Smoothie digestion

[JMD]

I know everyone praises smoothies which I LOVE!! but I am having some issues when I mix greens with my fruit smoothie. I get gassy and bloated within ten minutes.

Am I doing something wrong?? I have severe IBS and must food combine...but I figured if it was blended...no problem?? Anyone else have this issue or advise?? I really really wanna have these :p

In my smoothies I put organic baby greens like lettuce or spinach with some of the following: a ripe pear, mango , banana or apple and berries and blend. I find when I had mango, pear, and berries alone -- less bloat??

Thanks in advance,
JMD

[Ariannah]

For me, the perfect smoothie combo seems to be bananas and greens, but adding citrus fruits in it makes me gassy. I stick to sweet fruits that aren't citrus, and some sweet berries like blueberries. I make sure the greens are young and tender.

[rawpriestess]

Well, I am one who does not like smoothies. I prefer to eat my food in it's most natural state if at all possible, unless I want a gourmet recipe and I want to eat something more like my old SAD favorites.

But I have never been a smoothie enthusiast.

If you are food combining then it doesn't matter if it is blended, smashed, eaten, chewed or whatever, the REASON people need to food combine is because of the enzymes in the food.

Different foods need differenet enzymes to digest properly, and fruits need a different enzyme than greens, and when you eat them together or too close together, then the enzymes must compete with each other in your stomach and they will often cancel each other out, this is the purpose behind food combining.

Personally, I would rather eat a peach then later eat a salad, but that is me.

I know many people have had great results with smoothies, but it isn't me, it just tastes like already chewed up baby food to me, to drink somthing all thick and gooey.

But again, that is me.

If you love your smoothies, try them without the greens and see how you feel, you should know soon enough, then try just two fruits, or try just one fruit and one green.

Only you know what your body can handle.

Good luck to you

[JMD]

Thanks Rawpriestess--

My gut sorta knew that that was tough for me to digest. I also read that food combining need not happen when it is blended. :rolleyes: I will keep using them with just fruit for now. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Thanks,
Jen

[Rawkinlocs]

JMD, what kind of greens are you using? Have you tried using milder greens such as romaine or green leaf lettuce? If not, and if you're willing to do so, try those and see if you get the same results.

[JMD]

thanks i will i was using baby spinach and romaine lettuce. I do love BIbb and green leafs too

Thanks for the tip.....:)

[little d]

I love the smoothies, not so much for the taste (though they are good) but for all that you can cram into them. I put fruit, green superfood powder, vitamin E powder, hemp protein and flax oil because those are all things that I want to have every day but would have a hard time fitting in. I prefer to take enzymes with my smoothies to aid in digestion; I am sure you would see a big difference using them. Maybe it is not ideal to have to use them, but I think the benefits of the smoothies outweigh it.

[Universal]

Peace,

For me, green smoothies work tremendously. I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum as rawandnatural. For me, if i were to use any fruits with my greens they usually are either apples or pears. I've tried bananas, and they give me gas and bloating.
Soooo, basically its a self experiment. Each person is different in their composition all the way down to the cellular level. So a combination (or lack thereof) for one person more than likely will NOT be as beneficial for the next person.
Hope that helps..


PEACE
Universal

[Ariannah]

Oh, I use apples and pears, too, I just don't use citrus in a green smoothie.
As for bananas, it's indeed what works for each person.

[ReneeSC]

Maybe you could spend a week working through different sorts of smoothies to see what settles with you more.

One week could be all fruit, the next a green, the next a combo. I say a "week"..because if your body is already sick from the IBS ( we know that illness around here all TOO well ), it will take your body a few days to adjust to almost _any_ new introduction.

Maybe it would work better if it were two weeks - I don't know. When we were curing our oldest daughter's digestive tract, we had...and I mean HAD to use Primal Defense ( Garden of Life product ) - as a probiotic with homeostatic organisms and a wide spectrum of bacteria to repopulate her body so that she could simply keep food down..let alone digest it to feed her. I would also give her some super foods to feed her body as she healed because...although she'd gained a huge amount of weight and really quickly, she was starving to death.

Once all of that was getting better, we'd then work on getting the food through her colon. She's doing wonderfully now - right back on track with her weight ( dropped like a stone once she started eating RAW and like a piglett )..

I will use probiotics, also, and I use a Super Greens Plus ( berry flavor ) as my superfood. Yes, I still get gassy...but I think I had nuts too close to that infusion last night. I will have all sorts of combinations of smoothies, though..and ice creams.

What a thrill it was to see that my own tract was finally processing raw foods properly - but it took time. I'm still finding some things just don't agree with me some days. ( hands in the air ).

I hope you heal quickly. I've seen the results of this first-hand...so I can jump up and down.

[jaurequi]

JMD, I think it's just the fruit combos not working for you. I would try mono-fruits in smoothies and see how that makes ya feel.
Green apples are wonderful in green smoothies and work well alone.

Best,

[hotgugon]

how long have u been drinking green smoothies?...i used to get really gassy too but then i read that its ur stomach getting used to the food...and eventually it went away...so now i'm not gassy anymore...i think it took around 1-2 months?...something like that...

[RawTruth]

May I suggest that you contact Victoria Boutenko directly this? Since green smoothies as we know and use them now and they are and have been the main focus of her research for more than a year in addition to what her new book is about, she'd be the one to ask. I always figure go right to the source. After all, our experiences are our own; we each have a different body, history, and unique life situation that makes us react to foods differently than any one else. My experience with Victoria is that she answers both email and phone calls cordially and with attention.

I don't know if you have Green for Life yet, but she does address the food combining issue, explaining why blending greens and fruits together doesn't go against food combining rules. Also, she explains why blending is necessary for us to get the full nutritive value of the foods -- briefly, that years of cooked foods and other toxins have depeleted our stomach acid so that our food isn't being digested properly. Her research group in Oregon showed tremendous results from the green smoothies. Anyway, I won't go on and on about it, but I do think the book is revolutionary within the raw food community since she explains exactly why most raw food plans don't get optimal benefit long term.

p.s. As to why you're gassy, my guess would be it's the fruit and not the greens. I would modify one of the suggestions to advise you to try just one fruit with the greens to see what the reaction is. If you're gassy, then try a different (one) fruit with greens, and if you're gassy from that fruit, try a different one. Process of elimination (no pun intended) should help you find which fruits will work for you to blend.

[JMD]

WOW!
I love this support group..It is my TRUE wonder bra!! I always get a huge lift!! I will make note on the smoothie suggestions and try mono fruiting it with them. I am on a kale and romaine lettuce kick and will try them with either mango or ripe green apples. I guess I want immediate curing of this stomach issue I have and have to remember it took yrs to get this way--it will be yrs to reverse it.

Rawtruth--thanks for your wisdom..and i will look into contacting her myself.

Blessings to all,
Jen