What Your Body Is Actually Doing With That Protein Smoothie
The protein smoothie has become almost sacred in wellness culture. And although I bought into it years ago now it makes me cringe.
Frozen fruit, some greens, a scoop of protein powder. It sounds like the responsible choice, doesn’t it. And after years of being told that women, especially after forty, need more protein, it feels like you’re doing something right.
I want to say something upfront: true protein deficiency in North Americans is genuinely rare. Most of us are already getting more than enough through regular food. The protein industry has done a remarkable job of convincing people they have a problem they largely don’t have.
Unless you’re someone who is working out or doing something very physical for long periods of time, you don’t need high amounts of protein for rebuilding and repairing tissue.
You’re already getting plenty of amino acids (the building blocks of protein) from the rest of the healthy foods you eat.
What I actually want to talk about is something that got completely buried in all of that noise.
Fruit and protein digest at completely different speeds.
This is one of the first things you learn in nutrition school. Different foods digest at different rates and need different conditions in the body to break down properly.
Fruit digests fast. Your body handles it easily. That’s part of why a fruit-based smoothie gives you a real lift in the morning. Your body gets to use that glucose quickly.
Protein takes significantly longer. Your stomach needs to become more acidic. Enzymes work harder. The process is slower.
When you blend both together, your body can’t handle them the same. The fruit sits in your stomach longer than it should. The glucose your brain and muscles were counting on gets held up in your bloodstream raising your blood sugar. And you end up feeling heavier and more sluggish than you expected, often without understanding why, because everything in that smoothie looked perfectly healthy.
This is Holistic Nutrition 101. Somewhere along the way it got completely buried under the protein conversation.
Most women don’t have a protein problem. They have a digestion problem.
I see this regularly. Women doing a lot of the right things and still lacking the energy they desire. Many have already bought into the idea that they need more protein, so they’ve added powder to their smoothies, their oatmeal, their coffee, and they still don’t feel well. But what’s important to note is that too much protein can be hard for most of us to digest. (And don’t get me started on how this starts to overburden their livers in turn affecting their hormone balance.)
Protein deficiency is for the most part a myth. Most people eating a variety of foods get plenty of protein through whole foods without ever thinking about it. The protein powder industry has a clear financial interest in making you believe otherwise, and mainstream wellness has unfortunately just repeated that message.
When digestion is already compromised, adding more protein makes things worse. Many protein powders also contain sweeteners, binders, and additives your body has to sort through on top of the protein itself. Protein powder is a highly processed ‘food’. I thought we were supposed to be eating fresh, unprocessed foods?
What I actually do.
My smoothies are fruit-based. No protein powder. I add leafy greens, sometimes a strip of dulse for minerals, occasionally some spirulina. I keep it simple.
If I want protein later, I’ll have it at least an hour or 2 after my smoothie if I’m even hungry by then.
I’ve been doing this for years now and feel noticeably better doing it this way.
Consider trying this.
Skip the protein powder (Greek yogurt, nuts and nut butters as well) for two or three weeks. Keep your smoothie fruit and greens based. If you still want protein in the morning, have it separately, at least an hour or two later.
Pay attention to any changes in how you feel. Does your digestion feel easier? How is your energy?
We’ve been thoroughly trained to believe more protein equals better health. Taking it out can feel like you’re doing something wrong. You’re not. You’re just paying attention to what your body wants you to know.
Until next time,
Debbie