I kind of cringe at the fact I’m a green smoothie fan. I never bought into flouro T-shirts back in the ‘80s and I don’t do diets. I try many things, but I don’t like to buy into a “thing”, unless a) I’ve looked into said thing in detail, b) I’ve experienced a substantial improvement in my life from it and, generally, c) I can do it myself (without purchasing some fan-dangled contraption or procedure or whatever).
Surprisingly, green smoothies tick off my three considerations:
- The evidence suggests they are an effective way to get dense nutrition into our bodies.
- I’ve found them to be a really nifty way to eat my greens and notice the difference when I’m not drinking (or eating) one.
- Green smoothies are not about purchasing a fancy, expensive product in terribly wasteful packaging. I make my own with ease and tote in old jars and reusable cannisters.
Thus I comfortably do green smoothies. Most days. And in different forms.
Why drink your greens?
We need to be eating 5-6 serves of vegetables a day (according to national nutritional guidelines) to get enought macro and micronutrients into our beings. I’d say 6-8 is optimal, especially if you have compromised health. Most of us find this hard to pull off daily. Most meals are packed out with carbs and other nutrient-negligible fillers, leaving little room for greens.
By creating a meal around greens, it ensures you get a good 2-3 serves of the good stuff into your day.
It also “crowds out” the crap. While ever you’re filling up on greens, you’re not eating the nutrient-negligible fillers.
Green smoothies v green juices
The difference between the two is this:
smoothies are made by pureeing whole fruit and vegetables into a thick drink. Juices extract the ‘juice’ only and the pulp is tossed.
So why do I prefer the former?
- Smoothies are more filling. The fibre keeps us fuller longer, taking almost twice as long as liquids to leave our guts. Juices can also slow your metabolism (the calorie decrease can send the body into starvation mode, causing you to store energy).
- Smoothies don’t constipate. Juices can. You need fibre for your gut to move and to maintain the right kind of bacteria to keep