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THOUGH TOUTED as healthy drinks, smoothies can be both angelic and devilish.

I myself have a sweet tooth and am a firm believer in occasional desserts--but some smoothies are 1,300-calorie shakes with a shot of protein powder or vitamins, masquerading as a health food. They're too high in calories for all but athletes or underweight people.

On the other hand, some smoothies are lower-calorie blends of whole fruits and yogurt that are nourishing and delicious.

The only way to tell the smoothies apart is to ask smoothie makers for a complete list of ingredients. Often, they'll just tell you the main flavors, say lime and pineapple, or strawberry-banana. But what you need to know is what else they add.

Hopefully, they use something relatively fresh, like low-fat milk, yogurt, and whole fruits. Unfortunately, many smoothie joints use processed foods that are higher in calories but lower in fiber, like juices, limeade, sugar, fruit-flavored syrups, ice cream and the like. These are perfect if you're planning on having a rich dessert, but not if you're expecting a low-calorie fruit drink.

For example, at Smoothie King, a national chain with stores in Northern Virginia, the Blueberry Heaven is a 260-calorie drink with lots of fruit. But if you drink the Chocolate Hulk instead, you get 846 calories.

Even among seemingly healthful, fruit-filled drinks, the calorie difference can be significant. Mango Fest at Smoothie King has 320 calories, while the Banana Boat packs 520 calories--more than a McDonald's Quarter-Pounder with cheese.

Along with the main ingredients, many smoothie stands advertise "healthy" additions such as "immune formula," spirulina and vitamin powders.

Depending on how well the workers measure things, you could get an overdose (or underdose) of what you ordered, and there's no guarantee that the mixtures of herbs and vitamins will really help you.

If you want supplements, I recommend taking them separately, in a pill, where dosage is more controlled and you can read a label to find out exactly what you're getting and discuss it with your doctor.

Many smoothie places don't tell you how many milligrams of vitamins and minerals you're getting, and contrary to popular belief, you actually can overdose on vitamins or experience harmful interactions with prescription medicines.