Tropical smoothie cafe?

Yes, it does sound healthy.


No bananas, hey?

Chris12321 said...
Over the last 2 weeks I have ordered from Tropical smoothie cafe without sweetener. My llmd tells me that I can eat every fruit except for banana. But a smoothie with Avocado, pineapple, spinach, kale, coconut & lime without sweetener sounds pretty healthy right?

My personal opinion is you have to be your own diet guru. So, if you have no obvious problems with the smoothies, then keep consuming them. It's enticing to follow the popular plans that usually seek to restrict certain items - mostly, I believe, for no good reason.

There's a lot of folklore in the world of diet that's perpetuated on TV, in books and magazines, and online - including this forum. Doctors aren't immune to this, either, so keep that in mind, too.

Conduct your own experiments and see where they lead you. If you avoid everything that's allegedly "bad" for you, then you'll end-up with nothing to eat.

Lastly, if you drink a lot of these smoothies and find yourself with cold hands and feet, peeing a lot, and having clear urine (among other symptoms), you may be overhydrating. Again, test it yourself.

Chris12321 said...
Over the last 2 weeks I have ordered from Tropical smoothie cafe without sweetener. My llmd tells me that I can eat every fruit except for banana. But a smoothie with Avocado, pineapple, spinach, kale, coconut & lime without sweetener sounds pretty healthy right?

I thought bananas were ok. I thought I'd read that pineapple is a fruit to avoid because of its high sugar content. Hmmm If you feel good, that's great.

Also from /www.eatthis.com/fruit-sugar

(emphasis is mine)

"The pervasiveness of added sweeteners in our diets is linked to an increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. But in the epic rush to avoid sugar, many health-conscious consumers and low-carb dieters are starting to cut back on eating fruit.

Superficially, it could make sense; if you were to look at certain fruits' nutrition labels, they may boast over 20 grams of the sweet stuff. But this sugar isn't the same as the kind that's used in your ice cream. Isabel Smith, MS, RD, CDN, founder of Isabel Smith Nutrition, and New York City-based celebrity dietitian and fitness expert, weighs in: "It's key to look at added sugars differently than sugar in fruit, because in fruit we're getting so much more nutrition [compared to refined sugar]." We're getting free-radical-fighting antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, water, and fiber.

This total package is what makes eating fruit so good for you. In fact, countless studies have found that increased fruit consumption, regardless of the fruit's sugar content, is tied to lower body weight and a lower risk of obesity-associated diseases. Experts believe it's because when you eat whole fruits, you're also getting plenty of fiber. And this fiber helps you feel full while slowing the digestion of the fruit's sugar (which keeps your blood sugar from spiking). On the other hand, refined sugars are just empty carbs that lack these healthy nutrients, which is the reason why they're metabolized quickly, lack the ability to make you feel full, and contribute to weight gain."

Interesting useful comments!

I saved half and am now drinking the second half today, so I won’t get a big “fructose-rush”

According to my llmd fruit are more beneficial than harmful. All fruits except for banana. I’m not quite sure why that is.