Summers are all about enjoying delectable beverages, and smoothies surely top the list. Rich, creamy and sweet — they aren't just delicious in taste but extremely filling. People love experimenting with their smoothies by adding different fruits and vegetables for varied flavours and extra nutrients. However, are they really healthy for you? Ayurvedic expert Dr Nitika Kohli doesn't believe so! "Ever wonder what Ayurveda, India’s traditional medical system, has to say about these exciting and readily available smoothies?" she wrote on Instagram, giving us an Ayurvedic perspective on smoothies. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr Nitika Kohli (@drnitikakohli) *Smoothies are cold: "Cold foods are indigestible and damaging to the digestive fire," she said. *Smoothies are mostly raw: Raw foods, according to Dr Kohli, are hard to digest and create ample fodder for parasites. "This means, they encourage yeasts, bacteria and possibly even parasites to flourish in your gut." *Smoothies usually contain poor food combinations: The expert highlighted the improper food combinations in smoothies such as milk and yoghurt or fruit with veggies, and explained: "These improper food combinations will contribute to weakness and dysfunction in the body." Talking about the same, functional nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, Founder and CEO, iThrive, said, "What primarily determines whether a smoothie is healthy or not is what ingredients it is made out of. Fruits are probably the most common ingredient and are a highly healthy addition to smoothies for most people. Other healthy additions to your smoothie can include- Coconut milk or raw organic milk and yogurt, raw eggs and egg yolks, butter and ghee, dates, figs and other dry fruits, raw honey etc." "Some common smoothie ingredients to avoid include some nuts and vegetables with a high concentration of plant defence chemicals and antinutrients, like raw spinach and other vegetables, and nuts like almonds and peanuts. Try to use organic fruits and vegetables to avoid pesticides and other harmful chemicals. Processed ingredients like syrups should be strictly avoided. Packaged smoothie products are usually very unhealthy and include refined sugars, artificial flavours, refined seed oils, chemical emulsifiers, and other harmful ingredients," she added. However, the expert added that it’s generally better to consume foods in their whole form by chewing them instead of making smoothies. "This helps to get the full effect of foods on your palette and taste buds. Chewing and mastication are essential parts of digestion and help stimulate enzyme secretion. Gulping down large portions of food high in calories(which is what happens with smoothies) can also impair digestion. However, the effects of these factors are not very significant. You can definitely enjoy one or two smoothies a day as part of a healthy diet. Just don’t overdo it and get all your day’s food intake in the form of smoothies," she said. She advised drinking them slowly and savouring them to reap maximum health benefits. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
