Green smoothie

Template:Rescue A green smoothie is a drink made by blending green leafy vegetables, such as spinach or kale, with fruit and water. It is suggested that the ratio in a green smoothie should be about 60% - fruit mixed with about 40% - leafy greens. Ripe, organic ingredients are most beneficial and tasty.

Green smoothies are very popular in the raw vegan diet movement and are quickly making their way to the mainstream. [Robert Downey Jrn] was seen drinking a green smoothie in the movie "Iron Man" and Dr Oz featured green smoothies in his 'How to turn back time' series on the [Oprah Winfery show]. People suffering from illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, depression and asthma have shared that green smoothies contributed to improving their health.

History

The first record of greens being blended for health purposes is from Dr Ann Wigmore. Dr Ann Wigmore discovered that food was more easily assimilated if it was blended Wigmore believed that "Blending helps the body to clean itself and thus it restores health much quicker than just eating the foods as salads, yet it does not overtax the system with the rapid cleansing action of juices"

Wigmore understood the importance of greens and was the first to blend them, calling her meal an ‘energy soup’. Wigmore's energy soup consisted of greens, seaweed, sprouts, rejuvelac (fermented drink made from wheat) and a small amount of fruit. This liquid was consumed like a medicine and was not very palatable, so while it was used for healing, people did not incorporate it into their daily diet.

In search for the perfect human diet, Victoria Boutenko decided to look at an animal genetically close to human beings, Chimpanzees. Chimpanzees share more than 98% of human DNA. , yet they possess an extremely strong natural immunity to AIDS, hepatitis C, cancer and other fatal human illnesses. The research of Dr Jane Goodall shows that half of a chimpanzee's diet is fruit and 40% is green leaves. Chimps also eat a small amount of seeds, bark, and pith, which is the stem of the plant, and they eat about 5% insects. Boutenko set out to prove that understanding the eating habits of wild chimpanzees may help us better understand what the human diet was originally, and that large quantities of greens were the missing ingredient to her family’s raw food diet. Blending greens was the solution to consuming large quantities of greens, however Boutenko found that the taste of chlorophyll was not very appealing so added fruit as a way to overpower the greens' flavor and make a palatable beverage with health benefits.

Healthful Components

Chlorophyll: Greens are the only living thing in the world that can transform sunlight into the food that all creatures can consume.. The green color in plants is the molecule of chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water, a process known as photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is found in most plants and is the basis for every form of carbohydrate on our planet. The molecule of chlorophyll has one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood: magnesium instead of iron. Because of this similarity, consumption of chlorophyll can stimulate hemoglobin and red blood cell production. Swiss physician Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner said chlorophyll increases the functions of the entire body including the heart, vascular system, lungs, uterus and intestines. There is evidence that supports the beneficial effects of chlorophyll in the human diet and while these claims are not substantiated some research exists showing that diets high in chlorophyll, present in higher concentrations in green leafy vegetables, have lower rates of cancer.

Enzymes: The living enzymes contained in raw fruit and greens give the body active energy. The principle of the raw food diet is to replenish the body with more living, active enzymes than the body can use up. The cells of the body create energy in a multi-step process with an enzyme at work on each step.. Susan Schenck briefly describes sixty-six different scientific studies that reveal various benefits of raw food and dangers of cooked food in her IPPY award winning book, "The Live Food Factor".

Alkalinity: Chlorophyll carries significant amounts of oxygen with it and thus plays a critical role in supporting the aerobic bacteria.With the high oxygen content in chlorophyll and high mineral content in green plants, greens are highly alkalizing. Alkalinity is the barometer of total physical health.

Nutrition: Greens are filled with amino acids, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. The abundance of amino acids in greens makes them a high source of protein. Spinach contains a complete amino acid profile.

According to the USDA Greens are the highest natural source of vitamin K, Raw leafy greens are also very high Potassium, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Vitimin A, C, E

Bioavailability: In order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break the tough cellulose structures of plants. Cellulose is insoluble, which means to get the nutrients, its structure has to be broken into the tiniest pieces, preferably down to the molecules. However after many decades of eating mostly heavily processed foods, modern people have lost their ability to chew normally, which makes absorbing nutrients difficult.. A high speed blender has the ability to disrupt plant cell wall structure and significantly reduce food particle size which may enhance the bioavailability of essential nutrients in fruits and vegetables..

Fiber: Green smoothies are different from green drink or green juice because the fiber is not removed by blending the greens. Fiber helps to dilute, bind and remove many of the carcinogens and toxins found in our food and water, by cleansing the colon.

External Links

• Raw Family
• Green Smoothies Blog