Unless you have been hiding in a cave, we are sure you have heard of
the astounding health benefits of your green smoothie. But are green
smoothies as nutritionally impressive as they seem?
Keep in mind when making delicious green smoothies, you should add healthy fats to your greens. Since vegetable nutrients
are better absorbed when ingested with fats.
Try adding full-fat coconut oil,
coconut milk, coconut cream, Greek yogurt, or nut butters to increase
vitamin absorption. Find out if green smoothies are the best way to get
your nutrients in this great article from One Green Planet.
Green Smoothie Benefits
by: One Green Planet
Green smoothies have attracted massive fans from the health community
for decades…celebrated for their impressive nutrient content,
convenience, and ease of consumption. There are even full books
dedicated solely to green smoothie recipes, like Victoria Boutenko’s
Green Smoothie Revolution and the recent Bo Rinaldi’s
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Smoothies.
In fact, I advocate their benefits everywhere I speak, included recipes
for green smoothies in both of my books, and even demonstrate them on
shows like Reluctantly Healthy and The Dr.Oz Show.
However, there are some allegations floating about, accusing green smoothies of being harmful. They include:
- Raise blood glucose levels
- Enable the consumption of too many calories at one meal
- Damage endothelial cells, cause metabolic syndrome, obesity, fatty liver, etc. due to the high levels of fructose
- Can lead to kidney stones since leafy greens have high oxalate content
Let’s break these down…
Blood Glucose Levels
Overall, there is no science that I am aware of directly implicating
green smoothies as suspect in any of these accusations. There is,
however, evidence supporting similar issues that people are
hypothesizing that apply to green smoothies, too. For instance, we know
that fruit juice typically raises insulin levels quicker than the whole
fruit because the fiber is removed.
However, with green smoothies, the fiber remains, only it is broken
down and may go through the digestive tract quicker than in its whole
form. If you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, or are concerned about this,
you can slow down the glycemic response (and accompanying insulin
release) to a green smoothie by:
- Adding some fat or protein to the smoothie via seeds or almond milk, for instance
- Using more leafy greens and other vegetables (celery, carrots, or avocado) and less fruits
- Choosing higher-fiber fruits like berries, mango, and pears over lower-fiber fruits like bananas and grapes
- If you have diabetes and notice an elevated blood glucose response
after trying these adjustments, perhaps you are sensitive and should
avoid them.
Calories
When it comes to calories, most vegetable and fruit smoothies can
contain anywhere between 200-500 calories per glass. My enormous It’s
Easy Being Green Smoothie from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based
Nutrition provides 460 calories for a whopping 36 ounces (equal to 4.5
cups)!
It is so filling, I dare you to finish it! Thus, you can easily
control for the calories simply by making a smaller smoothie, using it
as a meal replacement, or compensating with the rest of your meal to fit
your caloric requirements.
The Fructose Controversy
There is indeed evidence that high intake of fructose may lead to
metabolic syndrome, obesity, fatty liver, insulin resistance,
dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and even kidney disease (here and
here, for example).
But what is fructose? Fructose is a simple sugar, a monosaccharide.
For centuries, fructose was primarily consumed from natural sources like
fruits and honey.
In the last few decades, a main source for fructose became sugar,
a.k.a. “sucrose,” a disaccharide with equal parts fructose and glucose.
Additionally, man created high-fructose corn syrup in the 1970s,
offering up an opportunity for food manufacturers to save money, utilize
the excess corn supply, and sweeten processed foods.
Fructose consumption skyrocketed from approximately 4 percent of
total calories before the year 1900 to an estimated 12 percent of
calories now.
But just because fructose may be up to no good doesn’t mean that the
naturally-occurring fructose in fruits and vegetables have the same
impact as the sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup.
This study and this one differentiate and note that not all fructose
is the same, pointing out that fructose in fruit comes packaged along
with fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that
may outweigh any potential risk.
In this letter to the editor from the Journal of The American
Dietetic Association, it is postulated that the evidence pointing to
fructose alone as cause for these chronic conditions may not consider
excessive calorie intake as a possible confounding variable. It also
suggests we need good human trials before we make conclusions on the
metabolic effects of fructose.
By the way, the only research on endothelial cell injury that I found
was this study that used pure fructose and was performed on rats.
Kidney Stones and Oxalates
Only about 10 percent of the population experience kidney stones in
their lifetime. The most common types of calcium stones are listed in
this table from the Canadian Medical Association; of which the
hyperoxaluric one is associated with excessive consumption of leafy
greens and other veggies.
Concerns over green smoothies and kidney stones are in relation to
the hyperoxaluria type. Oxalates are salts of oxalic acid, an organic
acid found in many fruits and vegetables. They are normally formed into
soluble salts and excreted in the urine. However, excess levels may lead
to the formation of calcium oxalate stones in the kidney.
This condition is very rare, usually genetically-based or may be due
to dietary causes, like low calcium intake. In fact, increased intake
of dietary calcium is recommended to reverse hyperoxaluria and prevent
stone formation. Dehydration can also be a factor contributing to these
types of kidney stones.
For the rare circumstances where there are kidney stones from
hyperoxaluria, restricting oxalates may be warranted. There is also
evidence suggesting that higher dietary intake of calcium may be
protective against kidney stones, a mineral also abundant in leafy
greens.
Because of the extreme rarity of kidney stones due to oxalate intake
and the fact that most people don’t even come close to overconsuming
these foods, avoiding them is unwarranted. There are far too many
benefits from their consumption to risk foregoing them.
Speaking of Green Smoothie Benefits…
Here are just some of the myriad reasons to bring back the love of green smoothies:
It’s a very convenient and efficient method of consuming adequate
servings of fruits and vegetables.Only between 9.5 and 14 percent of the
U.S. population takes in the minimum recommended intakes of fruits and
vegetables…and that number includes fries and ketchup!
Fruit and vegetable pureed drinks significantly increase “dietary and
plasma phytochemical concentrations with a trend towards increased
endothelium-dependent vasodilation.” (George, et al, 2012) This, in
turn, decreases one’s risk for most chronic diseases.
So many of us have a tough time remembering to chew our food well
enough. Nutrients in plants are trapped within their cell walls. Humans
are not designed to break down cellulose (plant fiber). Thus, blending
the plants breaks down the cell walls for you, releasing the nutrients,
and enabling adequate absorption of nutrients…
Read more: http://dailysuperfoodlove.com/2277/myths-facts-and-green-smoothie-benefits-for-your-health/#ixzz2qz8TYNI5
