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A green smoothie is a smoothie or beverage made by blending green leafy vegetables, such as spinach or kale and fruit with water or ice. To balance flavor and nutrition the typical ratio in a green smoothie is about 60% fruit to 40% leafy greens.[1][2]

Green smoothies are popular in the raw foodism movement, and have been promoted by celebrities and fitness professionals, such as Robert Downey Jr who is seen drinking a green smoothie in the movie Iron Man[3] and Dr. Mehmet Oz who featured green smoothies in his 'How to Turn Back Time' series on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[4]

Companies have begun producing green smoothies or green juice drinks including Bolthouse Farms's Green Goodness [5], Naked Juice's Green Machine[6], and Odwalla's Original Superfood[7]. These products may be pasteurized, for example Nakes Juice and Odwalla are flash pasteurized.

History

Victoria Boutenko was the first to bring green smoothies into wide public awareness[citation needed] with her book Green For Life (2005).[8] In search for the perfect human diet, Victoria Boutenko decided to look at Chimpanzees, an animal genetically close to human beings, which share more than 98% of human DNA.[9], yet they possess an extremely strong natural immunity to AIDS, hepatitis C, cancer and other fatal human illnesses.[10] 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[11]. 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[8] so added fruit as a way to overpower the greens' flavor and make a palatable beverage with health benefits.[1]

Ingredients

As mentioned above the primary ingredients are leafy greens and fruit, preferably raw. These may include spinach, kale, wheatgrass, blue-green algae, spirulina, kiwi, bananas, mangoes and apples. Other possible ingredients include green tea. An authentic green smoothie does not include vegetables which contain starch such as broccoli, zucchini and carrot. Combining starchy vegetables with fruit is considered bad food combining and can cause difficulties with digestion.[10]

Nutritional components

Chlorophyll

Greens are the only living thing in the world that can transform sunlight into the food that all creatures can consume.[10]. The green color in plants is the molecule of chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water (H2O), 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.[12] 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.[13][14][15][16]

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.[17] The cells of the body create energy in a multi-step process with an enzyme at work on each step.[18]. 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.[19]

Alkalinity

Chlorophyll carries significant amounts of oxygen with it and thus plays a critical role in supporting the aerobic bacteria.[10] With the high oxygen content in chlorophyll and high mineral content in green plants, greens are highly alkalizing.[8] Alkalinity is the barometer of total physical health.[20]

General

Greens are filled with amino acids, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.[21][22] The abundance of amino acids in greens makes them a high source of protein. Spinach contains a complete amino acid profile.[23]

According to the USDA Greens are the highest natural source of vitamin K,[24] Raw leafy greens are also very high in potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C, E [25]

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.[26]. 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.[27].

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.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Boutenko, Victoria "Ode to a Green Smoothie", first published 2005 newsletter, RawFamily.com.
  2. ^ Zavasta, Tonya (2009), "Smooth Moves: Enjoy the Benefit of Green Smoothies and Puddings", Raw Food and Hot Yoga, ISBN 0974243493
  3. ^ "Iron Man, Man of Veggies...", DiseaseProof.com. Posted on May 11, 2008 by Gerald Pugliese.
  4. ^ ""Go Back in Time"". The Oprah Winfrey Show. January 01, 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Green Goodness", BoltHouse.com.
  6. ^ "Green Machine", NakedJuice.com.
  7. ^ Odwalla.com.
  8. ^ a b c Boutenko, Victoria. Green for Life, [page needed]. Raw Family Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0970481969.
  9. ^ Frans B. M. de Waal. Tree of Origin: What Primate Behaviour can Tell Us about Human Social Evolution, [page needed]. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Massachusetts, and London, England. 2001. ISBN 0674004604.
  10. ^ a b c d Boutenko, Victoria. Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health, [page needed]. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 2009. ISBN 1556438125.
  11. ^ Goodall, Jane. The Chimpanzees of Gombe, [page needed]. Massachusetts: The Belknap Press pf Harvard University Press 1986. ISBN 0674116496.
  12. ^ Warburg, Otto. "The Oxygen-Transferring Ferment of Respiration". Nobel Lecture. 1931. From Nobel Lectures, Physiology or Medicine 1922-1941, [page needed]. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Company, 1965
  13. ^ de Vogel, Johan (August 2005). "Natural Chlorophyll but Not Chlorophyllin Prevents Heme-Induced Cytotoxic and Hyperproliferative Effects in Rat Colon". J. Nutr. 135 (8). The American Society for Nutritional Sciences: 1995–2000. PMID 16046728. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Ferruzzia, Mario G.; Blakesleeb, Joshua (2007). "Digestion, absorption, and cancer preventative activity of dietary chlorophyll derivatives". Nutrition Research. 27 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2006.12.003. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "Chlorophyllin Reduces Aflatoxin Indicators Amoung People at High Risk for Liver Cancer". Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Baltimore, MD. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, [page needed]. November 27, 2001'
  16. ^ Chernomorsky, S. et al. "Effects of Dietary Chlorophyll Derivatives on Mutagenesis and Tumor Cell Growth". Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis and Mutagenesis, [page needed]. 1995
  17. ^ Howell, Dr. Edward. Enzyme Nutrition, [page needed]. Avery, Penguin Putnam Inc., 1995. ISBN 0895292211.
  18. ^ Jensen, Bernard. Come Alive!, [page needed]. Bernard Jenson, Escondido, 1997. ISBN 0932615643.
  19. ^ Schenck, Susan. The Live Food Factor, [page needed]. Awakenings Publications, San Diego, 2006. ISBN 0977679500.
  20. ^ Baroody, Dr. Theodore. Alkalize or Die!, [page needed]. Eclectic Publishing, 1991. ISBN 0961959533.
  21. ^ Albi, Johnna and Catherine Walthers. Greens Glorious Greens!, [page needed]. St. Martin's Press, NY. 1996. ISBN 0312141084.
  22. ^ "Plant-based nutrition" (doc). Spring 2002. Retrieved 2007-11-14. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ NutritionaData.com. Condé Nast Digital.
  24. ^ "USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 21: (μg) Content of Selected Foods per Common Measure, Vitamin K (phylloquinone) sorted by nutrient content", USDA.gov.
  25. ^ "Search the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference", Nutrient Data Laboratory, USDA.gov. Accessed 25/4/2010.
  26. ^ Price, Weston A., D.D.S Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, [page needed]. California: The Prince-Pottender Nutrition Foundation, Inc. 2003. 6th Edition. ISBN 0879838167.
  27. ^ "Breakthrough Research": Effect of Vitamix blender vs a control blender and chewing on the particle size of different fruits and vegetables, Vitamix.com. University of Toronto, Ontario Canada.
  28. ^ Dr. McDougall, John. The McDougall Plan for Maximum Weight Loss, [page needed]. Plume Books 1995. ISBN 0452273803.
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