It is important to remind people that anything you choose to ingest often has a positive and negative benefit to it. Although I drink green smoothies daily and believe they are a great way to help alkalinize your pH daily, some caution for the general population might be warranted in terms of ingesting them in excess.
Drinking green vegetables which are full of fiber feed all bacteria in your gut- both good and bad. If you have been on courses of antibiotics in your life, taken birth control pills or other medications, you likely have some bad bacteria in your system. Certainly digestive disturbances like gas or bloating would be some indication that you might benefit from more good bacteria in your system. There is a strong gut-brain axis so feeding bad bacteria could lead to the generation of toxins that negatively affect your mental health. (Stool tests can help determine the ratios of good to bad bacteria but in many instances supplementing with good bacteria can influence the ratio favoring the good). I read some reports of people having bad bacteria in their system- bacteria that feed on iron for instance can make people more susceptible to iron- deficiency anemia. There are herbs that can kill bad bacteria- please book an appointment to discuss this with me. You can read my post on probiotic bacteria to refresh your memory about the importance of bacteria.
Drinking green smoothies without rotating the greens you put in them is not ideal. For instance, the brassica family which includes kale, collards, arugula, broccoli, and others can act as goitrogens in those with low thyroid function if ingested in excess. I probably would not recommend green smoothies for people with questionable thyroid function (both low and high).Because of the oxalates in spinach, those susceptible to calcium oxalate kidney stones would be at risk ingesting green smoothies all the time. In fact, I would not recommend green smoothies at all for those folks. There are positive benefits for most of the population from drinking green smoothies such as higher intake of minerals including calcium and magnesium, a considerable increase in vegetable fiber, more energy (chlorophyll, a pigment found in plants mimics hemoglobin in the blood thus green smoothies give you more life energy) and more hydration for your tissues, thus some tips to making your experience better are warranted.
Buy organic greens for maximal benefit; otherwise they are high in pesticides. Rotate the greens you put in your smoothies every 2 weeks if possible. For two weeks, choose kale and romaine lettuce; the next two weeks choose spinach and leaf lettuce; the next two weeks choose parsley and bok choy; the next 2 weeks choose collards and chard. These are ideas only. if you can think of other greens you really like then add them into your rotation…Then add other veggies to the basic greens selected; choose cucumbers (peel if not organic), organic celery, organic apples, kiwi (if you like extra fruit) and 1/2 avocado for healthy fat. I add fresh peeled ginger root (1 – 2 cm) and I have been known to add other herbs like fresh organic sage or fresh cilantro. I always add a glass of water to the basic mix and blend in a decent blender. I use the Ninja blender from Canadian tire which is affordable and effective to blend greens. Other people like to use Vita-mix blenders.
Since I have been drinking green smoothies, I have more energy and I have more stable blood sugar. I have more color in my face and my immune system is stronger. Try them out and post a comment about your experience on my blog…