04/15/2026
HEALTHY or HYPE? Is this your idea of complementary nutrition?
Do the antioxidants inside bottled smoothies and juices do anything to benefit inside our bodies?
A volunteer study at U. of Cambridge GB, revealed that over a period of 24 hours after drinking a bottled smoothy or juice, the antioxidant levels went up - only to plummet 4 hrs later.
Our bodies naturally work to keep a perfect balance, homeostasis, and that goes for producing our own antioxidants. Our body provides us with all the antioxidants that we require naturally.
Consuming an extra large dose of antioxidants (outside of what the body already produces),slows down the levels that it naturally produces.
24 hrs after the ‘smoothy’ boost, our body slows down and doesn’t resume to the normal level of naturally producing antioxidants until 24+ hrs later - below the time it would normally return to baseline.
This is lower than what would normally be expected, and given the lower levels of antioxidants in the body during the time of drinking a bottled smoothy or juice, our bodies are developing more free radicals. (We do need free radicals as a signal molecule in the body to breakdown the fibers for repairing muscle. If the muscle cannot be repaired, then they wouldn’t grow.)
Most of the antioxidant power in the smoothy or juice is coming from the added synthetic vitamin C (read the label) - added to stop the fruit from oxidizing.
Despite containing no added sugar, artificial flavours or preservatives, smoothy drinks are still high-calorie, high-sugar beverages. They MAY provide some vitamins & minerals but they're low in fiber, and may lead to weight gain over time. Smoothies & juices are more full of hype, than antioxidants, and therefore not complementary nutrition.
