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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3388447/Is-smoothie-doing-harm-good-Drinks-cause-levels-healthy-antioxidants-body-PLUMMET.html

It's that time of the year where many of us begin hastily necking green smoothies in a bid to counteract December's excesses.

But the fruity drinks could actually be doing more harm than good, new research has warned.

Consuming a normal 360ml bottle can cause levels of antioxidants - chemicals thought to protect cells from damage - in the body to plummet for up to a day, according to a BBC experiment.

This is because we continually produces antioxidants, so ingesting a huge dose causes our bodies to stop their production to return us to normal levels.

Combined with the high sugar content - which sends blood sugar soaring and contributes to weight gain - experts verdict was that consumers should 'ignore the marketing hype' and 'not waste their money on fancy juices and smoothies'.

Free radicals are by-products of normal chemical reactions that take place in the body, such as burning sugars for energy or digestive enzymes breaking down food.

They are thought to cause damage to our DNA and our cells, and may contribute to blood vessel disease, cancer and could possibly even shorten our lifespan.

Antioxidants are able to mop up free radicals, lowering their levels in the body. Therefore, many smoothie manufacturers claim drinking smoothies will raise antioxidant levels, and protect our cells from damage.

But the programme discovered that smoothies marketed as being rich in antioxidants actually contained no more than bog standard orange juice.

They explained that vitamin C, abundant in orange juice, is an antioxidant.