Am I getting rid of my fiber?

February 10, 2008 7:03 PM

Am I getting rid of my fiber?

I make home made Jamba Juice-type smoothies, and I love them. I usually throw in some soy milk, a banana, apple, carrot, strawberries, and some protein powder. Now my question is, when all these fruits are blended, am I blending away the fiber content? That would be a shame, as these juices are packed with nutrients.

posted by princeofpersiaxz to Food & Drink (5 answers total)

No.
posted by rhizome at 7:12 PM on February 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I would think not. The carrots and the apple are soluble fiber, except for the skins (apple) and strawberry seeds is insoluble. It doesn't matter if you blend them. The skins will remain insoluble even if you blend them into little bits and the other fruit will remain soluble no matter how you blend or pulverize them.
posted by LoriFLA at 7:16 PM on February 10, 2008

No, fiber is a combination of cellulose, pectins and a few other things. Sticking fruits in a blender does nothing to the fiber content. Juicing and throwing away the pulp , on the other hand, will remove most of the fiber.
posted by 517 at 7:31 PM on February 10, 2008

Good god, no. You can't blend fiber away. You could add psillium fiber if you wanted, but you seem to be getting a lot as it is.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 7:54 PM on February 10, 2008

My mom always said that and I think she was confused by the difference be the difference between juice (where things are removed) and smoothies (which are just blended). I'm glad it isn't true!
posted by melissam at 8:15 PM on February 10, 2008