Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Green Smoothies: Benefits

I’ve been reading Green for Life by Victoria Boutenko and next on my list is Green Smoothie Revolution by the same person (but more recent and way more recipes). Robyn Openshaw is next on my list.

A little side note: reading reviews sometimes really make me laugh. Apparently, one cannot crave greens without being a weirdo. Granted she specifically said “wild weeds” in her book but there are a lot of wild weeds that are good for you. And free. Hey, look at that. Free food. A lot of people eat lambsquarter. Free wild weed. And really good for you. Another common complaint was that she was really enthusiastic about it. Well... yes. Hence the book. If you’re looking for a scientific detailed nutrition book, don’t read Victoria Boutenko. But if you just want a quick read about green smoothies, go for it.

Moving on.

For those people who care about the US government’s food plate, green smoothies definitely help you get your recommended daily amount of fruits and veggies. And if you don’t care, green smoothies still help you get your veggies and fruits.

It’s a great way to start your day. It helps wake me up.

It gives me energy. Kaelyn still wakes up at night and even if I’m in bed for a really good amount of time, waking up is still draining. Green smoothies helps bridge that energy gap I was lacking.

Breakfast is yours all yours. At least it is for me. No one is begging to eat my food (although occasionally a family member has asked for a taste).

It helps your bowel movements be healthy.

It can decrease unhealthy cravings. Since I thought I was wanting a certain food (and we had it) only to realize that that is not what my body was asking for at all. Once I ate some honey dew, the heaviness and sick feeling that was settling in my stomach went away.

If you’re horrible at remembering side dishes or veggies at dinner, that will probably change. More and more lately, I have found myself thinking of fresh foods and wanting to include more of them in my family’s diet.

You snack less.

They’re super easy to make. If you have the right foods in your kitchen and a blender that doesn’t suck.

There are two benefits that I was not at all expecting. I used to drink a workout drink before a cardio workout. It is called Access by Melaleuca and it is designed to help you fuel your workout with your own body fat. It also helps keep your energy level up by blocks adenosine and it takes longer for you to feel fatigued. Once I realized that my energy had increased, I did a little self test and didn’t drink any Access for a few weeks of workout. And then I tried drinking it again to see the difference. I didn’t notice a difference in fatigue or energy levels. I did notice that my stomach didn’t love the Access. I’ll still use it if I ever workout in the afternoon but on a regular basis, I don’t need it.

And the last benefit to talk about is that for a few months now, there has been this rash thing on my leg. Just one leg and just in one spot. It would itch. I would scratch. It would bleed. It would start to heal. And then itch again. Even if I didn’t scratch, it wasn’t going away. I was about to see a doctor about it when I realized that it was going away and hadn’t bothered me since starting the green smoothies. Now you can still see where it was but it’s more like a scar than actually being there.

If you have tried green smoothies and have seen other benefits, let me know!

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