Green Smoothie Trial
By Joanne Oliver
Quite early on in my programme I like to introduce my clients and patients to the Green Smoothie.
For those new the to the concept a green smoothie is where you blend fruit with green leafy vegetables.
Why? Victoria Boutenko and her ground breaking book 'Green for Life' is the lady we have to thank for the green smoothie. Victoria and her family who live in America all suffered with a range of health conditions. So Victoria set out to find natural ways to heal them. For a number of years they all followed a raw living diet, which at first brought them great results. But slowly they realised they were missing a vital ingredient to their long term health. So Victoria started some extensive research that lead her to chimpanzees! Medical research like to use these wonderful animals as they 'resemble humans more than any other animal'. There is some amazing research going on looking at these truly remarkable animals. What Victoria did was study their diet, after all they had to be given our human diseases rather than creating disease themselves. ( Animals seem to only get disease when we bring them into our 'civilised' human lifestyle - in the wild they suffer from predators, accidents and old age)
Right, back to the Green Smoothie, chimpanzees eat mostly green leafy vegetables with small amounts of fruit and seeds and a small % of insects. While modern man eats small amounts of vegetables and of these the green leafy ones even less!!
Victoria has done some brilliant research into the benefits of the 'Greens'. In brief;
*They have large amounts of proteins, as well as minerals and vitamins
*They contain large amounts of chlorophyll, a molecule of which is very similar to our own blood molecule, and it also carries oxygen round the body.These and many other facts of chlorophyll make it an amazing healing substance.
* Greens contain fibre, known as the 'magic sponge' of great importance to the colon. They are also very alkaline and many naturopaths believe an acidic body breeds disease.
I could go on, there are so many amazing reasons why greens are so important in the daily diet - which I detail to my patients. But Victoria found her first hurdle was that most of us find large amounts of raw greens unpalatable. Looking to the chimpanzees again she noticed they often wrapped their green leaves round a small piece of fruit. So the green smoothie was born!
Victoria was so amazed at the results She and her family found with the green smoothie that they started several Green Smoothie trials - All they had to do was change nothing in their diet except include one quart (2 pints) of green smoothie every day - the results which are well documented were amazing from weight loss, less cravings, better sleep, better energy, better skin, reduction in all health conditions and this was only for 30 days! Here is some more information for you;
*Fruit and greens make a good combination, with the fruit balancing out the strong 'raw green' effects.
*When starting I suggest you go slowly, use more fruit and choose the ones you enjoy. Romaine lettuce and spinach are very mild, but only use a little to start. Gradually you will be able to include more greens and less fruit.
*If the green look of the smoothie puts you off, don't use a glass find a large mug or include berries which turn it red/purple or blue!! You can make them up and keep in a thermos flask or fridge for a good 24hours or more.
*Greens you can include - and should rotate for best results - are Romaine and other lettuce such as endives and baby leaf varieties, spinach, parsley, coriander, kale, chard, basil, mint, rocket, watercress, and also green sprouts such as cress. My blender struggled with kale and you may want to go easy with some of the more peppery greens! You can also introduce other greens which I shall cover at a later date.
*I started with a hand blender, then moved to a smoothie maker, but really the 'king' if you have the pennies is the Vita-mix around £400 - I only know that those who use them say they are worth every penny - I'm still saving!!
Variations; You can further sweeten with dates, algave nectar and if you suffer with diabetes chia seeds and stevia herb can be used. Cinnamon, ginger, sprigs of mint, vanilla, cardamon, slice of lemon or lime, are all ways I have used to enjoy my smoothie. Examples include;
Banana, pineapple, dried coconut & romaine lettuce
Berries, pear, spinach with a sprig of mint (from the garden I have different varieties)
Banana, pear, baby lettuce leaves and ginger
You can also include veggies such as cucumber and celery which I really enjoy. Essential Fatty Acids can be included by adding seeds, sesame seeds are nice. Some people use less water and make 'puddings' and others make blended 'soups' with avocado as a creamy base and just an apple to sweeten.(these can be warmed,no hotter than 'Finger' hot and they retain their nutrients)
If the green colour really puts you off - just add a handful of berries - which ever variety you love and watch as your drink now turns pink or purple.
When to have them - to start with I did the same as the trial and just included one each day - I found mid-morning and mid-afternoon very good times. Now, 80% of the time I have a big pint for breakfast and as long as I include a banana this keeps me going - if I was hungry I would make more. Sometimes I have them for lunch or evening when I want a super quick, easy to slurp option. There are no rules!
I hope this has inspired you to at least try a green smoothie. I have found huge benefits in energy levels, emotional upliftment and stronger immune system. My clients have reported a wide range of further benefits and we all notice the difference when we stop drinking them.
Raw or living foods are gaining a lot of attention these days and having explored living foods with my clients over the past three years I can confirm many of the benefits.
Including a green smoothie is simple, quick, inexpensive and more enjoyable than it sounds - certainly worth a trial yourself.
For those with existing conditions such as diabetes it is worth contacting a health practitioner who understands living foods and can share further information and advise.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
Joanne Oliver Intuitive Naturopath
This article was posted by Joanne Oliver
