Green smoothie & lose stools

[mlwaug]

I'm trying to incorporate more green smoothies into my diet but am noticing it makes my stools lose, is this normal, am I drinking too much?

[EmpowerEnergetics]

It's normal, yes--but it's also temporary. I don't know what your diet has been prior to this introduction of green smoothies (or, for that matter, what your BMs were like before!), but it is generally attributed to:
1) more fiber than your system is used to;
2) the water content of the smoothies; and (and this is the really fun one)
3) unless you've recently undergone a thorough detox (like the Master Cleanse), your intestines are lined with mucoid plaque, which gets in the way of pulling the nutrients from the food, which means foods are just passing through on their way out the back door; factors 1) and 2) make this more noticeable when you're drinking the green smoothies.

Good news is that regardless, your body will become accustomed to factors 1) and 2). To aid in the digestion of the green smoothie (helping to counterbalance factor 3), try holding it in your mouth a little longer, rather than just chugging out down--digestion begins with the saliva in the mouth!

Hope that helps! Message me if you have any more questions, and I'd be happy to help out. In the mean time, enjoy those green smoothies!

[Bihaku]

I'm trying to incorporate more green smoothies into my diet but am noticing it makes my stools lose, is this normal, am I drinking too much?

I have the same problem. I hate it. It takes forever to wipe myself down there. Tons of toilette paper to get clean. It's like changing a baby's diaper: behind always slippery and wet.

If my intestines have so much mucous then why I don't see any mucous in my runny stool?

[MysticTree]

If you google mucoid plaque you'll find there are those that believe in it and those that deny it's existence.

[EmpowerEnergetics]

The mucus is actually stuck to your intestinal walls, that's why you don't see it in your stool unless you're detoxing.

As for whether the mucoid plaque is a myth or not...Well, reading it is one thing; seeing it is another. For instance, while doing a prolonged Master Cleanse, one day my boyfriend sat down on the toilet and let's just say it looked exactly like the google images for "mucoid plaque." We almost wish he had taken a picture of it before flushing but...maybe there are some things that the memory will hold on its own, without needing a memory card.

If you do choose to believe in the existence of mucoid plaque, one of my favorite contextualizations of how this plaque can affect assimilation of nutrients can be found in Victoria Boutenko's 12 Steps to Raw Food. She's also the person who is usually credited with popularizing green smoothies.