Jamba Juice Smoothies: How Healthy?

Now that we're in the thick of summer, some of you may be heading towards the fridge or the nearest ice cream parlor to get a break from the heat. There are those who've been working hard on their summer bodies but are looking for some kind of relief in the form of cold, tasty treats. How do you manage to stay in shape, stay cool, and stay full of sweets all at the same time?

For some, the answer is one of my personal favorites: Jamba Juice. Ever since I moved to the West Coast I've seen and experienced more Jamba Juice drinks than ever before. You can get these smoothies in all kinds of sizes, tastes, fruits, flavors...the options seem limitless and healthy all at once.

However, from reading the fine print, Jamba Juice drinks can be loaded with calories and ingredients you wouldn't normally think a healthy smoothie would have. Start with a Jamba Classic, like Banana Berry. I counted 25 different vitamins and minerals in a 16-ounce serving of this most tasty treat. You get all of them from the apple strawberry juice blend, bananas, nonfat frozen yogurt, blueberries and raspberries. But did you know there is also corn syrup and regular sugar?

I always thought the sweet part of the drink was from the natural fruit sweetness and maybe a little bit of sugar, but get this: there are 59 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce version of Banana Berry! Not only that, you'll find 67 grams of carbs and 280 calories in that small drink. Get a power-sized serving (30 ounces) and you're looking at 600 calories, 142 grams of carbs, and 125 grams of sugar. But hey, only 1.5 grams of fat in that size.

The Orange Dream Machine is another Jamba favorite of mine, but it's just as loaded with sugars and carbs. The orange juice, orange sherbet and soymilk combo goes smoothly down the throat and into a waiting belly, but it comes with a small price: 100 grams of sugar per 24 ounce serving. With 520 calories and 106 grams of carbs, you can count that as a pretty hefty breakfast.

The Peanut Butter Mo'od is a Jamba Juice specialty that will boost your protein intake for the day which is great if you're building muscles. Although not as high in sugar per ounce as some of the other drinks, you are sure to feel full after drinking this smoothie: a 24 oz "original" serving size boasts 840 calories and 25 grams of protein, 139 carb grams, and 25 grams of fat. Push it to a "power" 30 ounce and you can count on 1170 calories!

But if you study the ingredients, calories, and carbs, Jamba Juice smoothies can be effective. Most of the sugars will come from the natural fruits and non-fat yogurts and sherbets. Compare that to full-fat ice cream like at Cold Stone Creamery, and Jamba stands tall in the ways of nutrition.

Consider using Jamba Juice smoothies as a meal replacement, especially after that morning run. A Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit from McDonald's will hand you 500 calories, 250 of which are from fat. It's also got 49 grams of saturated fat and 7 grams of trans fats. Compared to that, I'll take a Jamba for $100, Alex. Even the 30-ounce Peanut Butter Mo'od takes less time to eat than the Big Deluxe McDonald's breakfast and still has fewer calories.

So the next time you go for that Jamba Juice drink, know that you're getting quite a punch in that smoothie. It's not all bad for you when it balance it out against your other meals. As for me, I wish they'd bring back the Pina Colada flavor!