and other supplements that superdosed with anti-oxidants and polyphenols. There's mounting evidence that too much can have negative consequences.

Thanks for the tip. Jotted down on the research pad. I can't thank you guys enough for all your help and insight..

I decided I don't really mind making the connection.

The website is up... kind of. Still working on it. Let me know what you think.

www.themorningstretch.com...

Respects,

-AA

reply to post by AsarAlubat


Nice! I'll have to make a trip out to Nederland and check it out!

reply to post by DevolutionEvolvd


Thanks!

I'll let you know when we open!

-AA