What are Green Smoothies?
GREEN SMOOTHIE is a word coined by Victoria Boutenko, raw food expert and author of Green for Life. Green smoothies are the combination of about 40% greens and 60% fuit mixed with water and blended together to achieve a green mixture that is so healthy it can replace a full meal.
Very few people realize the amount of vitamins and minerals that are in a glass of green smoothies. Fact is a glass of green smoothies can provide you more bio-available and easily absorbed calcium, magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, and protein combined, than what you would normally get from your typical breakfast of bacon and eggs, cereals, or sandwich. Green smoothies also have more enzymes and fiber than the toast you put on your plate (even if it were whole wheat). Being that it is made from fresh raw fruit and vegetables makes it 100% more beneficial and much healthier for your body.
SO WHY GREENS?
Well greens, unknown to so many, provide the most significant amounts of vitamins and minerals than any other natural whole product out there. Greens have more vit C, vit K, protein, magnesium, and calcium, among others, than fruit, vegetable and meat. Greens are also known to alkalanize our bodies. I’m sure everyone has heard of the acidic pH. Our bodies have to be more alkaline than acidic in order to keep us healthy. An acidic body is more prone to infection, allergies, and illness. Meat, milk, some fruit, and veggies are acidic once taken into the body. If the body has no source of alkalinity, then a person’s health may start to deteriorate. This may start off as hay fever, or food allergies, and then progress to more sinister problems. If you take greens and provide your body a source of alkalinity, then it is able to balance itself. Because the whole concept of the green smoothies is balance, there is no fear of becoming too alkaline.
Unfortunately greens can be quite unpalatable, especially for those who have never really had them on their own before. A lot of people eat their salads with the dressings to make them sweeter. Adding fruit into the green smoothies makes drinking the smoothie much easier and a much nicer experience. The sweetness of the fruit balances the bitterness of the greens. This is where the 60%-40% mix is important to remember. This mixture helps create really great tasting and healthy smoothies.
By drinking a green smoothie, you provide your body its most needed vitamins and minerals straight from the source. Being blended, all the vitamins and minerals are readily available for the body to absorb. This means that nothing gets lost during digestion. When we eat fruit and vegetables and don’t chew them properly, we do not get to digest and metabolize all the important vitamins and minerals in them. Proof to this is when you see small pieces of your fruit or vegetables in your stool the next day and even 2 days after.
Another important information to note is that when eating greens, it is important for people to chew them very well in order to penetrate its cellulose membrane and benefit from its nutrients. Unless chewed properly, it may be difficult for our bodies to digest these greens and absorb all its nutrients. However, because of all the processed foods we eat, we no longer chew as well as our forefathers did. Therefore blending the greens ensures that nothing gets wasted – from the nutrients, the minerals, the vitamins, and the benefits – without worrying about chewing them well.
Another great benefit of drinking green smoothies is that you get the enzymes it provides. Digestive enzymes are essential in breaking-down and absorbing foods we ingest. Due to poor dietary habits, a lot of people do not produce enough enzymes to breakdown and absorb their foods. Here is where green smoothies help. With the enzymes you get from your smoothies, you know that you have enough enzymes to digest the foods you will eat.
So get started in including green smoothies in your diet.
By: Michelle Jones
