Juicing For Health - Green Smoothie Health Benefits
Green Smoothies
Green smoothies are just as the name suggests, a normal smoothie but blending in green vegetables. The best greens to use are the dark leafy green vegetables in particular such as kale, spinach, romaine lettuce and various other greens such as dandelion.
These green vegetables are nutritional powerhouses and the benefits they can have on your health with regular consumption are well known and shouldn't be under-estimated. Everyone can get these amazing health benefits so why not start today, it doesn't take long to wash and prepare produce and blitz in the blender.
A daily green smoothie is one of easiest ways to get a wide array of different nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, anti-oxidants, amino acids and phyto-nutrients. Using a variety of different dark leafy greens is a good idea so you get the health benefits of the different phyto-nutrients they contain.
There have been many studies on the benefits of various phyto-chemicals contained in green vegetables, some include anti-cancer, heart health protective, liver support and much more.
Green Smoothie Health Benefits
There is such a broad scope of different benefits to consuming green smoothies depending on what type of greens you use. The dark leafy greens tend to have more benefits than the lighter greens. Here are some common health benefits associated with consuming green smoothies on a regular basis.
- 1. Increases Energy
- Green smoothies are the perfect tool for increasing energy through there nutrient dense composition. Take it from someone who suffered from adrenal gland fatigue/chronic fatigue syndrome for over 6 years. So start your day with a health boosting green smoothie to get you going, instead of relying on stimulants such as caffeine which are detrimental to the health of your adrenal glands.
- 2. Radiant Skin
- Green smoothies are rich in so many different nutrients that are essential for the health of your skin, so its no wonder they help a variety of skin disorders. Dark leafy green vegetables are a good source of silica, which along with vitamin C are essential for the formation of collagen. Many have reported that skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis etc have improved because of consuming green smoothies.
- 3. Weight Loss
- Green smoothies are great for aiding in weight loss, not only do they help suppress your appetite by filling you up but they help curb cravings for sugary and salt processed foods. This is partially through the increased nutrition and the large amounts of fiber green smoothies contain.
- 4. Anti-aging & Longevity
- Most know that we are recommended to consume at least 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily to combat such degenerative diseases as cancer, heart disease, diabetes etc. Smoothies are an easy and tasty way to achieve this goal, many are put off thinking the greens will taste too strong but the fruit easily masks the flavor of most green vegetables when used in moderate quantities.
- 5. Increased Fiber Intake
- Unlike juices, green smoothies retain the fiber and this has alot of potential benefits. Primarily fiber is essential for keeping you regular and for the health of the colon. But thats not where fiber's benefits stop, much research has shown that fiber has the ability to reduce the risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, gallstones and much more. Fiber also helps feed the good bacteria which can aid digestion and the immune system.
- 6. Rich Source Of Chlorophyll
- Dark green leafy vegetables are a great source of Chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the pigment which gives green fruits and vegetables there color. Chlorophyll has a number of health benefits such as being an effective deodorizer reducing bad breath and body odor, is thought to have anti-mutagenic/turmor properties, effective blood builder and much more.
- 7. Alkalizing
- Most green vegetables are alkaline and many health experts belief diets rich in alkaline foods can balance the PH. They believe that an alkaline PH can offset many diseases that they believe are caused by an acidic PH. Although there is little scientific evidence to prove this, there is no harm to be caused from eating a diet rich in leafy greens.
Green Smoothie Side Effects/Precautions
Many raw greens are a source of goitrogens such as kale, spinach, broccoli etc. Goitrogens are substances which suppress thyroid function by interfering with iodine uptake.
Goitrogens can be countered by cooking food or increasing your daily iodine intake, because in this instance were using raw greens increasing iodine intake is the smartest way to counter the issue. Here is a good article on goitrogens and the raw food lifestyle.
Initially some may encounter die-off/cleansing symptoms, increasing water intake helps in the elimination of toxins. If the cleansing reaction is too strong, lowering your dose of the greens helps.
Back To Information Centre