Gonna get me some fiber / Gonna drink it right up. Gonna drink night and day / Gonna drink ’till I’m stuffed*


And you’ll have to, because while the newest drink to hit the market has fiber, it only has a fraction of the fiber we need.

Let me explain.

Say hello to LightFull Satiety Smoothie, yet another drink (and is it me or are there an amazing number of new drinks on the market these days?) to hit the market this season. The premise behind this drink is what they call “The Science of Satiety.” In other words, eating until you are satiated (satisfied).

And that’s where the fiber comes in. LightFull Satiety Smoothie contain 5 – 6 grams of fiber. This fiber, in turn, is supposed to “… keep people feeling full and satisfied for two-three hours on average …”

We need SIX TIMES the fiber this drink provides
The only problem is, we need more than 5 – 6 grams of fiber a day. A lot more. In fact, the news release itself says we need the “… recommended daily allowance of 24-30 grams of fiber each day …”

It’ll cost you $15 to get the fiber you need from this drink
Hmmm. These drinks are loosely 100 calories and $2.50 each. To get the fiber we need, we have to drink about 6 of these every day. That comes out to 600 calories and $15 a day. Every day. Of course, they are not suggesting we drink 6 of these a day. Certainly not.

We can get the fiber we need for less than $1
To put this into perspective, half a cup of whole grain flax seed gives you ALL the fiber you need, costs less than $1, and is yummy sprinkled on yogurt and in smoothies and added to soups and a stir fry.

(Don’t like flax seeds or just can’t eat that much? No worries. A cup of cooked black beans contains nearly 20 grams of fiber. Two slices of whole wheat bread is 12 grams. Three dried figs are 10 grams. And so on.)

And that ingredient list is just too long
Best of all, the ingredient list for flax seeds is, ummm, flax seeds, while the ingredient list for the smoothies contain everything from cane juice (from sugar cane; where we get sugar) to stevia leaf powder (a controversial product used in some countries, such as Japan, and banned in full or in part in many other countries, such as the U.S.).

I’d call “The Science of Satiety,” at least in this context, the science of wasting money, I’m afraid.

(*The headline is to be sung to a blues melody. A very bad blues melody, I’m afraid. Which is why I make my living as a writer and not a musician!)

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{ 4 Comments }

Comments

4 Responses to “Gonna get me some fiber / Gonna drink it right up. Gonna drink night and day / Gonna drink ’till I’m stuffed*”

  1. Homesick Texan

    Hear, hear! I’m so tired of processed junk that makes silly health claims. It’s always just a ploy for your money indeed!

  2. Jul

    I’ve taken a restraining order out against science. It must stay at least 50 feet away from my diet at all times.

  3. Almost Vegetarian

    LOL. I was just saying yesterday that I am just not inclined to believe studies any more. Just eat well – veg, whole grains, fruit, etc. – and all should be okay. I hope!

  4. Leenda

    Stevia is banned in the US as a sweetener (due solely to pressures from the sugar industry–they don’t want a product that is 100% natural, calorie free, and much sweeter than sugar to be introduced because they know they’d tank) but is accepted as a food additive/supplement. Your article makes it appear that stevia is banned for health reasons rather than due to the pressure from big business. Otherwise, very helpful information.

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