DennisMB
04-07-2005, 09:59 AM
Another article on GREEN Smoothies, etc...
The Importance of Eating Assimilable Greens
by Frederic Patenaude
---------------------------------------------------
Why are green vegetables important?
---------------------------------------------------
We know that increasing our intake of green-leafy vegetables is very important for several reasons.
Heres are a few facts about greens vegetables:
- They contain more vitamin A than carrots
- They contain more vitamin C than oranges
- Thank contain more vitamin E than whole wheat
- They contain more vitamin B2 than milk
- They contain quality proteins (with a good amino acid profile)
But theres something more critical:
Greens provide essential alkaline minerals such as calcium
and magnesium that are found in insufficient quantities in
fruit, nuts and seeds, not to mention other more conventional,
acid-forming foods.
---------------------------------------------------
The Calcium/Phosphorus Ratio
---------------------------------------------------
Minerals and other nutrients interact with each other in a
way that can affect their absorption in the body. We know
for example that without vitamin D, calcium absorption is
impaired. The same goes for a variety of vitamins and minerals.
One of those interactions that are rarely talked about is between
calcium and phosphorus. The calcium/phosphorus ratio is mostly
discussed in animal science, when designing diets for herbivorous
animals, for example. It has been found that when domesticated
animals and pets are fed a diet that is low in calcium, but high
in phosphorus, they develop bone disorders and dental problems.
The theory is that if there is more phosphorus than calcium in
the diet, the body will start to take calcium from its own reserves
(the bones) to compensate. Over a long or short period of time,
this may affect dramatically the bones in a negative way. That
is why many nutritionists recommend a calcium-to-phosphorus
ratio that is at least 1 to 1. This means there should be at least
as much calcium as there is phosphorus in the diet. So if a person
consumes 500 mg. of phosphorus in a day, there should be at
least 500 mg. of calcium consumed too. This doesnt actually
need to happen in a single day, but on average in the course of
a week, or a month.
---------------------------------------------------
Do fruits contain enough calcium?
---------------------------------------------------
Fruits do not contain enough calcium and other alkaline minerals
to maintain proper health over the long term. Most commercially
available fruits are very low in calcium. For example, the
calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of bananas is 0.3 to 1, meaning
that for 100 grams of phosphorus in bananas, there are only
30 grams of calcium. Even when we read, for example, that
oranges or figs contain lots of calcium we have to understand
something. Usually, the high-mineral concentration is found in
other parts of the fruit. For example, most of the calcium in figs
is found in the tiny seeds that are not digested, even if they are
eaten. The calcium in oranges is mostly found in the white pith,
that is also usually not eaten, and when it is, it is likely not digested.
---------------------------------------------------
We Need Greens
---------------------------------------------------
To provide enough minerals in the diet, we need a sufficient
quantity of green vegetables. We need also a good variety of
green vegetables just celery and romaine lettuce might not
be enough to provide to most peoples mineral needs. (For
example, a huge head of romaine lettuce one of the better lettuce
-- contains only about 200 mg of calcium. And were talking about
a huge head that weighs more than a pound!)
More importantly, we need to eat greens in such a way that the
nutrients can be easily assimilated by the body. Salads are great,
but often the tough fiber of greens is not chewed or broken down
well enough in order for the nutrients to be well assimilated.
This is in addition to the fact that most peoples digestion is not
as optimal as it could be.
So the challenges we face are that:
- Most people do not chew greens well enough, even when
they think they do.
- Eating a lot of salads all the time leaves little room for fruit.
When that happens, you fall short on your caloric (energy)
requirements, so you start adding more fat, nuts, and seeds to
the diet which eventually leads to a failure.
- Most people do not eat a great variety of greens, and do not
eat the most important greens (those that contain the most minerals).
- Even organic lettuce is not as rich in minerals as wed like
to think.
- Many people tend to avoid some of the best greens because
those are often too tough and fibrous to enjoy raw. (Such as kale,
broccoli, mustard greens, collards, etc.)
So we need to include green vegetables often in our diets in a
form that is easily assimilable by the body when the nutrients
can be extracted from the tough fiber of vegetables. We also
need to include the richer greens, those that contain the most
calcium, more often in our diet.
---------------------------------------------------
So whats the solution?
---------------------------------------------------
1- The consumption of green juices:
Vegetable (or green) juices are a great idea, as they require
basically no digestion at all. But usually, people who get into
the discipline of making green juices every day rarely keep up
for a long time, because it is very demanding: washing all the
veggies, juicing (often hard work!), cleaning up the juicer,
cleaning up the mess, etc. With juicing vegetables, it is important
to choose the right juicers, because most juicers extract very
little and create generate heat in the process. A good machine
to buy would be the Green Star.
So I would recommend the use of vegetable juices in
reasonable quantities (10 to 20 ounces per day), if you like
them. Remember that carrot or apple or beet are only used as
flavorings, not as the main ingredient.
2- The regular consumption of green smoothies
as a way to increase the consumption of greens.
As mentioned in the last e-zine in Victoria Boutenkos
fine article, a better way to increase your fruit AND green
consumption is to start making green smoothies. A green
smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with green vegetables
thrown in. Victoria Boutenkos article, which contains
many recipes, is available at:
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/green_smoothies.html (http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/green_smoothies.html)
3- The use of blended salads or "raw soups"
as an enjoyable way to eat vegetables
People call them blended salads, I prefer to call them
raw soups. When made without fat, raw soups require
very little digestion and will deliver more minerals, compared
to eating and chewing the same amount of vegetables in a
salad. The difference between the green smoothie and the
raw soup is that the soup is savory, not too sweet. But to
make a great raw soup, do not use really bitter greens. The
greens of choice are spinach, lettuce, and celery. (Ive got a
book on the subject, "Raw Soups, Salads & Smoothies"
that recently went out of print, but will be available soon
as an e-book).
4- The use of steamed vegetables & steamed vegetable
soups as an option in a high-raw (but not 100% raw) diet.
Thats not a raw option, but can be very useful nonetheless,
in my opinion. If cooked foods are eaten, why not go for the
nutrient-dense green vegetables? By steaming vegetables
you break down their tough fiber and make them easier to
chew and often, to digest. The greens of choice would be
all of those that are hard to eat raw: collards, kale, broccoli
stems, etc. A good idea is to lightly steam those vegetables
and then blend them in your Vita-Mix to create a tasty soup.
---------------------------------------------------
Greens to consume
---------------------------------------------------
Here are some of the greens we should consume more often
that are highest in calcium:
- Broccoli Raab: Also called rappini, this Italian version of
our broccoli is worth discovering. It is more leafy than our
broccoli, but also much richer in calcium. It is good in juices,
added to salads, or lightly steamed.
Cabbage: Cabbage is an inexpensive vegetable we should eat
more often. It is very rich in calcium and other alkaline minerals.
Small amounts of cabbage can be added to juices but it is not
as enjoyable in raw soups and certainly not in smoothies. A good
way to eat cabbage is grated in salads.
Celery: Celery is a vegetable of choice: it is very pleasing to
the palate, easy to eat raw, and rich in calcium and sodium.
Celery goes very well in raw soups, juices, green smoothies,
and also salads, etc.
Chinese cabbage (Bok Choy): There are many varieties of
Chinese cabbage. We are familiar with bok choy, for example.
They are all extremely rich in calcium, and enjoyable to eat
raw. Bok choy is especially good chopped in salads.
Collard greens: Collard greens are very rich in minerals, and
can be added to juices. In small quantities, in is also enjoyable
in raw soups. Lightly steamed, it is also excellent.
Kale: Kale is extremely rich in calcium, but its tough fiber
makes it a poor choice for salads. Kale goes well in green
smoothies, juices, and in small quantities, raw soups. It can
also be steamed.
Arugula: Arugula, also called roquette, is fairly strong but
is a nice addition to salads. It is very rich in calcium.
Escarole: This is a salad green that is often added to "spring
mixes." It is rich in minerals, but a little bitter. It goes well
with salads, chopped.
Turnip greens: Turnip greens are extremely rich in calcium.
They can be juiced, or added to salads and, in small quantities,
raw soups. They can also be steamed.
Mustard greens: This is one of the most alkaline greens,
but a little strong to eat raw. In small quantities, it could be
added to salads and juices. Otherwise, those who enjoy it
that way can steam it.
Watercress: Watercress is quite strong, but very rich in
minerals (particularly calcium). You can add it to salads.
Spinach: Spinach is rich in calcium and very enjoyable to eat raw,
especially when the leaves are young. It is good every way: juiced,
in salads, added to green smoothies or raw soups. It also contains
oxalic acid, and apparently because of that little calcium is absorbed.
But I think we can still benefit from eating spinach occasionally,
but not every day.
---------------------------------------------------
Recipes
---------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
GREEN SMOOTHIES
--------------------------------------
The Standard Green Stuff
1 apple
1 pear
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups kale
1 rib celery
Water
Blend
Tutti Frutti (almost)
1 frozen banana
2-3 mangoes
1 rib celery
Handful parsley
Water
Blend
--------------------------------------
RAW SOUPS
--------------------------------------
Tomato-Spinach Soup
2 tomatoes
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
4-5 stalks celery
3 oz. baby spinach
Optional: 1/2 avocado
Optional 1 Tbs. kelp or dulse granules
Start by blending the tomatoes with lemon juice (or apple
cider vinegar), and add the celery ribs progressively, and then
the baby spinach. If a richer consistency is desired, throw in
half an avocado. Season with kelp granules or dulse flakes (optional).
--------------------------------------
GREEN JUICES
--------------------------------------
Garden Juice
2 carrots
1/2 medium beet
1-2 cups kale
1 handful parsley
1 handful spinach
4-5 ribs celery
1/2 lemon (optional)
Juice all ingredients, except lemon. Mix well.
Add lemon juice, if desired.
The Importance of Eating Assimilable Greens
by Frederic Patenaude
---------------------------------------------------
Why are green vegetables important?
---------------------------------------------------
We know that increasing our intake of green-leafy vegetables is very important for several reasons.
Heres are a few facts about greens vegetables:
- They contain more vitamin A than carrots
- They contain more vitamin C than oranges
- Thank contain more vitamin E than whole wheat
- They contain more vitamin B2 than milk
- They contain quality proteins (with a good amino acid profile)
But theres something more critical:
Greens provide essential alkaline minerals such as calcium
and magnesium that are found in insufficient quantities in
fruit, nuts and seeds, not to mention other more conventional,
acid-forming foods.
---------------------------------------------------
The Calcium/Phosphorus Ratio
---------------------------------------------------
Minerals and other nutrients interact with each other in a
way that can affect their absorption in the body. We know
for example that without vitamin D, calcium absorption is
impaired. The same goes for a variety of vitamins and minerals.
One of those interactions that are rarely talked about is between
calcium and phosphorus. The calcium/phosphorus ratio is mostly
discussed in animal science, when designing diets for herbivorous
animals, for example. It has been found that when domesticated
animals and pets are fed a diet that is low in calcium, but high
in phosphorus, they develop bone disorders and dental problems.
The theory is that if there is more phosphorus than calcium in
the diet, the body will start to take calcium from its own reserves
(the bones) to compensate. Over a long or short period of time,
this may affect dramatically the bones in a negative way. That
is why many nutritionists recommend a calcium-to-phosphorus
ratio that is at least 1 to 1. This means there should be at least
as much calcium as there is phosphorus in the diet. So if a person
consumes 500 mg. of phosphorus in a day, there should be at
least 500 mg. of calcium consumed too. This doesnt actually
need to happen in a single day, but on average in the course of
a week, or a month.
---------------------------------------------------
Do fruits contain enough calcium?
---------------------------------------------------
Fruits do not contain enough calcium and other alkaline minerals
to maintain proper health over the long term. Most commercially
available fruits are very low in calcium. For example, the
calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of bananas is 0.3 to 1, meaning
that for 100 grams of phosphorus in bananas, there are only
30 grams of calcium. Even when we read, for example, that
oranges or figs contain lots of calcium we have to understand
something. Usually, the high-mineral concentration is found in
other parts of the fruit. For example, most of the calcium in figs
is found in the tiny seeds that are not digested, even if they are
eaten. The calcium in oranges is mostly found in the white pith,
that is also usually not eaten, and when it is, it is likely not digested.
---------------------------------------------------
We Need Greens
---------------------------------------------------
To provide enough minerals in the diet, we need a sufficient
quantity of green vegetables. We need also a good variety of
green vegetables just celery and romaine lettuce might not
be enough to provide to most peoples mineral needs. (For
example, a huge head of romaine lettuce one of the better lettuce
-- contains only about 200 mg of calcium. And were talking about
a huge head that weighs more than a pound!)
More importantly, we need to eat greens in such a way that the
nutrients can be easily assimilated by the body. Salads are great,
but often the tough fiber of greens is not chewed or broken down
well enough in order for the nutrients to be well assimilated.
This is in addition to the fact that most peoples digestion is not
as optimal as it could be.
So the challenges we face are that:
- Most people do not chew greens well enough, even when
they think they do.
- Eating a lot of salads all the time leaves little room for fruit.
When that happens, you fall short on your caloric (energy)
requirements, so you start adding more fat, nuts, and seeds to
the diet which eventually leads to a failure.
- Most people do not eat a great variety of greens, and do not
eat the most important greens (those that contain the most minerals).
- Even organic lettuce is not as rich in minerals as wed like
to think.
- Many people tend to avoid some of the best greens because
those are often too tough and fibrous to enjoy raw. (Such as kale,
broccoli, mustard greens, collards, etc.)
So we need to include green vegetables often in our diets in a
form that is easily assimilable by the body when the nutrients
can be extracted from the tough fiber of vegetables. We also
need to include the richer greens, those that contain the most
calcium, more often in our diet.
---------------------------------------------------
So whats the solution?
---------------------------------------------------
1- The consumption of green juices:
Vegetable (or green) juices are a great idea, as they require
basically no digestion at all. But usually, people who get into
the discipline of making green juices every day rarely keep up
for a long time, because it is very demanding: washing all the
veggies, juicing (often hard work!), cleaning up the juicer,
cleaning up the mess, etc. With juicing vegetables, it is important
to choose the right juicers, because most juicers extract very
little and create generate heat in the process. A good machine
to buy would be the Green Star.
So I would recommend the use of vegetable juices in
reasonable quantities (10 to 20 ounces per day), if you like
them. Remember that carrot or apple or beet are only used as
flavorings, not as the main ingredient.
2- The regular consumption of green smoothies
as a way to increase the consumption of greens.
As mentioned in the last e-zine in Victoria Boutenkos
fine article, a better way to increase your fruit AND green
consumption is to start making green smoothies. A green
smoothie is simply a fruit smoothie with green vegetables
thrown in. Victoria Boutenkos article, which contains
many recipes, is available at:
http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/green_smoothies.html (http://www.fredericpatenaude.com/green_smoothies.html)
3- The use of blended salads or "raw soups"
as an enjoyable way to eat vegetables
People call them blended salads, I prefer to call them
raw soups. When made without fat, raw soups require
very little digestion and will deliver more minerals, compared
to eating and chewing the same amount of vegetables in a
salad. The difference between the green smoothie and the
raw soup is that the soup is savory, not too sweet. But to
make a great raw soup, do not use really bitter greens. The
greens of choice are spinach, lettuce, and celery. (Ive got a
book on the subject, "Raw Soups, Salads & Smoothies"
that recently went out of print, but will be available soon
as an e-book).
4- The use of steamed vegetables & steamed vegetable
soups as an option in a high-raw (but not 100% raw) diet.
Thats not a raw option, but can be very useful nonetheless,
in my opinion. If cooked foods are eaten, why not go for the
nutrient-dense green vegetables? By steaming vegetables
you break down their tough fiber and make them easier to
chew and often, to digest. The greens of choice would be
all of those that are hard to eat raw: collards, kale, broccoli
stems, etc. A good idea is to lightly steam those vegetables
and then blend them in your Vita-Mix to create a tasty soup.
---------------------------------------------------
Greens to consume
---------------------------------------------------
Here are some of the greens we should consume more often
that are highest in calcium:
- Broccoli Raab: Also called rappini, this Italian version of
our broccoli is worth discovering. It is more leafy than our
broccoli, but also much richer in calcium. It is good in juices,
added to salads, or lightly steamed.
Cabbage: Cabbage is an inexpensive vegetable we should eat
more often. It is very rich in calcium and other alkaline minerals.
Small amounts of cabbage can be added to juices but it is not
as enjoyable in raw soups and certainly not in smoothies. A good
way to eat cabbage is grated in salads.
Celery: Celery is a vegetable of choice: it is very pleasing to
the palate, easy to eat raw, and rich in calcium and sodium.
Celery goes very well in raw soups, juices, green smoothies,
and also salads, etc.
Chinese cabbage (Bok Choy): There are many varieties of
Chinese cabbage. We are familiar with bok choy, for example.
They are all extremely rich in calcium, and enjoyable to eat
raw. Bok choy is especially good chopped in salads.
Collard greens: Collard greens are very rich in minerals, and
can be added to juices. In small quantities, in is also enjoyable
in raw soups. Lightly steamed, it is also excellent.
Kale: Kale is extremely rich in calcium, but its tough fiber
makes it a poor choice for salads. Kale goes well in green
smoothies, juices, and in small quantities, raw soups. It can
also be steamed.
Arugula: Arugula, also called roquette, is fairly strong but
is a nice addition to salads. It is very rich in calcium.
Escarole: This is a salad green that is often added to "spring
mixes." It is rich in minerals, but a little bitter. It goes well
with salads, chopped.
Turnip greens: Turnip greens are extremely rich in calcium.
They can be juiced, or added to salads and, in small quantities,
raw soups. They can also be steamed.
Mustard greens: This is one of the most alkaline greens,
but a little strong to eat raw. In small quantities, it could be
added to salads and juices. Otherwise, those who enjoy it
that way can steam it.
Watercress: Watercress is quite strong, but very rich in
minerals (particularly calcium). You can add it to salads.
Spinach: Spinach is rich in calcium and very enjoyable to eat raw,
especially when the leaves are young. It is good every way: juiced,
in salads, added to green smoothies or raw soups. It also contains
oxalic acid, and apparently because of that little calcium is absorbed.
But I think we can still benefit from eating spinach occasionally,
but not every day.
---------------------------------------------------
Recipes
---------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------
GREEN SMOOTHIES
--------------------------------------
The Standard Green Stuff
1 apple
1 pear
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups kale
1 rib celery
Water
Blend
Tutti Frutti (almost)
1 frozen banana
2-3 mangoes
1 rib celery
Handful parsley
Water
Blend
--------------------------------------
RAW SOUPS
--------------------------------------
Tomato-Spinach Soup
2 tomatoes
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
4-5 stalks celery
3 oz. baby spinach
Optional: 1/2 avocado
Optional 1 Tbs. kelp or dulse granules
Start by blending the tomatoes with lemon juice (or apple
cider vinegar), and add the celery ribs progressively, and then
the baby spinach. If a richer consistency is desired, throw in
half an avocado. Season with kelp granules or dulse flakes (optional).
--------------------------------------
GREEN JUICES
--------------------------------------
Garden Juice
2 carrots
1/2 medium beet
1-2 cups kale
1 handful parsley
1 handful spinach
4-5 ribs celery
1/2 lemon (optional)
Juice all ingredients, except lemon. Mix well.
Add lemon juice, if desired.