Are Green Smoothies okay? page

[TinaC]

I am just starting this lifestyle, in fact, today is my first day. Since March I have been drinking green smoothies every day. I use one cup of blueberries, one cup of strawberries, several cups of either spinach, kale, swiss chard, beet greens or escarole plus two cups of water. Occasionally I will use coconut water instead of plain water. Sometimes I add some chia seed or coconut flakes to the smoothie.

Is it okay to keep up this practice? I do not consume any other fruit, so the two cups would be my fruit servings for the day which is okay since I have a lot of weight to lose and want to limit the sugar intake.

Thanks,
Tina

[rphlslv]

Only if you add raw meat.

[Funkadelic Flash]

If you have a lot of weight to lose and you want to lose it at a reasonably fast rate, you really might want to consider drastically reducing your fruit intake. Especially considering you're likely insulin/leptin resistant. We're talking maybe 1/4 cup a day max, especially if you plan to eat tons of veggies. Many people do well completely eliminating fruit while attempting weight loss.

[Primal]

Agreed. Two cups of berries is a lot of sugar.

[Molecular Grokologist]

Additionally, you should be aware that raw cruciferous vegetables (such as kale) contain a number of goitrogens which are more or less eliminated by cooking them. I wouldn't recommend daily intake of raw cruciferous veggies.

I wouldn't be too worried about the fruit. A cup of blueberries and a cup of strawberries comes to ~30g carb, about half of which is fructose. That's a perfectly safe intake.

[Egoldstein]

MG, do you recommend cooking cabbage?

TinaC, if it were me, I would not have that much fruit in one sitting. As someone that started this with wonky blood sugars, 2 cups of fruit, even berries would cause me to be hungry in about 1-2 hours after consuming, especially if this is breakfast. I now only have fruit at the end of lunch or dinner after consuming a descent meal with meat and fat and veggies. And, while I'm in weight loss mode, I would have a small portion.

[Daemonized]

Where's Darth to tell you to add some potatoes to it?

[Molecular Grokologist]

I would only eat it uncooked if it were fermented, which also decreases goitrogen content, or if the dish looked really delicious. A little bit here and there won't kill you, I just wouldn't make a habit of it.

[TinaC]

I will be cutting out the smoothies then. I have an enlarged thyroid and don't want to make it worse. Thanks for the replies.

[Ronstar]

A little avocado should counteract any goitrogens by having the reverse effect on the thyroid. Saturated fat does this also. From wikipedia.