Green Smoothie Madness!

[zig_zag]

Ah, how I love the taste, concept and convenience of green smoothies... How I could easily drink them for breakfrast daily.... If only my body let me.

EVERYTIME I drink them, I get severely bloated, constipated, lethargic, light-headed, foggy minded beyond belief (I literally feel like I'm zombified or stoned out of my mind; I cannot think straight for the life of me), and my blood sugar goes out of wack, making me crave foods... And even when I eventually feel those signifiying pangs of hunger in my stomach, it's still bloated out like a balloon.

I have tried adding flax, adding avacado, adding hemp, as well as drinking them plain, w/ banana (just greens, water and banana... or w/ berries and such)

Has ANYONE else had such severely unfavorable reactions to them at some point or other? It's terribly dissapointing... They're so convenient and so yummy:/ I'm baffled and perturbed by the fact that I seem to be the only one thus far who can't deem them a "miracle food":/

[Rawkinlocs]

Now, it's been a little while since I've read it...but in Victoria Boutenko's "Green for Life", I believe (and anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) she mentioned that all the bloating, etc. is a sign of one having low hydrochloric acid in their stomach and that consistently drinking green smoothies was supposed to reverse/heal that.

I think I've read a few instances of bloating with GS's and even my husband complains of the same. But I do not have that issue...so perhaps there is some truth to that and something to consider. Maybe make yours as simple as possible and still continue drinking them until the problem is corrected (?). Also, I know I've heard many complain about bananas being binding and causing constipation (in SOME..not all individuals) so perhaps leave those out for now and just do like apples and greens or pears and greens or mango or berries...and greens.

[Aleesha Sattva]

i've got my copy right here... in my hot little hands. you are right rawkin... totally right.

so yup... if you want to heal this part of yourself... just keep drinking up!

victoria boutenko suggests:

drink 1/4 cup of beet juice. IF you urine or bowels turn red... then you hydrochloric acid is low.

she did a study (roseburg study)... on how green smoothies increase people's levels of HCL - 66% of the people in the study had an increase in their levels after 30 days of drinking one quart of GS a day.

[zig_zag]

Thank you! Some "food for thought" I see.

However, my greatest concern is how lethargic and foggy-brained it makes me feel. And when I say this, I really emphasize the words, for indeed the experience is quite exaggerated, like taking a narcotic! It's very strange. Does she possibly address these issues, and how they subside with time as well?

I suppose I should just try 'taking' them a couple of nights a week in replace of dinner to get used to them? Ah... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[GlimR]

You're having them at night sounds like a good idea for awhile since they make you tired foggy anyway. How much are you drinking at a time?

[zig_zag]

2 cups full, usually. What is the general portion recommended?

[Arky]

The lethargy is almost definitely a result of your digestive system struggling to cope with it all. When your digestive system is faced with a severe digestive challenge, the body diverts a huge amount of blood and energy to the digestive organs, to cope with the task, so an individual may often feel listless, lethargic and even drowsy as a consequence. For example, this is common after meat eaters consume a big steak dinner (particularly if they ate starchy vegetables with the steak, because these have different digestive requirements to meat, thus really throwing a spanner in the works of the digestive process). If you cast your mind back, I am confident you will recall various people mentioning that they always feel drowsy after Thanksgiving or Xmas dinners.

Back to the green smoothies again, though, I would suggest you:

1) reduce the quantity you are consuming at a given sitting.

2) drastically reduce the amount of fats/oils you are adding (in fact, it's worth experimenting completely without any added oils, fats, nuts, or seeds).

3) Reduce the amount of fluid you add to your smoothies. A thicker, less fluid, consistency may seem a little less palatable to you but it will be helpful to avoid excessive dilution of digestive enzymes.

4) Try adding a capsule or two of digestive enzymes to your smoothies, during the blend. This will obviously help you to digest smoothies with reduced reliance upon the enzymes secreted by the pancreas.

5) BIG POINT: Thoroughly ensalivate each and every mouthful!. I discussed this in another recent post here: http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=39136&highlight=ensalivate (just scroll until you see red writing)


J.

[ForTheHealthOfIt]

I was having this same problem! I found that if I just do bananas, water, greens, with coco oil I am ok. Maybe a little gassy but not all super bloated. That is great that it will go away in time because I love drinking them and so do my babies, Yeah!!!
I was drinking beet juice every morning for a while. It is very cleansing for the bowels. But I always noticed that I would (warning may be TMI) pee and poop pink.
Will drinking GS up the hydrochloric acid in my tummy? I'll have to get that book.
GREEN FOR LIFE :)

[cayenne]

I totally agree with Arky. The green smoothies may give you more raw fiber than you can handle, and also the fats are an issue. I had to revert to green juices, and had to considerably reduce the amount of fat in my diet. Now I am trying to build my tolerance to fiber, but this is a tough one.

[Frugal Raw]

WOW!!! I didn't know that green smoothies increased HCL! I'd have loved to know that a few years ago when a chirovedic doc I was seeing had me taking it in pill form! Thanks for posting this!!

[zig_zag]

I totally agree with Arky. The green smoothies may give you more raw fiber than you can handle, and also the fats are an issue. I had to revert to green juices, and had to considerably reduce the amount of fat in my diet. Now I am trying to build my tolerance to fiber, but this is a tough one.

What were your reactions to increased fiber intake? How long have you been raw for? Are you still drinking green smoothies?

[zig_zag]

I have a new question; do you think the fact that I've been using a standard blender has anything to do with my lack of ability to digest these things properly???

[Eva]

Zig Zag -- Do you have big chunks of food you are not chewing in the smoothies?? One thing you could try is eating the smoothie like you would soup. This causes you to salivate more to start the digestion process. If you do have the chunks, just chew them up as you go. :)