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Protein shakes are a wonderful, healthy addition to your diet as a means to increase your protein intake, promote satiety, and help with natural and sustained weight loss. Adding other ingredients such as fresh fruit, certain peanut butter, and oats can also offer value to your eating, providing the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for a stronger immune system, faster metabolism, and even less inflammation.
However, just as there are ingredients which can give your protein shake a boost, there are others which may negate any and all positive effects of this snack, overloading your body with sugar and calories which can make it even more difficult to lose weight. In order to keep your protein shakes benefitting your body, there’s one ingredient that health experts agree you should keep out of your drink to promote healthy weight loss.
One of the key components of your protein shake is whichever liquid base you choose to include. Depending on the flavor you’re going for, this could range from almond milk to water. However, for the sweeter, fruitier protein shakes, juice is one of the worst bases you could use if you’re working to lose weight. “Juice provides a concentrated dose of sugar that is hard on the body, so use fresh or frozen fruit instead and unsweetened milk (plant or dairy) or water as the liquid,” suggests Dr. Michael Goran, PhD and Dr. Emily Ventura, PhD, MPH.
Juices are often derived from fresh fruit, so it makes sense why one might think that this beverage will provide many of the same benefits. However, when fruit is turned into juice it loses many of the essential nutrients it contains, including fiber, turning it into empty calories and sugar rather than being of any real use to your diet. Fiber is one of the dietary nutrients that helps to increase satiety and keep you full for longer, so when you strip your fruit of it, it becomes nothing but sugar. “Using whole fruit provides fiber that balances your shake, lowers the glycemic index, and keeps you fuller longer,” says Dr. Goran and Dr. Ventura.
Another important factor to note is that the sugar coming from fruit juice can have a profound effect on your metabolism, and the numbers look pretty grim when you break it down by grams. Livestrong reports, “According to the USDA, a 12-ounce glass of 100 percent orange juice has approximately 178.8 calories and 42.6 grams of carbohydrate with 30.96 grams coming from sugar. It also has 2.5 grams of protein and 0.4 grams of fat. A 12-ounce serving of 100 percent apple juice has approximately 171.6 calories and 42 grams of carbohydrate with 35.76 grams coming from sugar. Like orange juice, the protein and fat are minimal, with 0.372 grams of protein and 0.48 grams of fat.” However, worst of all, grape juice is packed with a whopping 53 g of sugar. Grape juice may not taste great in a shake or smoothie anyways, but it’s worth noting.
If you do like a sweeter protein shake, try adding fresh fruit in order to reap all the nutritional benefits while still getting the flavor. It’s important to take a look at the sugar content in your protein powder as well, as that can be a sneaky source for an influx of calories which will ultimately slow your metabolism and make it more difficult to reach your goals. Shakes and smoothies are a great way to boost your protein intake and improve your overall wellness, but keeping track of the ingredients you’re adding is ultimately the best way to make sure you’re streamlining your diet for healthy and effective weight loss without roadblocks.
