[TMI] Green Smoothies and Regularity (or Lack Thereof)

[TangentLInes]

First, my apologies in advance for the, er, personal nature of this post.

I've been drinking green smoothies for about a month. Over this time, I've noticed that I'm not as regular as I used to be. In the past, I used to go once, maybe twice a day (morning and evening). Now, I might go an entire day (or two!) without doing number two! This makes me a little uncomfortable, to say the least.

What is going on? Shouldn't I be pooping more, given that I'm taking in more fiber via my smoothies? Am I absorbing more of the nutrients and fiber in my drinks instead of letting it pass through me?

My green smoothies consist of about 70% veg (kale, carrots, etc.) and 30% fruit (strawberries, peaches, apples, etc.). I'm definitely taking in more veg than pre-smoothie.

HELP!

[Dimond]

Carrots, kale, and anything else from the cruciferous family are often difficult to digest and should either be consumed in minimal amounts or juiced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruciferous_vegetables

[streetsurfer]

I'm thinking you may want to increase your intake of water or other fluids to compensate for the increased fiber.

I wasn't aware of what Dimond said, but it makes sense too.

I find if I take too much nut butter/nuts, my digestion slows and I get uncomfortably backed up. Have you increased your intake of nuts and seeds as well?

[jimmy]

Explains why I didn't poop for a couple of days after eating a bag of carrots. Thanks for the info Dimond :)

[k8sl8]

I have found 4 or 5 T. of Hemp Hearts a day (that brand or any other shelled help seeds, I suppose) to be the bomb for regularity... nuf. said.

[Seductive Arts]

I am glad I came to this, because I am Smoothie Feasting (fasting) right now and I was wondering of doing a 30 day challenge on that would give me diarrhea, or less poops since I am not consuming a lot of foods, or that the fiber of the foods is broken down to microscopic pieces, sort of speak, in my Vitamix blender that about time it gets to my upper and lower intestines there is hardly any "fiber" to break down.

But I didn't know that drinking smoothies can cause constipation, especially since you are adding lots of water in order to make your pureed vegetables and fruits become more liquidy than creamy.

[cornvalley]

First, my apologies in advance for the, er, personal nature of this post.

I've been drinking green smoothies for about a month. Over this time, I've noticed that I'm not as regular as I used to be. In the past, I used to go once, maybe twice a day (morning and evening). Now, I might go an entire day (or two!) without doing number two! This makes me a little uncomfortable, to say the least.

What is going on? Shouldn't I be pooping more, given that I'm taking in more fiber via my smoothies? Am I absorbing more of the nutrients and fiber in my drinks instead of letting it pass through me?

My green smoothies consist of about 70% veg (kale, carrots, etc.) and 30% fruit (strawberries, peaches, apples, etc.). I'm definitely taking in more veg than pre-smoothie.

HELP!

When one blends their food the fiber is broken down and does not slow down absorption or help with peristaltic action as much as chewing and swallowing more inherently fibrous material. Though smoothies are fun and easy on the palette, chewing food is more in line with our needs ultimately. Micro nutrients needs are easily met with whole foods and chewing.

[NanaLove]

Omg... I'm not allowed to eat kale now? I don't have a juicer, and i thought fiber was important! I've been eating kale in my smoothies and I too was wondering why I havent gone to the toilet for 2 days...

I will become crazy with all this contradicting information T.T
I have no idea what to eat now... according to Victoria Boutenko's book "Green for Life" the greens in your salad don't get digested well enough...

this is so stressful i could cry :confused:

[Baby Bird]

Nana...I feel you! I have so been there.

BUT you are the only expert on your body and all its systems. You're allowed to eat anything you want. Rules from "on high" make life easier for me, because it removes some of the confusion of making my own decisions, but ultimately, each of us has to experiment and find what works best for ourselves.

You can doooo iiiiiit! (In our house, we say that in a super silly voice) :)

[cornvalley]

Omg... I'm not allowed to eat kale now? I don't have a juicer, and i thought fiber was important! I've been eating kale in my smoothies and I too was wondering why I havent gone to the toilet for 2 days...

I will become crazy with all this contradicting information T.T
I have no idea what to eat now... according to Victoria Boutenko's book "Green for Life" the greens in your salad don't get digested well enough...

this is so stressful i could cry :confused:

Ha Ha! Don't fret none. There's no 'either/or' here. I don't know where Ms. Boutenko gets her wisdom but science has proven the efficacy of human digestion pretty well. Fiber is what does not become liquified by chewing. Don't stress about garnering all the available micro nutrients through blended meals. Ya gotta chew food more often than not for good health. It's important for your digestion (ironically enough). Victoria Boutenko is a smoothie advocate so she is gonna develop her health ideas to align with that whether there's any science to support it. Micro nutrients are not magic, you only use what you need to support the structures your body builds. Whole foods eaten without blending can do the job or else your ancestors would not have survived very long. Blend for fun and not as a health remedy.

[Seductive Arts]

This is weird, or I am not understanding. I know the importance of chewing because chewing up our food makes it easier to digest and absorb the nutrients. However, if we blend our foods, wouldn't the pureed foods just make it a whole lot easier for your digestive system to absorb the nutrients and all of its glory more efficiently? The body wouldn't have to work hart to get the nutrients.

So how come making smoothies constantly bad for us then?

Help me out, I am scientifically challenged.

I must admit I do crave the need to chew when consuming a lot of smoothies, however, i think this more habit of not being used to drinking my foods oppose to chewing them.

[klomasius]

Hmm... I personally wouldn't be putting fruit and veg together in a smoothie, it's not the greatest combination in the world and may be contributing to your problem.

Greens and fruits, no problem, but when things like carrots and other veg are introduced into the mix, it may cause some symptoms in some.

When people first start out on green smoothies, they often have a digestive adjustment period which may include constipation, loose stools and dairrhoea, bloating of stomach etc. The fibre content is often more than what a lot of people are used to.

[klomasius]

You do need to chew, chewing is an important first part of the digestive process as it activates the excretion of the digestive enzymes in both the mouth and the stomach.

But it's not something to worry overly about. :) If you are particularly worried about it when you consume blended foods, just eat a peice of fruit beforehand, this is enough to activate the digestive process so you get more out of the food.

Victoria is right, blending foods will make them more absorbable, the active word being *more*. If we chew our salads well, we are getting a huge benefit from them this way, it's just that blending greens means we get even more benefit. It's kind of like bonus marks on a test. :)

The reasoning behind it is the sheer physical break up of the cellulose 'boxes' that house the plant cells. When we chew our food, no matter how thoroughly we chew it, we miss opening many of the boxes (i.e. breaking the cellulose cell walls of the cell to get to the nutritious cytoplasm, cell liquid, inside) and so the nutrients in these unbroken cells is not available to us (we cannot digest cellulose, and even the bacteria in our guts cannot digest the fibre ebnough to open all these boxes) and we excrete it out undigested.

p.s. so when you 'chew' your green smoothies, or eat something straight before drinking them, you increase the absorbtion even more, kind of like bonus bonus marks on a test! :)

[cornvalley]

This is weird, or I am not understanding. I know the importance of chewing because chewing up our food makes it easier to digest and absorb the nutrients. However, if we blend our foods, wouldn't the pureed foods just make it a whole lot easier for your digestive system to absorb the nutrients and all of its glory more efficiently? The body wouldn't have to work hart to get the nutrients.

So how come making smoothies constantly bad for us then?

Help me out, I am scientifically challenged.

I must admit I do crave the need to chew when consuming a lot of smoothies, however, i think this more habit of not being used to drinking my foods oppose to chewing them.


Saying that chewing is an important function of digestion has nothing to do with smoothies as 'bad'. Smoothies are not necessary nor is blending food necessary for great health.
Your digestive process, as it was designed over millions of years, is quite capable of doing what it was designed to do. Think about that. You don't need a science degree to get the picture.
Enjoy smoothies, but don't assign any great health benefits to their use unless something in your physiological makeup requires some help.

Maybe you want to extract a greater number of calories from your foods, which blending and juicing do. But the downside is quicker absorption, which in the case of sugars is not so desirable.

The suggestion of having whole foods to to chew alongside or at the beginning of your meal is good one.

[Seductive Arts]

Saying that chewing is an important function of digestion has nothing to do with smoothies as 'bad'. Smoothies are not necessary nor is blending food necessary for great health.
Your digestive process, as it was designed over millions of years, is quite capable of doing what it was designed to do. Think about that. You don't need a science degree to get the picture.
Enjoy smoothies, but don't assign any great health benefits to their use unless something in your physiological makeup requires some help.

Maybe you want to extract a greater number of calories from your foods, which blending and juicing do. But the downside is quicker absorption, which in the case of sugars is not so desirable.

The suggestion of having whole foods to to chew alongside or at the beginning of your meal is good one.

I am not assigning any health benefits at all. Right now I am fasting on Smoothies. Some people gave the impression in the thread that not chewing at all is bad which causes irregularity problems.