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The Nutritional Content of Smoothies

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  • Project start date: 10 October 2008
  • Project status: Completed
  • Project type: Nutrition
  • Discipline: Food reviews
  • Author/s: Safefood research

Research objective

To investigate consumer knowledge, attitudes and beliefs around the nutritional content of smoothies upon which to base Safefood communication about smoothies.

Outputs

Research report

  • Title: Consumer Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs around the Nutritional Content of Smoothies
  • Publication date: 6 February 2009
  • Summary: Dietary guidelines recommend that we eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables every day, and consumers are increasingly using smoothies as a way to achieve this.
  • Findings:
    • One in three adults on the island of Ireland said they drink smoothies
    • Smoothies, were more popular among women, the younger age group and higher social classes
    • Those who drank smoothies did so predominantly because they liked the taste, followed by a desire to be healthy in some way, be it to increase their fruit intake or increase their consumption of ‘natural’ foodstuffs
    • Non-smoothie drinkers cited lack of interest, a dislike of the consistency of the drink, expense and excessive sweetness as some of the reasons for not drinking smoothies
    • Approximately four in ten smoothie drinkers on the island were frequent consumers of smoothies, drinking them at least two to five times a week
    • There was a clear preference for pre-packed and home-made smoothies in NI, while in ROI there was a stronger preference for made-to-order smoothies

    A number of misconceptions concerning smoothies were evidenced:

    • Over-expectations as to ‘5-a-day’ contributions. It appeared that the overriding common belief was that they are high in fruit (average four portions) and dairy (average two portions)
    • Awareness of smoothie ingredients appeared to be low
    • Many perceived smoothies to be low in calories which may or may not be the case depending on the smoothie product purchased.

    Smoothie consumers and non-consumers generally perceived smoothies as a healthy food, however, there was also some confusion observed:

    • Consumers seemed aware that smoothies were high in natural sugars, and confused as to whether they were high in added sugars
    • There was confusion about the effects of smoothie consumption on dental health, with a divide in opinion among the general population and among smoothie consumers themselves
    • Smoothie drinkers were much firmer in their views regarding smoothies including their health value, and their sugar and calorie contents. Non-smoothie drinkers cited much higher levels of don’t knows
    • Smoothie consumers were generally of the opinion that smoothies were a good alternative option for lunch or breakfast
  • Recommendations:

    The research suggests that consumers would benefit from more information on smoothies to enable them to make a fully informed, healthier choice. Key messages for consumers are that:

    • Smoothies are one of the many ways that we can include fruits and vegetables in our diets
    • Smoothies only count as one portion of fruit and vegetables a day, regardless of how much is consumed.
    • Smoothies that contain milk or yoghurt also contribute to calcium and dairy food intakes
    • Smoothies should be consumed with a meal for dental health reasons. They are high in naturally-occurring sugar which can damage teeth so drinking smoothies between meals should be avoided
    • It is best to drink smoothies through a straw. This reduces the amount of sugar coming in contact with teeth
    • The ingredients used in ready-made or made-to-order smoothies can vary, thus can impact on the calorie, fat and sugar content of these products. Read the labels on these products (in the case of ready-made, prepackaged smoothies) and/look out/ask for smoothies made with: fresh/frozen fruit; unsweetened fruit juices; low-fat dairy products, and no other additional ingredients that would add to the fat and sugar content of the product,such as added sugar, honey or syrup.
Consumer knowledge, attitudes and beliefs around the nutritional content of smoothies [PDF]


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