MY EXPERIENCE
I became obsessed with green smoothies after reading an article about them that my mom gave me one Christmas. I then did some research of my own, got myself a Vitamix and started making my own green smoothies. I was blending a green smoothie for myself every morning and started noticing some changes with my body. This was rather shocking to me because I always saw myself as a fairly healthy person.
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 12…(well started out as a vegetarian, then vegan, back to vegetarian and now a pescatarian with a lot of rules) loved fruits and veggies, ate better than all of my friends, never ate fast food and exercised almost every day. Sweets and desserts are my weakness but I felt like I was a fairly balanced person when it came to food. I had an expensive juicer and would juice occasionally but it was a massive pain to clean and honestly seemed like such a waste of food considering how many fruits and veggies you had to juice only to fill half of a glass!
The first major changes I noticed with myself was that my skin got clearer and I stopped craving sweets the way I did. This was a big deal for me. I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and two symptoms are acne and increased insulin levels which causes me to crave sweets especially after meals! Ugh, just what I needed! The second change was I found myself to be less gassy. Embarrassing to admit but it’s true! I’m pretty sure this was due to a change in my gut microbiome (big word for bacteria community) and acidity of my stomach. This increased the efficiency in which food was broken down and nutrient absorption. More on that below. The last thing I noticed was that I lost some weight and had more energy. It was a little weird. I didn’t need as much sleep and wasn’t feeling tired. The smoothies really made me feel healthy, clean, satisfied and cut my cravings for sugar. You know the feeling after you get your teeth cleaned at the dentist? That’s how my body feels after drinking a green smoothie.
BENEFITS OF GREEN SMOOTHIES
Below is a summary of my knowledge and what I have learned over the years expressed in my own words.
The point of green smoothies is to get more leafy greens and fiber in your diet. I base my recipes around the greens I’m using. You want to consume your smoothie right after making it. The smoothie is full of antioxidants and enzymes from the fruit and veggies that immediately start to degrade when exposed to oxygen so drink up!
FIBER – I can’t say enough good things about fiber. I like to say it’s the key to life. It keeps the digestive system healthy, slows down the breakdown of carbs and thus slowing down the absorption of sugar. This is really important for regulating blood sugar and keeping diabetes away. Fiber helps you feel full faster and longer therefore eating less. It helps to flush out toxins and reduces inflammation. In my mind this is what you call a true cleanse. I think if you’re trying to detox and do a cleanse it should be with a diet full of fiber, hence why green smoothies are better than green juice. I think of fiber like sand. If you pour oil on sand it absorbs it. That’s what I feel like fiber does with fat, cholesterol and toxins. It also helps to decrease bloating!
VITAMINS, MINERALS & PHYTOCHEMICALS – We all know vitamins and minerals are essential but phytochemicals are equally important. They can act as antioxidants helping to neutralize free radicals in the body. If free radicals are left alone and not neutralized, they can cause damage to cells in the body. This can lead to things like wrinkles and can be precursors to cancer. They also help combat inflammation, keep your body’s immunity up and can help with hormone regulation.
GUT HEALTH – Eating more leafy greens can change the bacteria in your gut for the better. You want the good bacteria in your gut to be happy and healthy and when it is, your body is able to breakdown food into nutrients it can use more efficiently. Liquifying fruits and veggies also helps your body uptake nutrients more easily. There have been more and more studies coming out linking gut health to overall health.
I think green smoothies can have a positive healthy impact so give ’em a try!