Today’s topic: NUTRITION DURING PREGNANCY.

Remember, what you’re eating when you’re pregnant is also contributing to healthy blood, bones, tissues, and organs—or not.

It’s so painful for me to remember back to eating 7-11 nachos, Diet Coke, a Special Burger and fries (extra fry sauce!) at lunch, and Ben & Jerry’s after dinner, throughout my first pregnancy. I didn’t know any better. I assumed my body was making good fuel for my baby, out of the bad fuel I fed myself—as illogical as that is.

I imagine that’s why I not only gained 65 lbs., but it’s also why my baby developed significant auto-immune problems in his first year of life. With my later pregnancies, I was learning and implementing good nutrition strategies, and the babies were FAR healthier.

My last baby was (and still is, at age 12) completely healthy—never once a bacterial infection of any kind, never any antibiotics or meds or even doctor visits. The labor and delivery got easier, too, when I ate the right foods throughout the pregnancy and gained only 35 lbs. instead of 65!

I can’t even count how many times a 12 Steps to Whole Foods young mom has talked to me after a class I teach, and told me this:

“I’m so thrilled that I changed my diet to eat whole foods, because this last pregnancy has been my easiest and healthiest!”

I’ve had many moms tell me about major complications they had during their earlier pregnancies, while they were eating the Standard American Diet, and how all that changed when they embraced whole-foods fuel.

One mother in Texas told me that with her first 4 children, she was on bed rest, with terrible edema, and pre-eclampsia. As she told me this, she was 9 months pregnant, and beaming ear to ear. She said, “This is my first problem-free pregnancy. I’m about to deliver, and I’m so excited I learned all about whole foods from you.”

My diet now is the diet I would eat if I were pregnant again. The “pregnancy diet” is no different than the ideal diet for life.

It’s high in greens, in vegetables, and in fruits—80% of more of them raw. I also eat cooked legumes (beans, split peas, lentils), and whole grains (organic quinoa, whole wheat, rolled oats or oat groats, spelt, Kamut, buckwheat, millet—most of them sprouted before they are baked at low temperatures). I buy sprouted-grain (whole grain only) bread or English muffins or tortillas at the health food store. But I also make my own granola.

I eat nuts and seeds every day, some of them sprouted, many of them rich sources of essential fatty acids. I soak and dehydrate nuts and seeds to add to my granola.

I use coconut oil on my skin and in occasional baking, for medium-chain triglycerides. I always have a quart of green smoothie a day. Most days, I also have a glass of vegetable juice, although at many points in my life, I’ve not had the time to make juice, and now I hire someone to do it.

I choose big salads in restaurants. I don’t eat refined sugar, ever, nor do I ever drink soda, or eat processed meats, or pork or beef. I eat a 95 percent plant-based diet, and I keep refined foods or animal products at 5 percent or less.

While I was having my babies, I was learning how to do all that. It was new to me then—it is habit now. I didn’t give up sugar cold-turkey back then. I had fits and starts in dealing with my addiction.

My changes involved bucking “the system.” Lots of systems, in fact. The medical system. The social system of parties and barbecues and family events and Easter and Halloween and Christmas. The church system of keeping kids quiet in nursery and later, in class, with junk food. The family system of generations of “comfort foods” that contributed to my babies’ health problems. It wasn’t easy. But it was one of the BEST THINGS I’VE EVER DONE. I’ve never looked back, and I have absolutely zero regret.

What I did HAD TO BE DONE.

So, what I’ve just described my diet being now is a great diet for a pregnant or nursing mom. It’s a terrible idea for a pregnant mom to eat a diet high in refined carbs. The baby does need good protein for brain health, and overall for building. There’s plenty of protein in nuts, seeds, legumes, grains, and greens.

If you avoid those good food categories, eating a vegan diet, you’re likely to develop dental problems, blood sugar issues, and fatigue-related disorders. If you want more protein, I suggest a scoop of our whole-food, vegan protein powder added to your green smoothies.

Doctors tell women to eat lots of protein, and everyone’s first thought with protein is meat and dairy. Those are “perfect proteins,” to be sure. But “perfect” doesn’t meant “better”—it just mean it is protein the body doesn’t have to assemble from amino acids, because it matches human flesh very closely. Protein from greens, seeds, legumes, grains, and nuts is protein the body has to work harder to build muscle with. But it’s far more durable muscle mass.

Always eat protein when you’re eating sugars. For instance, if you have a green smoothie and yours is high in fruits, eat a handful of almonds, too, or a bowl of lentil or split pea soup. Or add a scoop of protein powder. I make my green smoothies as high in greens, and as low in fruits, as I can tolerate. Slow down and regulate impact on blood sugar, by eating FIBER and QUALITY PROTEIN. This is how you can, with lifelong habits, avoid insulin problems and eventual diabetes, which currently most of our population is heading toward.

Don’t undertake a major, radical detox program while you’re pregnant or in the first year of nursing. As toxins range your body, on their way out, they flush through a developing fetus, and through your breast milk, as well.

Again, don’t take my advice in lieu of competent practitioner care and counsel.

Tomorrow, we talk once again about WHAT TO DO ABOUT PICKY KIDS.

The post Nutrition for pregnant moms, babies, toddlers…..part 4 of 5 appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Never have I raised the ire of more readers as when I did a video with Dr. Kirt Tyson, one of Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ 30 diabetics he treated in the documentary and wellness program Simply Raw. Dr. Tyson told me he is a clearly Type 1 diabetic, who is off insulin except on the occasion he gets a virus, or falls off his raw diet.

Dr. Cousens claims that 83 percent of Type 1 diabetics still have some functioning in their Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, and can therefore heal, regenerate, and improve their situation, some of them even coming off insulin dependence. His program has people eat a raw, plant-based, alkaline diet. People leave with biomarkers radically changed, many of them off insulin, including 100% of the Type II diabetics who did the program.

It sounds crazy to people who’ve bought into the School of Medicine’s endocrinology specialty, who put people on insulin for life and tell them to eat whatever they want.

I am not making a claim about diabetes. Not here, nor in the video that infuriated some people. And I’m not making a claim now, showing you Denise’s story. I’m just letting her tell her story.

I met Denise at a class I taught in San Francisco in April. She won both Grand Prizes, the Blendtec and the 12 Steps course. And she told me how she got off blood thinners and solved her desperate health problems. Check it out here, and then read my comments below.

Some cardiac patients are ordered to take blood thinners by their doctors, and further, they are ordered to never stop taking them. Obviously, disregard for this advice for someone with a history of blood clots is no laughing matter. Don’t go off your blood thinners without competent medical supervision. However, you should always get a second opinion, and often a third. You may wish to find extremely competent practitioners outside those educated exclusively in drug approaches to advise you. They often have other ways to view the situation that consider the multi-faceted whole human organism. Rather than a focus on one body part separate from the whole, and the what-insurance-code-will-pay-for-what-drug approach.

I often have readers taking warfarin (brand name Coumadin) tell me, sorrowfully, that they cannot consume greens because they are taking Coumadin. I cannot advise you whether you can, or cannot, have green smoothies while taking this drug. I do think it’s tragic that people who have a major health problem have to eliminate the most important class of foods—foods that they need even more desperately than everybody else does. It’s because there’s high Vitamin K in greens, which binds to the drug and renders it ineffective, creating increased risk of blood clots.

I will say that I’ve had people on Coumadin tell me (a) that they’re not allowed to drink green smoothies or eat greens, and also (b) that they’re allowed to, but in managed amounts. This leads me to the advice to seek a second opinion, and really study an issue out. Not every doctor knows everything.

The advice to patients taking Coumadin is all over the map, so clearly it’s not as cut-and-dried as some cardiac patients think. Here’s a Mayo Clinic M.D. saying kale, spinach, chard, collard greens are highest in Vitamin K, and to limit Vita K consumption to 90-120 mcg daily.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/warfarin/AN00455

Be informed. Own your own health care. I hope before you get blood clots in the first place, you learn how to utilize nutrition, hydrate, alkalize the body, and exercise, to keep your blood flowing well and your red blood cells robust, with good tension, not sticking together. Or that you take a diagnosis like that, already issued, as a wake-up call to activate your immune system with healthy practices and, if you can, intervene early to avoid a doc ordering Coumadin for you.

I just did darkfield live-blood microscopy last week at Parecelsus al Ronc in the Southern Swiss Alps. I looked at thousands of my own red blood cells, lymphocytes, and platelets under microscope. I also looked at many cancer patients’ blood, to compare. It was fascinating to look at my highly mobile, round, healthy red blood cells that move around and perform their functions independent of each other rather, than clumping together, slowing down functions and impeding oxygen and nutrient exchange. My white blood cell count was healthy and normal, and they were active and mobile.

Then, I looked at slides of very ill patients’ white blood cells, too many of them and too sluggish. Their red blood cells had bacteria attacking them, and one patient had shards of crystals sticking out of her RBC’s after a year of taking the immune suppressant methyltrexate! Absolutely fascinating. (No HIPPA laws in Europe—the clinics let me see LOTS of things U.S. docs would never let me see, even let me go on rounds with patients.)

Holistic healing is the wave of the future. America is going that direction, after a few decades of experimenting with the hope that drugs will make us well. More and more people are realizing the futility of this approach, and are fleeing to places like Paracelsus, where docs are committed to treating the person, rather than treating a tumor or a hardened artery.

The post Video: Denise Gets Off Coumadin appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

One of the most confusing controversies in the world of health and nutrition is the debate about ANTI-NUTRIENTS.

For example, hot issues about Anti-Nutrients include but are not limited to these compounds…

• Grains have PHYTATES.
• Spinach has OXALATES.
• Apple seeds have CYANIDE.
• Legumes have PURINES and LECTINS.
• Broccoli and cabbage have GOITROGENS.

Recent scare tactics about these “anti-nutrients” originate primarily from reductionistic thinking, circulated on the internet by a few “experts” theorizing. The sad consequence is that many consumers fear the most nutritious whole foods in the world.

While reports that all grains, legumes, and many fruits and vegetables contain anti-nutrients are true, the demonizing of these whole foods as dangerous is evidence that you aren’t being told the whole story.

No one addresses this issue more logically than my friend Jim Simmons, whose book Original Fast Foods I highly recommend. During an email exchange I had with Jim, he wrote:

“Research now supports the idea that anti-nutrients are nature’s way of helping us to be more intuitive in our eating patterns. For instance, some spinach is really good for you, but as you consume too much, the level of oxalates will build up in your bloodstream to a point that a signal will be sent to your brain and then a signal is sent from the brain to your endocrine system.

“The long and the short is, you will lose your appetite for spinach until the level of oxalates drop sufficient that your taste for spinach is turned back on….don’t get too complicated in your eating habits.”

Anti-nutrients are in most, if not all, whole foods. This does not mean they are bad, scary, or to be avoided.

In fact, avoiding the very foods that contain anti-nutrients will put your disease risk through the roof. They happen to also be the foods highest in fiber, micronutrients, and all disease-preventative compounds. Synergistically, the hundreds of phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and enzymes in the same foods that contain goitrogens or oxalates, keep you slim, healthy, and clear-thinking till you’re old.

Anti-nutrients, as they are popularly referred to, possibly poorly named, serve an important purpose in the overall chemistry of the plant and in its delivery of phytonutrients to your body.

Phytates

Science actually knows very little about these anti-nutrients that some say rob your body of minerals, causing unnecessary fear among consumers in the past decade.

Phytic acid is found naturally (in varying degrees) in most grains, seeds, legumes, and nuts, but our bodies don’t produce the enzyme to metabolize and absorb it.

Phytates can react with certain minerals (like iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc), and some carbs and proteins, binding to them and making them less available for our bodies to use. (1) This is why the Paleo diet community, in particular, has demonized them as harmful.

However, research doesn’t support avoiding phytates. In fact, evidence is clear that they are, in fact, helpful and important, particularly as a defense against kidney stones (by absorbing excess calcium), lowering cholesterol, (2)  as an antioxidant, (3) and even protecting against cancer. (4)

In many cases, it is the very quality of binding to excess minerals that makes phytic acid beneficial.

And if you’re still worried about phytates, it’s easy to neutralize them in your legumes, seeds, and grains–soaking or sprouting them for a few hours or overnight activates the enzymes that break down phytates.

Lectins

The “Eat Right for Your Blood Type” and Paleo movements are responsible for the panic over lectins, which are proteins in raw grains and legumes that help cells stick together. Lectins have been blamed for causing a host of health issues, particularly leaky gut and autoimmune disease.

But, as with phytates, lectins are neutralized with soaking, sprouting, and cooking.  It’s almost unheard of to eat legumes like kidney or pinto beans in their raw state, which is when lectins are active.

And, as with phytates, the risks of eliminating grains and legumes from the diet for fear of easily-managed “anti-nutrients” are far worse than the anti-nutrients themselves for the vast majority of us.

In his book How Not To Die, Dr. Michael Greger documents thousands of studies proving that the healthiest people on the planet consume grains, legumes, and other plant foods.

Speaking of grains and legumes in particular (the food groups most associated with lectins), he cited the recommendation of nine independent research teams analyzing half a million studies–to eat whole grains and/or legumes with every meal for cancer prevention. (5)  Every meal.

In a recent podcast interview I did with Joel Fuhrman, MD, author of Eat to Live and three other New York Times bestsellers, he explained that residuals of legumes attach to the villi in our stomach, and are our top defense against gut disease. And that the anti-lectin fear-mongering is nothing more nor less than a fad.

Eat your quinoa and pinto beans, folks!

Purines

These compounds are associated with protein and are ubiquitous in our cells and most foods. Moderately high purine-content plant foods include beans, lentils, asparagus, peas, oatmeal, and cauliflower.

Purines are necessary and good, but in concentrated amounts can cause problems for people with gout and a few other very specific illnesses.

Several researchers, including Choi, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, have found that plant proteins do NOT increase gout risk, while the high-protein organs and flesh of animals, do increase gout symptoms. (6)

It’s a non-issue unless you have a nutrition-related health problem that affects your purine metabolism.

Especially for children and infants, problems that may warrant looking at reducing foods containing purines may include autism, cerebral palsy, deafness, epilepsy, recurrent infections, or anemia.

In those cases, a doctor may limit purines to 150 mg or less. (Keep in mind that MOST cases of those illnesses have nothing to do with purines.)

Cyanide

True, it’s in apple seeds.

Cyanide is actually a trace element our body needs. What’s in apple seeds is a tiny amount, and your body breaks it down into another harmless compound in metabolism.

I put apples, core and all, in my green smoothies. My 74-year old dad has eaten apples whole, with the core, his whole life. (He likes to point that out, to whoever is within hearing range—“Hey look, I ate everything but the stem.”)

The cyanide used by Socrates’ murderer, the poison favored by German Nazis, is a synthetic chemical combined with another element—hydrogen cyanide or sodium cyanide or potassium cyanide.

In fact, the “amygdalin” made of natural cyanide and sugar, found in apple seeds, is the B17 found in other pits (like apricot) that had people lining up by the thousands in Mexican cancer clinics in the 1980’s.

My grandmother credited it, and a raw vegan “juicing” diet, with her cancer cure in that decade.

Oxalates

I have done this subject to death. And like the other anti-nutrient debates, it’s another tempest in a teapot.

At issue is the claim that oxalates (found in foods like spinach, other leafy greens, vegetables, and nuts) can overaccumulate, causing kidney stones and other health problems.

I do not disagree that there are a few people who are not metabolizing oxalates well (a condition called hyperoxaluria), but I’m very reticent to embrace the idea that we eliminate an entire class of foods because of it.

Greens have many critical properties that other foods do not, and these nutritional benefits are desperately needed by virtually everyone. Oxalates are one compound, of many, in a serving of spinach, and researchers looking at the anti-nutrients issue mostly agree that the benefits massively outweigh the tiny risks for a very few people, of eating leafy greens in abundance.

(If you do find that oxalates are a problem, you can google “low oxalate greens” and use those, instead, in your green smoothies and salads. Avoiding greens is tantamount, however, to avoiding health.)

A companion “old wives’ tale” in this controversy is the disproven idea that cooking your greens neutralizes oxalates. It doesn’t, and cooking your greens also kills enzymes, and damages many vitamins.

Goitrogens

Let’s use some common sense. Let’s say a food has sustained human life for thousands of years, and dozens or even hundreds of studies show it to be dramatically cancer preventative.

(I’m referring to broccoli, cabbage, and kale—the crucifers.) Let’s say we break down the many complex parts of the broccoli plant, over 100 beneficial compounds, and we find one that, when chemically isolated and in large amounts, could interfere with thyroid function–goitrogens.

Don’t succumb to the myth that you should avoid cruciferous vegetables if you want to avoid goiters or other thyroid conditions, even if you are hyperthyroid.  It is thoroughly lacking in evidence, and a classic example of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”

In fact, the studies on crucifers’ role in preventing thyroid and other cancers demonstrates precisely the opposite–they are protective foods that you want to go out of your way to eat more of! (7)

This year, I attended a conference of wellness professionals and talked with my friend, oncologist Stephen Eisenmann. I said, “Tell me the top 3 cancer preventative things anyone can do.” One of his top 3 was to eat more crucifers.

Conclusions

If you’ve read this article  and are now going to avoid whole grains, cruciferous vegetables, or apple seeds, you’ve missed the point entirely.

Whatever OTHER food you eat instead of that whole plant food—animal flesh, or packaged foods—has far worse than an anti-nutrient or two.

They have heat-damaged carcinogenic oils, no fiber, refined sugar, chemicals from solvents and preservatives and flavor enhancers and packaging and colorings. (In fact, many packaged, processed, and animal foods also contain anti-nutrients. Almost everything does!)

You’re simply far better off eating whole foods. They’re the anti-anti-nutrient!

Learn WHY and HOW to eat more whole foods in my FREE VIDEO MASTERCLASS going on right now.  It’s your shortcut to my best tips, getting to the bottom of the controversies, and learning to eat more of the world’s healthiest foods.

We’d prefer that you do it inexpensively, deliciously, and easily–and you’d probably enjoy that too. That’s what the video class is all about!

Resources

1. Yoon JH, Thompson LU, Jenkins DA. “ The effect of phytic acid on in vitro rate of starch digestibility and blood glucose response.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 1983. 38, pp 835-842

2. Admassu, S. “Potential Health Benefits and Problems Associated with Phytochemical in Food Legumes.” East African Journal of Sciences. 2009. 3(2) pp 116-133.

3. Graf E, Empson KL, Eaton JW.  “Phytic Acid.  A Natural Antioxidant.”  Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1987. 262(24)

4. Vucinik I, Shamsuddin AM.  “Protection against cancer by dietary IP6 and inositol.” Nutrition and CAncer. 2006. 55(2) pp 109-125.

5. Gregor, M MD. 2015 How Not To Die. New York (NY): Flatiron Books

6. Choi HK, “Purine-RIch Foods, Dairy and Protein Intake, and the Risk of Gout in Men.” New England Journal of Medicine.  2004. 350 pp 1093-1103.

7. Bossetti C, Negri E, Kolonel L. “A Pooled Analysis of Case-control Studies of Thyroid Cancer. VII. Cruciferous and Other Vegetables.” Cancer Causes and Control. 2002. 13(8) pp 765-775.

The post What Are Anti-Nutrients, And Should You Worry About Them In Your Food? appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

I don’t preach about the -isms. I don’t talk about or embrace words like raw foodist, vegetarian, or vegan, even though I do teach to eat a high-raw, mostly-plants diet. I leave it to you to figure out whether you want organic, clean eggs, cheese, milk, or meat as a small (5% or less) part of your diet. The implications of the biggest nutrition study in history, the China Project done by Oxford and Cornell, are clear: a plant-based diet can overcome carcinogens in our lifestyle. The standard American diet that includes 20% animal protein is a cancer feeder and puts us at high risk for that, and many other diseases.

I personally do not ever put animal products in anything I make at home. Organic eggs and cheese were the last things to go, at my house. There were less and less of them until one day I realized it had been 18 months since I had bought either of them. Making an egg substitute with 1 Tbsp. chia soaked in 3 Tbsp. of water works great. The baked product is more crumbly, but I can live with that. That’s all I used eggs for, anyway. The days of serving my little kids “toads-in-a-hole” for dinner were long gone. (A piece of bread, a hole punched out and an egg put in, fried in a little butter.) In the early days of my transition, we had that WITH a green smoothie!

It’s a rare occasion that I eat anything in a restaurant with animal products, either. I choose not to embrace those titles for two reasons. One, I think they are a turn-off to many people who are just starting out, wanting only to learn about and eat more nutritious food. I want to “be there” for the folks just beginning a transition to a high-quality diet.

Second, because I am often approached in restaurants, everything I eat scrutinized and commented on, and I don’t want to be held to absolutes. So I never call myself any of those labels even though I have eaten a high-raw, 95%+ plant-based diet for 18 years.

I’m supportive of those who do eat veg, vegan, and raw, and I’m proud of my vegan daughter who goes out of her way to eat only plants, so that there is no cruelty to animals caused by her life. (She’s a competitive soccer and cross-country athlete, and we look high and low to make sure there is no leather in her cleats and running shoes as well.) She and I have two very different ideologies that fuel our similar choices—hers animal cruelty, mine nutrition—and both are valid and important.

The quotes below use the words “vegetarian” and “vegan” quite a bit, but of course they’re not my quotes. But if extremist labels offend you, just consider these thoughts towards my agenda of helping you EAT MORE PLANTS! Regardless of whether you have a goal of eating no animal products. 🙂

“A number of studies have shown that cancer risk is lower and immune competence is higher in individuals who consume a vegetarian diet. Epidemiological studies almost unanimously report a strong correlation between a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low cancer risk.”

– John Boik, in his book Cancer & Natural Medicine: A Textbook of Basic Research and Clinical Research

“I have been a vegan for almost two years now and the benefits have been tremendous. I have more stamina and it helps keep me in a positive state of mind. I didn’t realize how weighed down I was when I ate meat. I never really felt 100 percent until I freed it from my diet. Now, I can’t imagine going back to meat. I feel incredible.”

– Mike Tyson, World heavyweight boxing champion, in 2011

“Today you have processed meats and a lot of animals suffering unnecessarily for it. Now, some people just blow that off and don’t have a conscience about it, or they just don’t care. They wouldn’t eat their dog, but they feel that way about other animals. But for me, I decided to stop eating meat. I didn’t want to contribute to all of that. I’m not trying to change the world, or wear that on my sleeve, or make a political statement, because that just turns people away. I only have control over one person, and that’s myself. And I feel good about it.”

– Mac Danzig, vegan mixed martial arts champ

“I’ve found that a person does not need protein from meat to be a successful athlete. In fact, my best year of track competition was the first year I ate a vegan diet.”

– Carl Lewis, nine-time Olympic gold medal winner

“Someone may say that there are some antioxidants in meat. They are not incorrect in saying this. But, it is like comparing a raindrop to a lake, with a piece of meat being the raindrop, and an apple or other raw fruit or vegetable being a lake of beneficial nutrients. Any antioxidants in the meat only got there by way of the animal eating plants. Animals, including humans, do not conduct photosynthesis, which is the process that takes place in plant cells when they absorb sun energy and store it, forming the colors in the plants. Therefore, antioxidants, which are in the natural colors of plants, are vastly more available in edible, raw plant substances, and much less present in meat, dairy, and eggs. By consuming animal protein to try to access antioxidants is less than licking the juice from a knife that just cut through a piece of fruit, instead of simply eating the fruit itself.

By consuming animal protein, you are also consuming free radicals, which exist and form in meat, milk, and eggs. So, even if you are consuming some trace amounts of certain antioxidants in the animal protein, you are countering it by also consuming the damaging free radicals in that animal flesh, dairy, or eggs. This scenario does not equal good nutrition – especially considering that meat, dairy, and eggs also contain saturated fat, cholesterol, and a variety of other substances that work against health.

Studies are constantly revealing how certain fruits and vegetables not only provide needed nutrients that are beneficial to health, but also that they contain and provide properties that prevent certain serious ailments, such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease; limit intestinal exposure to carcinogens; and help the body to contain, transport, and eliminate toxins.”

– Sunfood Diet Infusion: Transforming Health And Preventing Disease Through Raw Veganism by John McCabe

The post athletes and experts quoted about eating plants appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Dear GreenSmoothieGirl: I know that a great diet coupled with lots of exercise is the healthiest approach for all of us. Having said this, I just listened to a guy on the radio say he is a gym rat and is in excellent physical shape for his age (approaching 50,) but he’s a junk food king. Which is worse: Great diet, little or no exercise, OR so-so diet, but great cardio and muscle workouts. Happy Mother’s Day! –Patti

Answer:  It’s a funny question, and the answer may not even be helpful to anyone, but it will entertain me to answer it! Obviously it’s a terrible idea to have a bad diet OR live a sedentary lifestyle. But your guess about what I’m going to say is right: I think diet is even more important.

We do it all day long, eat food. It is so foundational. It’s the gas in the gas tank. When it’s hybridized, genetically modified, stripped of fiber and nutrition, or even made of nothing but chemicals (i.e. soda), your body doesn’t even have good fuel to work with, in a cardio or weight workout. Fuel is what builds every cell. With your weight, food is 80% and exercise is 20%. While I think both are critically important, nutrient density in your diet is probably the #1 most important issue for your health, and your emotional well-being. Stress management / attitude / ability to metabolize and move forward after negative events is the #2 most important factor affecting your overall health. Exercise is likely #3!

The post Diet vs. Exercise appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Kathy with Robyn (Before)

I love when people send me their test results, or their before-and-after photos, when they’ve changed their life.

Kathy is a GSG Detox two-time graduate…..and the winner of a Blendtec Total Blender at my lecture.

We met in October, 2013, in Northern Virginia. She came to my next lecture, 9 months later, near Baltimore. Here you see the photos, with me, of Kathy before and after implementing a whole-foods diet.

Last Fall, she was just shy of 200 pounds, with cholesterol of 198, diagnosed pre-diabetic. She told me, “I didn’t like the way I felt. I had to wiggle into my chair at work. My thighs embraced each other as I walked, and my belly would sometimes cause the grocery store self-checkout machine to yell at me: ‘Please remove items from scanner scale!’”

Kathy realized she needed to do something. The day before Christmas, she started the GreenSmoothieGirl 26-day Detox. By the end, she’d lost 10 pounds. More importantly, she’d realized that she COULD make the switch, from the Standard American Diet, to a healthy, whole-foods lifestyle.

Each weekend, following GSG advice, she tried something new, adding one new habit. Her cholesterol dropped over 50 points in two months. Her doctor told her that her fasting blood sugar was back to normal range–out of danger for diabetes.

Kathy and Robyn (After)

Kathy has lost nearly 50 pounds in the last 7 months! She’s done the Detox TWICE. She says,

“I feel better about myself and I couldn’t have done it without the tools and information you provide on your website and books.  I am grateful for the work you have done in sharing your knowledge about foods and the food industry.”

Kathy, thank you for sharing your story!

The post Kathy Pugh Loses 50 lbs Eating Whole Foods! appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Dr. David Katz and Dr. Stephanie Meller, at Yale University, completed a survey of the published research on diet over the past decade. The primary finding, surveying thousands of studies?

“A diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants, is decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention.”

Score one for my mission. This is what we teach. Eat plants, unprocessed ones!

The study compared low carb, low-fat, low glycemic, Mediterranean, mixed/balanced (DASH), Paleolithic, vegan, and many other diets.

Fewer cancers and less heart disease are documented in thousands of published studies. The most effective diets included not just fruits and vegetables, but whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Some other interesting findings:

Katz and Meller found “no decisive evidence” that low-fat diets are better than diets high in healthful fats, like the Mediterranean! Those fats include a lower ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than the typical American diet.

Finally, about the very popular fad, the “Paleo Diet”, Katz and Meller wrote:

“If Paleolithic eating is loosely interpreted to mean a diet based mostly on meat, no meaningful interpretation of health effects is possible.” They note that the composition of most meat in today’s food supply is not similar to that of mammoth meat, and that most plants available during the Stone Age are today extinct. [In other words, GSG interpretation, it’s not even possible to “follow” the diet Paleolithic man ate!]

Dr. Katz says, of the “dieting” landscape in the popular media:

“It’s not just linguistic…I really at times feel like crying, when I think about that we’re paying for ignorance with human lives. At times, I hate the people with alphabet soup after their names who are promising the moon and the stars with certainty. I hate knowing that the next person is already rubbing his or her hands together with the next fad to make it on the bestseller list.”

Another GSG teaching confirmed by the Yale study:

Exaggerated emphasis on a single nutrient or food is inadvisable. The result, Katz and Meller write, is constant confusion and doubt. My conclusion, instead, is to just eat a wide variety of whole, colorful, unprocessed plant foods. Greens, vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

The post Science Compared Every Diet. The Winner? Real Food! appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Our customer support rep Kami forwarded this to me and said, “This brought tears to my eyes.” Me, too.

“I was in so much pain I couldn’t sit. So I kept squirming. I felt that I was distracting those who wanted so much to learn from you. I kept starting to leave…but I selfishly wanted to learn too.

I want to tell you I have now been doing green smoothies for almost two years and am constantly getting other people started. Years of compulsively overeating carbs,sweets, and fats gave me the giant belly you saw that literally hangs to my knees.

What you would never have imagined is that my health was already greatly improved by your green smoothies. I truly believe the cancer was already being driven out by the greens. I believe that if I beat this, it will be because of you. If I had found you sooner I would never have had to go through all this.

Thank you for all the good information you made available to me. I am done with radiation and my first round of chemo . I am barely able to eat again. I am starting back on my green smoothies. I wish you could guide me through this but I could never afford you. I wonder how many lives you have saved and they don’t even know it.

Never become discouraged. The world needs you. Be well, dear sister, and never stop.”

The post “When I Came to Your Class, I Had Just Been Diagnosed with Rectal Cancer” appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Here’s a little quiz: what do mesquite, beans, carob, peas, soy, peanuts, lentils, and even alfalfa and clover all have in common?

Say it with me: “lay-gooms.”  Legumes–the food group with a weird name–are plants whose seed grows inside a pod.

In this article:

• Health Benefits of Legumes
• Legumes Are Easy to Add to Your Diet,
• How to Cook Legumes: Tips and Tricks
• My Favorite Legumes
• Best-Ever Split Pea Soup Recipe

Legumes are an amazing food group that is often forgotten, but high in so many nutrients (and delicious!)

Health Benefits of Legumes

I love legumes! This whole class of food is highly underrated. I’m going to tell you some reasons to commit to eating this food group regularly, what my favorite 10 are, and give you my BEST legume recipes (including my famous split-pea soup) in a free ebook!

Legumes are cheap. They’re high in fiber. They’re high in micro-nutrients. They’re filling. They’re low in calories, and they’re easy to obtain, worldwide. They store well and have a long shelf life, especially split peas and many beans.

They’re great for your heart. They have nutrients and fiber that can lower cholesterol and blood pressure and help you lose weight.

Legumes are high in protein while being low in fat. In his book How Not To Die, Dr. Michael Gregor cited major studies that associate higher legume consumption (about a cup a day) with lower risks for cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

In a podcast I recently recorded with Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the Eat To Live author shared why regular legume-eaters have higher amounts of unique beneficial bacteria in their guts, a special biofilm that buffers the glycemic load of higher-carb foods.  Scientists call it “the second meal effect,” where this biofilm slows glucose absorption from minutes to hours.  It’s just one of what Dr. Fuhrman says in the podcast are “a million reasons why beans extend lifespan.”

(And don’t buy into the bad rap legumes have gotten lately for their supposed “anti-nutrients,” phytates and purines.  I addressed those scare tactics in another post.)

Bottom line: EAT MORE LEGUMES!

Legumes Are Easy to Add to Your Diet

There are lots of ways to incorporate legumes into meals or snacks.

You can eat them in soups and stews, add cooked or sprouted ones to salads, or grind dry ones for bread or baked goods to substitute for part of the grains.  You can puree legumes and make yummy spreads for sandwiches or for dipping.

Guacamole is made even better by adding Black Beans for taste, nutrition, and extra filling.

I like to add black beans and salsa to guacamole so that I can eat lots of it on homemade organic corn chips.

I like to add chickpeas (garbanzo beans) to salads.

I love all varieties of lentils (green, red, and brown) in soups.

Legumes generally take an hour to cook, some even longer. But I highly recommend cooking your own, rather than buying them canned. Not only will you save money, but you’ll avoid sodium and any weird phthalates and other stuff leaching from the inside of the can.

Cook a big giant batch, to save time, and save 1 cup servings in the freezer.

How to Cook Legumes: Tips and Tricks

Before putting legumes in fresh water to cook, rinse them very well; they’re amazingly dirty when they come out of the bag. Beans need to soak overnight (lentils and split peas don’t). As another option, you can bring clean beans to a boil, turn off the burner, and let them soak two hours to speed up the process.

If the legumes you’re using have been in your storage for years, I recommend soaking them, draining the water, and soaking them a second time, for up to a whole day. This makes flatulence less likely.

(Flatulence comes from the oligosaccharides sugars in the beans not converting well into a form of sugars your body can use easily. Soaking the beans before cooking makes them easier to digest.)

To cook, drain the soak water and add at least 3 cups of water for every 1 cup you originally had of dry beans. Cook as much as you want, but remember that 1 cup of dry beans will become about 2.5 cups of cooked beans! Put clean, soaked beans in a heavy saucepan, cover, and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer, keep covered, and cook until beans are tender. For lentils or split peas, this will be about 45 minutes. For beans, it will be 2-3 hours, or for very old beans, it could be 4 hours.

Don’t add acidic things, like tomatoes, vinegar, salt, or lemon juice, to your beans until they are fully cooked; doing it earlier inhibits the beans from cooking.

My Favorite 10 Legumes

1. Lentils. Lentils are truly a super food, and you can buy the red, green, or brown varieties, all of which have a slightly different nutritional profile and texture. Brown lentils are the most common and least expensive. You don’t need to soak lentils, like beans. They’re high in fiber, protein, Vitamins B1, B5, and B6, niacin, folate, iron, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.

   Lentils have different varieties, are loaded with nutrients, and don’t need to be soaked like beans.

    

2. Split Peas. These take about an hour to cook and are called ‘split peas’ because when they’re harvested and dried, they naturally split in half. Split peas are high in protein, fiber, Vitamin B1 and B5, potassium, and phosphorus. They’re so easy to use in soup–and please leave the bacon out! You’ve GOT to try my amazing split pea soup recipe in the free ebook I’ll send you!

   Split peas are easy to use in soup – and we have a recipe for you at the end!

    

3. Black Beans. Everyone’s favorite legume! I love adding black beans to guacamole and salsa as a dip, or mashing them for a burrito. You’ll get a lot of protein, Vitamin B1, iron, folate, copper, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and manganese with these babies.
4. Black-Eyed Peas. Most people in the Northern states don’t know this delightful little legume, but they cook in an hour or less. I grew up in the South, where dinner was often a bowlful of black-eyed peas, plus a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar. It was simple, but I loved it! And black-eyed peas are high in fiber, protein, four B vitamins, copper, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and manganese.

   Black-eyed peas are very quick to cook and high in fiber, protein, vitamins, and other vital nutrients.

    

5. Pinto Beans. These might be the cheapest legume you can buy, and they’re also easy to store. I grew up with this food as a staple that raised 8 children to adulthood on one military salary. Big pots of vegetarian chili are one of my main memories of growing up. Pinto beans are high in fiber, protein, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, B1, and molybdenum.
6. Kidney Beans. These are my favorite for adding to a salad, as they taste very starchy, which is a nice complement and balance to crunchy greens and vegetables. Plus, they’re pretty and dark red. A mix of these and pinto beans are great in vegetarian chili. They are high in fiber, protein, omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins B1, B3, B5, and calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and iron.
7. Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans). Everybody loves hummus, and there are so many things you can put in mashed chickpeas with a little lemon juice, sea salt, and tahini (sesame paste); sundried tomatoes or any kind of olives are great options. I also love them in salads. Chickpeas are low in calories and high in protein, fiber, manganese, folate, copper, phosphorus, and iron.

   Chickpeas are what make up delicious hummus and are very versatile.

    

8. Soybeans. Soybeans are heavily genetically modified in North America, so buy ONLY organic to make sure you’re getting the good available from this food, and not the bad. Soybeans are extremely high in protein, so for many years, vegetarians made use of soy-based “meat replacement” products. I suggest avoiding all processed soy products and eating only whole, organic, occasional soybean foods such as edamame, tofu, or tempeh, or organic miso or nama shoyu as seasonings. Soybeans are well known to be high in isoflavones, a class of antioxidants that fight cancer, ease hormonal symptoms in women, and increase bone density. They’re also high in fiber, calcium, Vitamin B2, manganese, molybdenum, copper, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and omega-3 fats. Try sauteing tempeh as a sandwich filling or salad topping to replace meat.

   Soybeans are heavily modified genetically (a GMO) so make sure you only buy organic!

    

9. Lima Beans. Sometimes called “butter beans,” these large Peruvian beans make a nice soup with onions and root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, carrots, etc.), or they’re great mashed in a burrito or with sweet potatoes. They’re high in protein and fiber, as well as folate, molybdenum, tryptophan, manganese, potassium, iron, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, and Vitamin B1.
10. Mung Beans.  Ayurvedic doctors feed this to sick people because they’re such a power food. It’s easy to sprout these tiny beans; just soak them overnight, drain in the morning, and rinse and rotate them twice a day until you see “tails” about ¼” long. In two days, you’ve got a superfood for your salads and sandwiches. They’re chock full of protein, fiber, potassium, Vitamin C, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, iron, and phosphorus.

    Mung Beans are a power food, used by Ayurvedic doctors to help sick people with nutrients.

Best-Ever Split Pea Soup Recipe

Split pea soup got a bad rap in some classic horror flick I can’t remember, but just wait a little minute, here, because it deserves another look.

I want to send you my split pea soup recipe. It’s cheap to make, you can keep it in the fridge for a week, and it’s better the 2nd and 3rd days as flavors come together. It’s a great new recipe in your arsenal of strategies to eat more plants and increase your nutrition for better energy and ideal weight.

I’ve included the recipe in this free Luscious Legumes Recipes ebook I’d love to send you. Tried-and-true dishes your family will love, from my kitchen to yours!

Grab your FREE Luscious Legumes Recipe ebook here!

Read next: Grains and Legumes Made Easy

Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.

The post How To Eat Legumes appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are on the rise. In fact, it’s estimated that more than 3 million Americans suffer from this chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.¹ Drinking green smoothies can help lower that number.

There are two types of IBD: Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the lining of the digestive tract, and ulcerative colitis, which mainly impacts the colon or rectum. We’ll focus on Crohn’s disease for this article and share the best green smoothies to nourish this health condition.

Why the increased rates? It’s likely the toll from the Standard American Diet full of processed, packaged foods and refined sugar and flour that our bodies simply don’t recognize. If there’s one thing the human body knows, it’s plant foods, and they could be the key to nourishing your body as it heals from Crohn’s.

In This Article:

• What Is Crohn’s Disease?
• What Causes Crohn’s Disease?
• Treatment for Crohn’s Disease
• Lifestyle Chances for Crohn’s Disease
• Best Foods for Crohn’s Disease Support
• Green Smoothie Recipes for Crohn’s Disease

What Is Crohn’s Disease?

Crohn’s disease is inflammation of the digestive tract. This condition can cause significant pain, especially if it progresses further into the bowel tissue. Symptoms of Crohn’s disease can include²:

• Abdominal pain
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Low appetite
• Severe diarrhea
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Weight loss
• Blood in stool
• Anal fistula (a hole between the inner anus and surrounding tissue)
• Inflammation in skin, eyes, joints, liver, or bile ducts

The symptoms of Crohn’s disease are caused by inflammation of the gut, and can be painful.

What Causes Crohn’s Disease?

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, there is no officially recognized cause, but there are several theories about what increases risk.³

• Bacteria in your gut may cause an autoimmune reaction, meaning your immune system attacks healthy cells.
• Genetics
• Smoking
• NSAID usage (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen)

Treatment for Crohn’s Disease

Conventional medicine has no cure for Crohn’s and uses a variety of medications to control symptoms, like steroids and immunomodulators.⁴ This school of thought also recommends short-term liquid diets to allow the bowels to rest, and for more advanced Crohn’s, the recommended course of action is surgery. There is a risk for complications with these methods, none of which are pretty. Basically, if you head to the doctor with CD, chances are you’re leaving feeling pretty pessimistic.

But there is hope.

Plant-Based Diet For Crohn’s

New evidence shows that certain lifestyle shifts, such as transitioning to a plant-based diet, can keep Crohn’s symptoms at bay.⁵ According to the study, “several human trials have demonstrated that plant-based dietary therapies may have utility in both the treatment of acute CD flares and the maintenance of remission.”

The case study covered in the above research followed a man diagnosed with Crohn’s at 25 years old. He went the conventional route with intravenous medication, a treatment that left him with minimal improvements, and continued symptoms of pain and fatigue. 

Many Crohn’s patients think they shouldn’t eat fibrous plant food because a type of fiber found in vegetables, whole grains, and legumes—insoluble fiber—is indigestible. Its purpose is to bulk up our stool so it can pass through the digestive tract more easily. It was widely thought that having to go to the bathroom more often would be more irritating to the bowels, but more evidence is showing that plant fiber actually aids in digestion and, as the research notes, may be key to combating the disease.

The man went on a whole foods, plant-based diet following the conventional treatment and began exercising regularly. Within six months, he was symptom-free, and a colonoscopy revealed he had healed completely! How’s that for no cure? And he’s not the first, either. There are plenty of similar stories you’ll hear from people around the world.

People who have adopted plant-based diets and exercise have actually healed their Crohn’s disease.

Lifestyle Changes for Crohn’s Disease

Diet is a major factor in managing Crohn’s disease symptoms, of course, and I’ll get into that below, but as you read above, the food you eat is just one piece of the puzzle. The mind/body aspect of healing is the rest!

Stress can seriously affect the gut and flare up autoimmune disease symptoms. And the gut is what needs healing! So naturally, we want to be able to de-stress.

Some new practices you can try bringing into your lifestyle can be meditation, skin brushing, lymphatic self-massage, yoga or gentle stretching, other exercises, or breathwork. Also consider the stressful aspects of your daily life, whether they are physical, mental, or emotional. Maybe you’re not able to do strenuous exercise, or take on too much at work, or maybe there are toxic relationships in your life that you need to let go of. These things matter!

As you heal from Crohn’s, you must be your first priority, and incorporating self-care practices can help you stay centered, calm, and focused on your healing journey.

[Related Vibe Podcast: Discovering Your Innate Power For Self-Healing With Dr. Charles Cropley]

Best Foods for Crohn’s Disease Support

Starting off by eliminating processed foods (including gluten, dairy, and packaged goods) can be an important first step. If time is an issue, keep in mind that making your own meals in bulk (preparing big batches of green smoothies or simple meals to last throughout the week) will end up saving you time and stress in the long run. 

If your Crohn’s disease is severe, you may also want to ask your doctor about eliminating harder to digest foods in the short term, like grains, beans, and other legumes.

To really support your digestive system as it heals, incorporate some of the following foods into your diet. They contain key nutrients for gastrointestinal health like Vitamin A, Vitamin D, zinc.

• Sweet potato 
• Squash
• Leafy greens
• Carrots
• Mango
• Cantaloupe
• Citrus
• Watermelon
• Papaya
• Mushrooms
• Nuts and Seeds

[Related: 999 Cheap Plant-Based Meals You Can Make In 15 Minutes]

To add these foods to your diet, try some of my recipes, like Thai Sweet Potato Soup, Yellow Squash Raw Hummus, and Mango Bars, or get your leafy greens in with the smoothie recipes below!

Why Are Green Smoothies Helpful For Crohn’s Disease?

Smoothies are a great tool for those who are suffering from digestive issues. A lot of the digestive work of breaking up fiber has already been done, so your body doesn’t have to work as hard to do the rest. Blending up your ingredients, especially those that may be tougher to digest on their own, breaks them down even more than you could by chewing (but you should still “chew” your green smoothies!). Once they get to your stomach, the food particles are small enough to move through your digestive system without much issue.

Gut-Healthy Green Smoothie Add-In

One addition that will be beneficial to any of these smoothie recipes is bone broth protein. It’s a flavorless supplement (although flavored options are also available), so don’t worry about your fruity breakfast tasting like chicken. A main benefit of bone broth protein for Crohn’s sufferers is its gut-soothing collagen. It helps bodies build and maintain connective tissue, including the lining of the digestive tract. It also helps keep tissues hydrated and strong.

Green Smoothie Recipes for Crohn’s Disease

Blueberry Mango Green Smoothie

Both spinach and mangoes are great sources of Vitamin A, which is soothing to mucous membranes in the body. This includes the lining of the digestive tract, which needs all the healing it can get when recovering from Crohn’s disease. This green smoothie is a tasty way to use food as medicine.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups coconut water
• 2 cups spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup frozen mangoes
• 1 tsp chia seeds
  

The ingredients in our Blueberry Mango Smoothie are wonderful for Vitamin A, which heals the lining of all your tracts! (including digestive)

Directions

Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender and mix until smooth.

Watermelon-Lime Green Smoothie

This smoothie is super hydrating with juicy Vitamin A-rich watermelon. Its sweetness is balanced out by fresh lime juice, which can help stimulate stomach acid needed to break down the food you eat (or drink). Baby spinach or baby kale is a neutral way to get in an extra serving of veggies, too.

Depending where you are in your recovery, your stomach may be sensitive to even small amounts of alcohol in vanilla extract. Look for alcohol-free extracts (usually made with vegetable glycerin), or vanilla bean paste.

Ingredients

• 7 cups fresh or frozen watermelon
• 1 large handful baby spinach
• 1 cup ice
• 4 limes
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

When recovering from Crohn’s, be sure to get alcohol-free vanilla extracts.

Directions

Squeeze the juice from the limes and add with the other ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth, and enjoy now or freeze in ice-cubes to blend later for a slushy treat!

Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

Pineapple is a great addition to your gut-healing diet because it contains bromelain, an anti-inflammatory compound that helps soothe the digestive system. The zinc-rich almonds in this recipe also are immune boosters–and since the immune system lives in the gut, it’s doubly important to support it.

Ingredients

• 12 raw almonds, soaked overnight and drained
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup fresh or frozen pineapple
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 fresh or frozen banana
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  

Bromelain is an anti-inflammatory found in pineapple, which soothes the digestive system.

Directions

Blend water and almonds together for 60-90 seconds until very smooth. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. Enjoy throughout the day.

Note: For extra anti-inflammatory, gut-healing powers, replace 1/4 cup of the water with 1/4 cup of organic aloe vera gel.

Mean Green Detox Smoothie

You know how chia seeds get all slimy when you let them sit in water for a bit? The slick gel that it creates is actually great for the lining of your digestive tract. Spirulina, the blue-green algae is, too, thanks to the amino acid glutamine. Make sure you don’t go overboard with the spirulina, unless you want to taste the ocean—a little goes a long way!

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 banana
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 chopped English Cucumber
• 1 1/2 cups kale, rinsed and de-stemmed
• 1 small organic lemon, quartered
• 1 cup frozen pineapple
• 1/2 tsp spirulina
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup ice
  

Chia seeds and spirulini are great for your gut lining – just don’t go overboard with the spirulini! (It might taste like ocean).

Directions

Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender and mix until smooth to enjoy.

Hot Pink Breakfast Smoothie

Aside from the amazing pink color this combo produces, the probiotic benefits you get from this smoothie (if you go for the kefir option) are great for developing the health of your gut. Having a healthy balance of good bacteria has a cascade effect on the rest of your body, since so much of the body is affected by gut health, and you may see improvements in your digestion, skin, mood, sleep, and more.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup coconut water (optional: “ferment” it overnight on the counter with water kefir grains, strain, and replace with new coconut water for the following morning.)
• 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews
• 2-4 large dates pitted
• 1 whole large carrot cut in chunks
• 1 golf ball sized raw beet peeled
• 1-2 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 12 whole large strawberries or frozen blueberries
  

There’s no greens in this Hot Pink Smoothie, but the probiotics and nutrients inside do wonders for your gut health and more.

Directions

Blend all ingredients aside from berries in high-powered blender until smooth. Add berries, complete blending until smooth, and enjoy.

Read next: 6 Common Herxheimer Reactions And 10 Tips For Clearing Them Quickly

Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.

Sources

1. “Inflammatory Bowel Disease Prevalence (IBD) in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 21, 2019.
2. “Crohn’s Disease.” Mayo Clinic. June 26, 2019.
3. “Symptoms & Causes of Crohn’s Disease.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). September 2017.
4. “Treatment for Crohn’s Disease.” National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). September 2017.
5. Sandefur, Kelsea et al. “Crohn’s Disease Remission with a Plant-Based Diet: A Case Report.” Nutrients. 2019, 11(6), 1385; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11061385

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.

The post Green Smoothies For Crohn’s Disease: Research And Recipes appeared first on GreenSmoothieGirl.