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Watch Out for Added Sweeteners

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Too Much Sugar, Even Natural Alternatives, Is Not Healthy

added sweetenersIf You Think Artificial Sweeteners Are the Answer, I Have Bad News for You!

In the juicing world added sweeteners are rare because most recipes are naturally delicious without adding sugar.

Smoothies are different. In the smoothie world, added sweeteners are the norm because using the entire veggie or fruit – skin, seeds, and all – while adding nutrition and fiber, also adds tartness to the taste. Added sweeteners make smoothies taste good.

We try to add only ‘healthy’ sweeteners such as agave nectar, raw (turbinado) sugar, honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar. We also use ‘natural’ low calorie sweeteners such as stevia, xylitol, and yakon syrup. This is because they are much healthier choices than any artificial sweetener. More and more research indicates that artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity and diabetes.

The Hard Truth

Sugar, whether it’s white or one of the healthier alternatives, is still sugar. And those of us who live in the US have a real sugar problem. We eat too much of it. On average each American eats 19 teaspoons or more of added sugar every day for an additional 285 calories.

Health experts say that’s just too much. According to the American Heart Association a healthy amount is 6 teaspoons daily for women – 100 calories – and 9 for men which is 150 calories. For comparison, a can of Pepsi or Coke is a bit over 9 grams of sugar.

Read the Labels

These common sweeteners are all sugar even if the label doesn’t call them sugar:

  • Agave nectar
  • Brown rice syrup
  • High-fructose corn syrup
  • Dextrose
  • Evaporated cane juice
  • Glucose
  • Lactose
  • Malt syrup
  • Molasses
  • Sucrose

If the label lists a sweetener in the first few ingredients it’s probably too much! Same goes if the label says more than 4 total grams of sugar.

Cut Out Added Sweeteners

Fresh juices and smoothies can be absolutely delicious without added sweeteners. So many of our natural foods are packed with healthy sweetness. A carrot is sweet but only about 25 calories. A beet is about 60. An apple 90, banana 100, orange 45. So let’s go natural with no added sweeteners.

Juice and Smoothie Recipes

This is why I do not offer any recipes with added sugar, even my smoothie recipes. I keep tweeking a recipe until it tastes delicious without added sweeteners. My recipes have absolutely no added anything but the fruit, veggie, green, herb, and spice. Nothing else.

Personally, I’m so concerned about the ill effects of too much sugar, I encourage you to consider taking a further step beyond no added sweeteners in your juices or smoothies. Try using less fruit, the sweetest of our foods, in juices and smoothies to reduce your overall sugar intake!

What Do Added Sweeteners Do To Your Body

Take a look at this excellent brief video for what exactly sugar does to your body and why too much is so harmful.

 

 

Grapefruit Juice & Smoothie Recipes & Benefits

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Grapefruit Juice and Smoothies Contain Proven Nutrients That Protect Your Skin

Historical Highlights

Often described as a ‘youngster’ among fruiting cultivars, grapefruit appeared on the scene only 300 years ago!

Either by accident of nature or hybridization, the modern grapefruit descended from the Asian pomelo and the Jamaican sweet orange. Its name stems from the small grape-like fruit that follows flowering. The entire grapefruit is utilized including the flower, fruit, peel (candied) and oil derived from the seeds. The essential oil of grapefruit is used today as an aroma therapy to remedy emotional imbalance, stress and exhaustion.

Amazing Benefits

Grapefruit juice is low in calories and high in fiber, vitamins A, B-complex and C, flavonoids, minerals – including calcium, iron, phosphorus and copper – and antioxidants. Fiber in grapefruit, in the form of pectin, defends the colon from cancer-causing substances and other toxins. Vitamin A promotes healthy skin and mucus membranes. Vitamin A in combination with the flavonoids in grapefruit improve vision and defend the body from oral and lung cancers.

Lycopene, an abundant flavonoid in grapefruit, is considered the most powerful antioxidant, and shields the skin from harmful UV rays, thus defending against aging and cancer. Lycopene also plays a role in reducing the incidence of prostate cancer. B-complex nutrients are very high in grapefruit juice. Vitamin C is especially high and an exceptionally potent antioxidant which shields the body from infection and helps remove free radicals. Vitamin C not only helps maintain healthy connective tissue and the healing of skin wounds, but also assists the body’s absorption of iron which is necessary for the formation of red blood cells. Grapefruit is high in iron, calcium, copper, and phosphorus, but is exceptionally abundant in potassium which helps to control blood pressure.

Juicing & Smoothie Recipes for Grapefruit

Grapefruit Apple Spice
1 Grapefruit – remove rind
2 Apples – core, skin and all!
1 thumb Ginger
Now I just love to add some greens to my juice and smoothie recipes for a nutritional punch since all greens and sprouts are superfoods. So add a handful of your favorite green such as Collards, Beet Greens, Kale or Baby Spinach.Wheatgrass is my absolute favorite.

Grapefruit Carrot Delight
1 Grapefruit – remove rind
2 Carrots with skin
1″ Wheatgrass

More delicious and powerful recipes can be found in Juicing & Smoothie Recipes That Heal! available here in the box on the right and for Kindle, Nook and iPad users at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iBooks.