The new craze which has taken students by storm. Why are so many people spending nearly £100 on a blender?!
The Nutribullet is described on their website as being ‘more than just a blender’ claiming to ‘break down whole fruits & veggies to extract the maximum nutrition from your food’. But for £100 is it really worth it, especially when blenders can be bought from local supermarkets for a fraction of the price?
The Nutribullet claims to ‘break down the cell walls of fibrous plant foods, releasing important vitamins and minerals contained within’ sound almost too good to be true. However, the popularity of the Nutribullet means it must be doing something right. The main plus of the Nutribullet is its ability to blend whole fruits. This is different to juicing which leaves behind the fiber of the fruit. They state this ‘break(ing) down the cell walls’ aids digestion as there is less for our bodies to process than, for example, in a normal juice. This means the Nutribullet is not only easy and relatively mess free but also better for us. Well, if this is the case then it is understandable why they have become so popular. Who wouldn’t want to improve their health while also drinking delicious smoothies?
A happy Nutribullet user doing a spectacular job of making the blender look fun and healthy. On the right is an example of what could go in your smoothie, I must admit it looks tempting (Source: https://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/bullettcover.jpg)
Obviously, I am not the first person to doubt the Nutribullet amazing abilities. America’s NBC News were also clearly skeptical and decided to investigate these claims. Marion Nestle, a professor of the Department of Food Studies, Nutrition and Public Health at New York University told the Irish Times that there was no actual evidence to suggest that pulverized food is better for us. He claims that the blender cannot change the food at a molecular level and thus it appears that some of the claims made on the website are far fetched. Understandably this is only one opinion but I must admit if I was going to buy a blender I’d probably go for a cheaper option.
Although the claims might be slightly too good to be true, the popularity of the Nutribullet is not a bad thing. If having a fashionable blender means more people reach the goal of ‘5 a day’ then no one is complaining. The Nutribullet has been marketed impressively well, they have successfully made making an oatmeal smoothie for breakfast or a green spinach smoothie seem strangely appealing. I must admit, even I found looking at the website before I wrote this article compelling.
However, something else I discovered while looking online for this article was not as compelling. There have been some claims that Nutribullet users have experienced exploding blenders. The newspaper The Independent quoted one women who said the ‘skin was melting off’ her face and described ‘unbearable’ pain. The website does warn users not to put hot liquids or ingredients into the Nutribullet and therefore I can only stress to users – be careful and read the instructions.
Ultimately, whether the Nutribullet is worth it or not is really down to your own opinion. I personally won’t be buying one, but I also won’t say no to borrowing one of my housemates if I’m ever in need of a delicious smoothie.