last night's telly - gordon ramsay's F word

If you were watching Gordon Ramsay knocking up a vegetable curry last night (Channel 4, 9-10pm), you may also have noticed Janet Street-Porter talking about smoothies. She even made some alarming noises about smoothies not being that good for you, her argument being that if you drink too many smoothies you might end up with a big bottom.

She was talking about the fact that people might not realise how much sugar was in a smoothie. Our answer would be that it's the same amount of sugar you'd find in the equivalent amount of fruit. We've done lots of research and have worked out that the two portions of fruit in our drinks have exactly the same amount of sugar in them as if you were to eat two portions of fruit. Unsurprising really, seeing as all we do is squash lots of fruit into bottles.

Eating more fruit and veg is the second best thing you can do for your health after quitting smoking (I think we've said this before, but it's always worth repeating), so it seems slightly irresponsible to us to scare people away from getting fruit in whatever form they choose. Not enough people eat their five a day as it is, and seeing as our smoothies are made from nothing but 100% fruit, they therefore contain good things that fruit itself contains – lots of amazing fibre, vitamins, minerals, phytoprotectants and the sugar that occurs naturally within fruit.

Our smoothies are designed to be part of a healthy balanced diet (not necessarily an added extra on top of what you normally eat). So by all means substitute a smoothie for unhealthy snacks like chocolate bars, and don't get too spooked by Janet's big bottom scenario.

Sir MixaLot's big bottom scenario.

Comments

[Sam Mallett]

I was so mad last night!
Shouting at the T.V. and everything.

How dare she say such nonsense about Innocent smoothies. Some smoothies probably do contain more ingredients than just fruit, but she should have done here research and singled those out before going on national T.V.

Sorry, I needed to let that out.

Have a good day!

[Joanna Preston]

Well said. We usually love the F word in our house, but thought JSP was being a little irresponsible in her report. She did thankfully mention nutrients and fibre were in a smoothie, along with all that (natural) sugar, which when you compare it to all the fat, processed sugar and chemicals in other drinks and snacks, makes a smoothie definitely the healthier choice.

Hopefully people don't drink smoothies as a super low calorie drink anyway - they drink it to get a bit more fruit in their diet, along with some vits, energy and a smile on their face! Presumably that's not just me...?

[Josie H]

I was infuriated by her comparing a can of Tango favourably to a bottle of smoothie. Has she read the ingredients labels? Did she not see the massive list of chemicals and additives in a can of Tango?? I'd MUCH rather my sugar (and flavour) came from natural fruit sources than the chemically created ones. By the way, just TRY and find a list of Tango's ingredients ANYWHERE on the web!

[BRYAN PRYCE]

I can't believe Janet Street Porter's comments last night. What were they thinking? To hold up a can of Lilt and to portray that it is healthier than a Innocent Smoothie is total rubbish. In a week where the government was telling us to throw less food away, fresh fruit that has gone bad has got to be one of the largest offenders dumped in the bin by consumers. If people bought more smoothies and less fresh fruit it would address that problem as people are far less likely to throw a ctn of smoothie away.
Janet you're a bloody idiot and you should stick to rearing bullocks and not talking bollocks! Innocent Smoothies are the best and I will continue to keep them in my 2 young daughters diets.

[Tina Baker]

JSP was highly irresponsible. What a useless waste of space she is on the F Word. I have heard of care in the community, but Gordon, she is taking things to far. MASSIVE misrepresentation of Innocent Smoothies on this show, and if I was channel4, I would be consulting lawyers because it wasn't close to factual. So irresponsible.

[Dom]

I too felt quite angry last night at the ridiculous argument put forward by her, and I'm really surprised GR didn't pull her up on it. It's the same as eating the equivalent amount of fruit, simple as that - smoothies in general not just those by Innocent. I sometimes buy smoothies and often make them myself but am far more likely to have a smoothie than eat the fruit 'raw' (not to mention how kids feel), is this not a good thing? I think JSP should get some exercise and stop pushing her ridiculously ill-informed ideas.

[Dan Traynor]

I agree it is unacceptable to brand smoothies less healthier than a can of fizzy drink containing god knows what.
Alot of stupid people will actually believe her and go out buying fizzy cans of drinks instead of fruit.

I've been drinking innocent smoothies for years now and couldn't recommend them highly enough as a simple way of incorporating fruit into the diet.
how dare she make these statements on national TV which will now influence peoples perception on smoothies. In a nation that is catching USA up in the unhealthy zone, this is just unnecessary from a stupid idiot who believes she can influence people just because she isn't fond of them herself. She needs to do her research better and realise the cans she is saying are better for you contain ARTIFICIAL ingredients...Smoothies like innocents are 100% natural...we're meant to have 5 portions of fruit n veg a day? is she gonna tell us to change the veg to chocolate now?

IDIOT

[Nick]

I don't think channel4 should have allowed that section to air.
How they can possibly say that fruit is better than liquified fruit is beyond me. I just hope no one got sucked in by it, and has switched to drinking fizzy drinks.

[Eri]

Glad you made this post. I'm a huge F-Word fan, but couldn't believe how ridiculous the points JSP was putting across were. However, I'd also hope that the majority of viewers wouldn't be stupid enough to not realise that if you add *anything* to a standard diet and don't change your exercise habits, you will put on weight, be it smoothies, chocolate or a piece of fruit. It's a terrible shame that the consumers interviewed just accepted the idiocy of "a smoothie contains twice as much sugar as a can of fizzy drink" rather than think for a minute about what they were being told. I will certainly continue to drink my Innocent Smoothies and This Waters and will pay no heed to anything JSP has to say in the future.

[sofia]

i saw it as well. but i'm confused - if smoothies are just made of pure fruit - surely no-one would ever say "don't eat that piece of fruit, it's full of sugar"?? so why was JSP saying that same thing about smoothies? i'll continue to drink innocent smoothies because i think they are good for you... and JSP has gone down in my estimation for what i consider to be a rubbish article... hmph

[The GIN Lady]

Yep, as I suspected. I'm not alone in my reaction. I love the F word, but the report was so biaised. Firstly, Janet hates smoothies! Secondly, unfair comparison to take just one ingredient - sugar. If compared on all ingredients in a Lilt to a smoothie, well, it's a no brainer, and thirdly, it didn't take into exercise into account. I speed walk with a buggy 1hr 20 mins everyday - I need innocent smoothies to fuel me. No chance of a big bottom here!

[Dr Broccoli]

I do like the show too but the piece of work was unexplicably biased. Although, it mentioned the minerals, fibres and vitamins contained in Smoothies (I am not sure whether it specifically refered to Innocent smoothies) the focus was the the calories and the SUGAR. However, if we for a minute disregard anything else and concentrate on just the SUGAR too, there is a major difference. Sugar in smoothies is naturally occuring FRUCTOSE whilst chocolate bars and fizzy drinks contain artificially produced sweetners (often associated with cancer) and/or SUCROSE.

Fructose is slowly metabolised by our bodies (it has a low glycemic index GI)whilst sucrose it is used up quickly (high GI) and raises the pancreas is forced to pump out insulin which puts more stress on the body.

Surely it is not just about quantity but also quality too!