How Jamba Juice Ruins Smoothies

You already know how McDonald's makes oatmeal bad for you—now let Mother Jones educate you about how Jamba Juice does the same thing with smoothies. Here's how to make an easy, relatively low-calorie smoothie at home: Fruit, ice, skim milk, blender. Here's how Jamba Juice makes their smoothies, which typically contain about 400 calories each: Use frozen yogurt or sherbet instead of milk, include artificial sweeteners, and use something called "dairy base."

Jamba Juice will let you substitute soy milk for the frozen yogurt, but flatly refuses to use regular milk. Why? "Milk and fruit doesn't taste good together," one store's general manager theorizes. And while 400 calories isn't bad for a fast food meal, most people will actually drink a smoothie in addition to a meal. Most troubling to some is the inclusion of Splenda in the "light" smoothies, an inclusion that isn't made obvious. "The jury is still out on whether Splenda poses a health risk," writes Ashley Bates, but one professor says she "doesn't see any reason" anybody should consume it. (More Jamba Juice stories.)