Fruit and vegetable smoothies are lifesavers, especially if you're looking for a lot of nutrients without consuming the ingredients raw. And though homemade smoothies provide freshness and healthy nutritional value, making them needs special equipment and a lot of time, which not everyone has. As a result, bottled juice was born. However, there is a lot of debate over their health benefits. For instance, one of the most known juice brands; is Naked juice. Most people want to know; are naked smoothies healthy? Here's the answer to the question. But before that:
What Are Naked Smoothies?
Naked Juices get their name because their manufacturers claim they are preservatives-free, have no added sugar, and have no synthetic flavors. They are fruit and vegetable smoothies in a variety of flavor combinations. Besides, they have been popular since the popularity of juicing and liquid diets. If you go to your local grocery store, you'll find out that most of them are displayed in the front rows of the juice section. Now that we know what these juices are, let's answer the question: Are naked smoothies healthy?
What Are the Common Naked Juice Products?
Naked Juices come in different options. And before we answer the question, is naked juice healthy? First, let's check out some of the common Naked juice products.
1. Naked juice machines
Machine juices are available in a variety of flavors. The juice contains delicious fruits blended with kale or kale puree, ginger, spirulina, wheatgrass, acai berry, and flax seeds. Each standard 450 mL bottle has 220-320 calories, which is a lot for a drink. The Machines variant is available in the following flavors: Naked green machine, rainbow machine, red machine, blue machine, vitamin D machine and power C machine.
2. Naked Plus
This juice blend brand claims to give a perfect balance of flavors, from orange juice to green juice. The calorie value of a normal bottle ranges from 220 to 400. The calorie content per bottle of the Naked beverages under consideration is substantial. Therefore, the drinks are described as "not a low-calorie food." The Naked Plus variations are peach mango, greens, orange carrot mango, tropical blueberry banana, double berry, and tropical mango.
3. Core
These fruit juices come in ten various flavors and are said to be surprisingly excellent, with extra components to give them a healthy appearance. A 450 mL smoothie bottle has 180-310 calories. Their main variations are orange mango, mighty mango, tropical guava, Pina colada, strawberry banana, O-J, berry blast, berry veggie, kale blazer, and bright beets.
4. Cold-pressed smoothie
Naked's Cold Pressed juices contain less sugar content than many of their other beverages, with the Cold-Pressed Bright Greens at 23 grams (1.9 grams per ounce). In addition, this juice is made using a hydraulic press instead of a juicer or auger.
5. Indulgent proteins
Naked's protein mixes come in Peach Mango, Greens, Tropical, Blueberry Banana, and Double Berry flavors, and each bottle has 330-390 calories and 18-30 grams of protein. This juice may be good as a post-workout snack, depending on your personal goals.
What are the Contents of Naked Juice?
Are Naked smoothies Healthy? Naked company is honest about the nutritional value of this juice. Let's check out the contents of Naked Juice Green Machine as an example. According to the nutrition information given on the label of the bottle, each 450 mL has the following:
- Sugar 53g
- Protein 4g
- Vitamin A 230mcg (25%)
- Vitamin B6 0.4mg (25%)
- Vitamin B12 1.2mcg (50%)
- Vitamin C 42mg (45%)
- Total Carbohydrate 63g (22.91%)
- Calcium 40mg (4%)
- Cholesterol 0mg (0%)
- Sodium 25mg (1.09%)
- Iron 1.4mg (8%)
- Magnesium 40mg (10%)
- Riboflavin 0.3mg (25%)
What Are the Health Benefits of Naked Juice?
1. Rich in Vitamins and minerals
Naked smoothies are said to be rich in fruits. For example, the simplest juices, like orange mango, have 1.75 oranges, 0.5 a mango, 1.75 apples, and a bit of banana. Furthermore, the popular blue machine juice contains three and a half apples, one banana, twenty-seven blueberries, and three blackberries. Besides, using so many fruits helps avoid added sugars, contributing to excessive cholesterol. Moreover, the vitamin and mineral content helps enhance your immune system against chronic diseases.
2. No artificial additives or flavors
According to the manufacturer, the enticing taste of Naked Juice drinks comes from natural ingredients; no artificial additives or flavors are included. Besides, while most fiber is lost when juicing a whole fruit, the remaining quantity remains pure and cannot be digested, keeping you full for longer and your blood sugar healthy.
3. Contains antioxidants
Research published by the National Library of Medicine has supported claims that drinks containing natural sugars help consumers meet their antioxidant requirements. These antioxidants can protect your body from the cell damage caused by free radicals. Also, they revitalize your skin cells by removing toxic substances, resulting in a youthful, fresh, and healthy appearance.
What Are the Downsides of Drinking Naked Fruit Juices?
1. High calorie and sugar content
The main downside of Naked Juice is its high sugar level and calorie content. The sugar level of a bottle of Naked Juice and a can of Mountain Dew is comparable, although the source is different. Naked fruit juices contain natural fructose, while sodas contain high fructose corn syrup. However, your body does not care about the source; it usually metabolizes all sugars the same way. As a result, it's eventually broken down into fatty acids, triglycerides, and a harmful type of cholesterol.
This excessive sugar intake might increase your risk of developing type II diabetes, obesity and heart disease. Additionally, studies have indicated that consuming whole fruits and vegetables instead of fruit juices might help lower the risk of diabetes. At the same time, artificially or naturally sweetened drinks can cause an increase.
2. Weight gain
Since each bottle includes many calories, overdrinking Naked Juice may gain weight. Even though they're satisfying, they give a massive amount of needless calories, which will not help you enhance your health or stick to your diet. Most significantly, according to scientific research, drinking too much fructose (the sugar source in this juice) may lower your calorie expenditure and fat metabolism.
Moreover, it may contribute to insulin resistance due to increased calorie intake and excessive amounts of abdominal fat. According to scientific research of 31 persons, people who consume fructose-sweetened drinks had a lower resting calorie expenditure and lower fat-burning rate than those who drink glucose-sweetened drinks.
3. Low fiber
Another drawback with the Naked fruit juice is its low fiber content. The juicing procedure removes the bulk of the fiber in fruits and vegetable juices. Fiber is essential and will help you lose weight because it promotes feelings of fullness, which helps you limit your appetite and food consumption. Besides, lack of fiber is connected to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome.
Furthermore, fiber helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and insulin production, which may help to reduce blood sugar spikes, both of which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Conversely, Naked juice beverages may elevate your blood sugar levels due to their high sugar and lack of fiber content.