Are green smoothies worth the hype?
What are Green Smoothies?
Green smoothies are a mixture of vegetables and fruits blended with water to make “eating” vegetables easier and more enjoyable, ultimately helping you meet the required daily servings of fruits, veggies, fiber, and vitamins.
Adding appropriate amounts of creamy and citrus fruits to your veggies allows for better mixing and gives the smoothie a nice consistency and taste. Fruits help to mask the taste of veggies, particularly the ones with a stronger taste, making it easier to consume if you dislike greens.
Are green smoothies good to drink every day?
If you would like to get all the benefits that come along with consuming fruits and vegetables then yeah, absolutely.
Fruits and veggies are super packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants that have plenty of benefits. The wider the variety of ingredients you use, the more nutrients you can take advantage of.
However, you must have heard those “doomsday sayers” who argue that drinking green smoothies every day is bad for your health. They say you can find oxalates and heavy metals in certain veggies, which could lead to poisoning or kidney stones if consumed in large amounts.
You can find them in other foods, as well.
Foods like bagels, muffins, rice, potato chips, chocolate, cake, and burgers are found to have high oxalate content, and rice, fish, and bone broth contain heavy metals.
To avoid the awful side effects like developing kidney stones or poisoning, you simply have to rotate the veggies that you use when making green smoothies since vegetables have varying amounts of alkaloids and oxalates.
In his YouTube video 30 Day Green Smoothie Challenge, Sergei Boutenko does a fantastic job explaining why it’s safe to have a green smoothie every day (he also shows how to be a pro at making green smoothies and provides 30 recipes you can try).
How many green smoothies should I have per day?
I’ve been drinking anywhere between 750 ml to 1 L of green smoothie every day. I find that the more smoothies I drink, the better my body feels. I just keep it at 1-liter max because they are very filling and drinking more might affect my next meal.
And contrary to negative criticism, I’ve never felt sick, even after drinking this much for over a year now.
Green Smoothie Benefits
Since everybody has different needs, physical conditions, and health in general, we might react differently to green smoothies. In my own experience, these are the following green smoothie benefits I have enjoyed.
1. They help increase my fruit and veggie intake, even if I avoid them like the plague.
Children and some adults are alike when it comes to eating veggies.
You have to beg, bribe, or maybe even threaten them (like taking away their iPad) just to get them to eat their veggies. And these techniques may not even work in the end.
But take a look at how effortless it is to make my kids drink their kale:
I never liked kale before drinking green smoothies, but the flavor from sweet and sour fruits hides the taste of veggies and makes a delightful, or at the very least, tolerable drink to consume.
2. They are packed with different nutrients that the body will adore.
Now that it’s easier to consume veggies and fruits, I’m finally able to enjoy the benefits of the nutrients that come with it.
To summarize, here are the potential benefits I get from my green smoothie:
- Iron (for red blood cell production)
- Vitamin K (for blood clotting and bone formation)
- Vitamin C (disease prevention and immunity)
- Antioxidants
- Possible improved cholesterol and blood pressure
- Potential anti-cancer compounds that help fight the growth of cancer cells
- Promotes heart health
- Improved blood sugar control
- Better digestion
- Possible protection for the arteries and protection against some heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and may even improve memory.
- Anti-inflammatory properties
- Possibly lower risk of stroke
That’s a lot! Read this article for more information on the healthiest fruits available.
Here’s what’s awesome: Foods such as kale, spinach, bananas, and avocados are also high in magnesium, which helps to promote sleep. So if you have insomnia, a green smoothie is potentially what you need.
If the taste of green smoothies doesn’t entice you, then maybe these health benefits will. And because of these nutrients, each green smoothie you consume…
3. They give my immunity an upgrade.
Every year since 2013, I would get what I call a “seasonal cold.” I get a cough that seems to last from November until February. I even got influenza once.
It’s not a coincidence that I didn’t get any of that last winter since I started drinking green smoothies.
4. They hydrate my body as if I’m drinking water.
We get our daily requirement of water from the foods and drinks we consume. What I overlooked is how much water we get from fruits and veggies.
Spinach, kale, and strawberries alone have a water content of between 90–93%!
When your body is properly hydrated, you go to the toilet more often to pee (more on that later).
5. They feed my skin, hair, and nails.
Speaking of hydration, our skin needs water to maintain its elasticity and to flush out toxins. Hydration helps keep wrinkles from forming. Green smoothies also contain vitamins that make our hair and nails stronger.
I don’t have a serious skin problem however I’ve always had dry skin. It gets itchy after taking a warm shower but it noticeably improved since drinking green smoothies.
The white discoloration in my nails vanished as well.
6. They improve my digestion.
Speaking of toilet trips, you can bet that you’ll go more regularly to the toilet in the morning to empty the tank.
I know how being constipated feels. I had that problem some 10 years ago when I wasn’t getting enough fiber from my diet. If you are going through the same thing right now, green smoothies will fix that for sure.
7. They supercharge my mental clarity, energy, and productivity.
When I started drinking green smoothies, not only did it boost my energy, but it also unexpectedly multiplied my productivity.
Before when I used to drink coffee, I would feel tired, lethargic, and out of focus if I only got 5 or 6 hours of sleep, and the only way I would snap out of it was by drinking 1 liter of coffee first thing in the morning.
With green smoothies, I regularly find myself waking up early, around 5 or 6 in the morning (without the help of an alarm clock), ready to go!
Green smoothies are a path to a better quality of sleep (no more caffeine, and the magnesium from fruits and vegetables also helps) and are an abundant source of energy.
Think about this: waking up at 5 am is like an extra three hours to your day. If sustained for a week, that would be 21 hours, which is almost three working days!
What can you do with this time?
You can read a book, exercise, meditate, do journaling, reflect on the previous day, plan for the day ahead, write a book, work on your hobby, or improve your craft. All of this “me time” is created just by waking up earlier.
I wake up in the mood and ready to buckle down. And speaking of mood…
8. They upgrade my mood.
I used to have terrible dependence on coffee.
There were plenty of things that triggered me to make a cup: Feeling tired, boredom, gloomy weather, hunger, and depression were all reasons for me to reach for the coffee pot, among others.
And just like other coffee fiends, I would get irritable if I didn’t get my fix. Coffee felt like the only thing that made things better.
Not anymore.
I don’t feel hungry as often, and rainy days don’t dampen my mood anymore. I feel full of energy, and although I still dislike my job (lols) at least I don’t feel depressed anymore when I go to work.
My wife said my mood has been pretty even the rest of the day since drinking green smoothies.
9. They help me fight (food) temptation.
I work in a restaurant and almost everybody that I know there gained weight since they started working. It’s easy to grab something unhealthy like fries, dessert, or a sugary drink while at work.
Fortunately, I’ve maintained my weight. Is it because I inherited good genes and my body spits carbs when I need to? Absolutely not.
Green smoothies are the perfect hack if you’re tempted by junk food.
I drink one-third of my smoothie for breakfast and drink the rest throughout the day, even at work.
This ensures I have healthy food available whenever I feel hungry or low on energy. Just a few sips and my hunger vanishes.
This leads to…
10. They help me drink my way to a lean body.
The simple equation of losing weight is to burn more calories than you consume.
Exercise a bit, clean up your nutrition, and lose weight.
Green smoothies do a fantastic job in the nutrition department. You get this part right and you are halfway to losing weight.
Green smoothies may also help lower cortisol or “stress hormones.” Elevated cortisol levels increase your appetite and tell your body to store fat instead of burning it.
I don’t weigh myself but I take measurements. In one year, I lost one inch off my waist. It might not sound like much, but I’m already at 13% body fat and I wasn’t looking to lose fat either, so losing an inch is a pleasant surprise.
And even if I didn’t lose too much fat, green smoothies certainly helped prevent the pounds from piling up.
Just a quick recap on how green smoothies can help you lose weight:
- Reduce cravings
- A fantastic source of fiber to help you feel full longer
- Excellent snack or meal-replacement option
- Helps lower cortisol levels
Bonus benefit: Sizzle in bed.
I’m not sure if it’s because of drinking green smoothies or something else, but my libido seems to be through the roof. Even my wife’s libido seems to increase during the occasional times she drinks her green smoothie.
Maybe it’s the aphrodisiacs in avocados and bananas, or improved self-image by eating healthier and exercising, but there’s no doubt our sex life is better than it’s ever been, eight years into our marriage.
The Verdict
People might not want to drink green smoothies for a bunch of reasons: they don’t like veggies, it’s inconvenient to make, it’s hard to buy and store fruits and veggies, some think it looks disgusting, it costs a lot of money, etc.
But let’s summarize the potential benefits:
- Improved immunity
- Clear, soft skin
- Improved energy
- Increased productivity
- Improved sex life
- Better mood
- Better sleep
- Possible protection from chronic diseases
- Fat loss
- Aids in hydration
- Helps my family eat healthier
The pros far outweigh the cons which are why I’ve been drinking green smoothies every day for over a year now.
If you are looking to live a healthier life and boost your health, I encourage you to give it a try and don’t just judge it by how it looks. It’s an absolute game-changer.
If you would like additional information on The Smoothie Diet, Take the 21-Days Smoothie Weight Loss Challange
Also Read:
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