What’s wrong with taking nourishment in liquid
form? It’s certainly convenient, and if you make your own “smoothie” or some
nutrient-dense concoction in a juicer or blender, you are assured of a
“healthy” beverage of your own composition and making, right? Well, “yes” up to
a point, but “no” for a host of other, very good reasons.
1) The
calories we drink go quickly “down the hatch” No chewing required. Chewing is
the first mechanical step in digestion. It takes energy and time to chew. It
also takes time for needed enzymes in the mouth, stomach and small intestine to
process chewed solid food into chyme to break it down to where it can be
absorbed. If food has already been liquefied, these physiological functions are
“side-stepped,” and calories are absorbed more quickly and easily. The order of
gastric (stomach) emptying is: liquids first, then carbs, then protein, and
then fat and fiber.
2) “The
mechanisms controlling hunger and thirst are completely different,” wrote food
writer and nutritionist Katherine Tallmadge in a December 2004 Washington Post article.
“Physiologically, your thirst is quenched once your blood and cell volume are
increased by water. This sends signals to your brain that you are no longer thirsty. In contrast, hunger is
regulated in your stomach and intestines. The hormone Ghrelin secreted in the
stomach wall helps you feel full.” Ghrelin doesn’t work as well with liquids as
it does with solid foods. “Our bodies don’t detect the calories in these liquid
foods the same way as when we eat solid foods,” Tallmadge said.
3) Liquid
calories add up in a way that can be surprising. The liquid calories in
smoothies, juice drinks, sodas and even specialty coffees are stealthy. “A
White Chocolate Mocha totals 410 calories (whole milk, no whip) or 510 calories
with whip. In my world, 510 calories is an entire meal,” says Elaine Magee on WebMD. Tallmadge, in her
Washington Post article, concurs: “When you consider that an appropriately
sized meal is anywhere from 400 to 700 calories, and one 44-ounce Super Big
Gulp is 800 calories, you understand the scope of the problem. A 16-ounce
Starbucks blended coffee Frappuccino is 470 calories. A single mixed drink can
set you back 300 calories. One glass of wine contains at least 100 calories. “Most
caloric drinks consumed before or during a meal are not satiating and have
little effect on how much you eat in one sitting or over the course of several
meals.”
The good news,
Tallmadge notes, is that “since liquid calories don’t contribute to feelings of
satiety, cutting back on them doesn’t make people feel deprived; most find the
change is an easy one to make.” So, what changes should be considered? The
Harvard School of Public Health pondered this question and put together a
Beverage Guidance Panel. From the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition, here are their recommendations:
1) Water:
Quelle surprise! But pure H2O
does provide “everything the body needs – to restore fluids lost through
metabolism, breathing, sweating, and the removal of waste. It’s the perfect
beverage for quenching thirst and rehydrating your system” according to the
group. We could end this list here! We used to, come to think of it.
2) Tea
and Coffee: “Drunk plain, they are calorie-free beverages brimming with antioxidants,
flavonoids, and other biologically active substances that may be food for
health.” They especially like the strong green tea varieties served in Japan. However,
adding cream, sugar, whipped cream and flavorings make it “closer to a
dessert.”
3) Low-fat
and skim milk and soy beverages: Here’s where the Harvard School of Public
Health/Beverage Guidance Panel and I part company. I avoid the carbs in milk and
only take heavy cream. I do not avoid saturated fat, and
I do
avoid soy products altogether: e.g., soy bean oil, soy milk. But I do
use naturally fermented soy sauce.
4) Noncalorically
Sweetened Beverages: This category includes the “so-called diet sodas and
other diet drinks that are sweetened with calorie-free artificial sweeteners.
They include stevia in this category, and liquid sugar alcohols.
5) Caloric
Beverages with Some Nutrients: This group includes “fruit juice, whole milk
(!), sports drinks, vitamin-enhanced waters, and alcoholic beverages (?). This category
includes 100% fruit juice, aka a “liquid candy bar.”
6) Calorically
Sweetened Beverages: These “least recommended” include drinks sweetened
with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It also includes noncarbonated
soft drinks, fruit drinks, lemonade, etc. They’re all just sugar water.
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