By: Anna Matrinson
Smoothies are everywhere, from airport kiosks to designer grocery stores. They’ve become a shining badge of health and social status. Holding a green juice from Trader Joe’s or a $20 Erewhon Hailey Bieber smoothie feels less like grabbing a drink and more like making a statement. Carrying one has become a modern accessory, somewhere between an iPhone and a yoga mat. Past the aesthetics and oddly specific health claims, do these smoothies really live up to their image?
According to registered dietitian Lorraine Fye from the Mayo Clinic, smoothies can be a healthy, convenient way to get essential nutrients if they’re balanced. “You can get a lot of good fruits and vegetables packed into one little glass.” The catch? Too much of anything can be unhealthy. Smoothies that rely solely on fruit or fruit juice often carry more sugar than is healthy, leading to unhealthy spikes in blood glucose levels and excessive amounts of calories that can ruin wellness goals.
For example, bottled smoothies like Naked Juice’s “Green Machine,” contain about 50 grams of sugar per serving; that's more than a can of soda. While these sugars may come from fruit, the body processes them similarly to added sugars, prioritizing glucose for energy and delaying fat burning. If someone has the goal of weight loss, a bad smoothie can increase calorie intake rather than burning fat stores, actually resulting in weight gain rather than loss.
Scientific further research supports this complexity. A 2022 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PMC9657402) found that blended fruits elicit a similar glycemic response to whole fruits. However, while blood sugar levels may remain comparable, blending can influence how full a person feels. Study (PMC5946216) showed that liquid meals are generally less satiating than solid ones, which can contribute to increased food intake later in the day. In other words, it’s easier to drink several hundred calories without feeling full because of the reduced volume, in addition to the simplified mechanisms involved in digesting liquid versus solid food.
Furthermore, nutrient retention becomes an important part of the conversation. A 2021 study (PMC7824742) noted that vitamin C levels can drop up to 40% if a smoothie sits out after blending. This is because the nutrient oxidizes when exposed to light and air. The study evaluates processing methods for maximizing vitamin C retention; So if you’re blending at home, it's important to drink your smoothie right away; That is, unless you have the tools required for High-Pressure Processing (HPP).
Smoothie franchises like Smoothie King and Jamba Juice greenwash their products under the pretense that they contain fruit, which inherently seem to be healthy. Menus can distort nutritional information to make consumers unknowingly expend ridiculous amounts of calories. Terms like “Keto- friendly” mislead people with specific health goals or diets, to purchase smoothies that do not actually align with them. For example, Smoothie King's “Keto-Champ Pumpkin” smoothie contains 880 calories and 45 grams of carbohydrates. The keto diet’s goal is to put the body into a state of “ketosis” or burning of fat stores by limiting the intake of carbohydrates. This contradiction highlights how branding and selective labeling can misrepresent nutritional value and ultimately deceive health-conscious consumers.
During my journey to learn more about the smoothie craze, I talked to my friend's dad, a proud green juice/morning smoothie veteran. He connected me to the owner of Just Train fitness studio, Ron Everline. I asked Ron about his health goals, why smoothies, and what misconceptions exist about them. In summary he said every person is different. The key is to connect the health outcomes you're looking for with the ingredients that will make them happen. “I can tell you what I consume but it doesn’t mean that it’ll work for you.” The key lies in intention. It's important to focus on composition over flavor. If it’s a treat, let it be just that, but don’t confuse it for a balanced meal. In the end, the healthiest smoothie is one you build for yourself, not one that is a collab promoted by your favorite influencer.
The big takeaway is that the healthiest smoothie isn’t the one your favorite influencer blends on TikTok: it’s the one you build yourself, and with intention. Start simple: figure out what your health goals are. From there, research ingredients that make sense for those goals. Search recipes with specific nutrients and goals in mind instead of chasing whatever looks pretty in a glass jar or you think would taste especially good. Be discerning about the claims a smoothie for purchase makes, If you can, consider hiring a dietician that can curate all of these objectives for you. University Health Services offers dietician services for UC Berkeley students for free.
So next time you pick up a smoothie, pause for a second. Ask: is this fuel, or just trend-flavored sugar? The answer might surprise you.