Banana/Strawberry Smoothie, healthy? or too much sugar

[acenase]

Since I got "The Magic Bullet" blender for X-mas, I have been finding myself making my own personal smoothies every day because of how easy it is. The one I usually make the most is 4 frozen strawberries, 1 ripe banana, 1 cup 2% lowfat Milk and a few crushed Ice. I find myself making and drinking 2 of these every day (morning and afternoon) and my friend tells me that it is unhealthy because Strawberries pack a lot of Sugar. So I figured I would just ask. I really doubt it because since when can eating Fruits be unhealthy? It's not like I am drinking this from a store where it's not a TRUE strawberry/banana smoothie because like Jamba Juice they like to use some artificial crap and tons of sugar in their smoothies -- mine are just all natural and I prefer making my own smoothies because I know exactly what is in it.

[Leigh P.]

Well yes that smoothie is full of sugar, its fructose natural sugar but it is sugar. What are your goals? All carbs should be mixed with a protein source no matter how healthy they are and no matter what the goal unless you need extra energy for endurance sports and even then you would want some complex thrown in there. So just tanking it on its own may not be the best idea. However if you throw some protein in the mix then you have a decent breakfast, not perfect but decent.

[DarinK]

Your friend is wrong. Strawberries are not "unhealthy" and not packed with sugar. A cup only has around 11 grams of carbs. Strawberries are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat. Low glycemic index also.

[jando]

i used amounts slightly larger than normal just to better see the complex carb, simple carb and fiber ratio

no sugar on the strawberries and tons of fiber
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20V6.html
a lot of sugar in the banana and a bit of fiber
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20Tm.html

also i hate when people say things like there is just fructose in fruit and mention "natural sugar" that's just straight up wrong. yes fructose is also called fruit sugar but there are many different types of sugar in fruits. click the link and find out you will see sucrose, glucose and fructose. Also, they're obviously not adding any sugar in the fruits; all sugars at one time or another can be considered a natural sugar or naturally occuring.

[ozigal]

fruit is good but i would add some fats and more protein (apart from the milk) to it just to slow the insulin spike and make your smoothie take longer to digest.

[TMaG82]

I pretty much make the same thing, but I add in two scoops of Whey. I also have the Magic Bullet as well (Isn't that the greatest thing?).

I'll put in maybe 1/4 full of the container of non-fat milk, 4-5 strawberries, a banana, a scoop of frozen blueberries, two scoops of chocolate whey protein and on occassion a teaspoon of creatine. Have that in the morning post morning workout and at night post workout. Haven't noticed my sugar levels spike (my father has diabetes so I check often). The past month or so since I've stepped up my working out and started eating healthier I've actually seen my cholestorel go down. The rest of my vitals are great (good BP, good sugar, etc). My cholestorel has gone down from around 250+ to the present day 214. Since more than 200, but a lot better.