a little FYI about making healthy smoothies

Granted....drinking greens is better than anything in the SAD diet. BUT, to get the optimum benefits from your expensive greens, it's best to CHEW your greens.

Chewing greens produces nitric oxide, which heals the endothelium cell wall. That chemical reaction is important for the reduction of many day-to-day diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, etc.

Benefits can be made by taking a drink, holding in your mouth and mimic chewing....but nothing beats taking your raw greens & chewing, as is!

Two sides to the issue. As I said, anyone that has poor appetite, poor dentation, or malabsorbtion problems-or are simply in a hurry can benefit from smoothies.

The truth is that you would have to chew your leafy green vegetables for quite some time to release all of the vitamins and nutrients found in them. When you choose to drink a Green Smoothie Recipe, you will not have to worry about your body being unable to absorb the vitamins and nutrients found in their ingredients. A green smoothie is comprised solely of leafy green vegetables and fruits, and the sharp blades of the blender tear apart and rupture the cell membranes of these nutrients to release more vitamins and nutrients than chewing alone can.

This allows your body to more effectively absorbs the vitamins and nutrients found in a green smoothie. A green smoothie is simple to make and even simpler to clean up afterwards. To provide your body with more nutritional benefits, try drinking your greens through a green smoothie instead of chewing them

After doing research with Drs. Caldwell Esselstyn, T. Colin Campbell, John McDougall. Neal Barnard, Dean Ornish, etc. etc. etc...we will will agree that eating greens is the optimum way to ingest greens for full benefit.

The production of nitric oxide is only made by chewing. I know that terminology is new to most people, but YouTube Dr. Esselstyn....he has a lecture that REALLY breaks this down & makes it VERY easy to understand.

The blender is a fairly new process...can't imagine how Man has made it this far without a Vitamix.

That's great for people with excellent teeth, healthy appetites, and lots of time. I don't know many sickly children or elderly people that are able, or willing to 'chew' large amounts of tough greens.

Before electric blenders, there were other means to grind or crush fruits and vegetables.

Something to keep in mind is that - even a healthy body - can only absorb so much of certain nutrients at one time. So, depending on your circumstances, it may not make sense to load your smoothie with the kitchen sink of nutrients as you may simply be wasting money.

On 1/21/2015 Scotnovel said:

Something to keep in mind is that - even a healthy body - can only absorb so much of certain nutrients at one time. So, depending on your circumstances, it may not make sense to load your smoothie with the kitchen sink of nutrients as you may simply be wasting money.

I agree. I watch youtube at times and there are folks making monster smoothies and I dont think it is necessary unless it is a meal replacement. Then, you would want the calories. The blenders are a great way in getting some of the fruits and vegetables one wouldnt otherwise eat. I havent made one in awhile, but it helped me get more fruits and vegetables and I actually am missing them now. And I agree, in the blender the nutrients are broken down for you. They say just to chew every once in awhile to activate the glands.

There are so many schools of thought on how to eat, I dont follow any of them. I do my own thing. No one is right or wrong. Too many people telling us their way is the best way. They all need to get together and discuss it.

On 1/21/2015 sidsmom said:

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The production of nitric oxide is only made by chewing....

sidsmom, do you think this is because of contact with the saliva? Somewhere I think I heard or read that, so when I down a smoothie or green drink, I let it linger on the tounge a bit before swallowing. I wonder if this helps the NO production?

I can see how chewing is best, but I often add green drinks to a meal just to push the plant matter...and my meals are plant dominant. - Bird

ps BTW I went to see Neal Barnard give his heart/diabetes talk. So inspiring. Just looking at him. Thin, healthy, moves like he's 21 years old.

On 1/23/2015 The Bird said:

On 1/21/2015 sidsmom said:

...

The production of nitric oxide is only made by chewing....

sidsmom, do you think this is because of contact with the saliva? Somewhere I think I heard or read that, so when I down a smoothie or green drink, I let it linger on the tounge a bit before swallowing. I wonder if this helps the NO production?

I can see how chewing is best, but I often add green drinks to a meal just to push the plant matter...and my meals are plant dominant. - Bird

ps BTW I went to see Neal Barnard give his heart/diabetes talk. So inspiring. Just looking at him. Thin, healthy, moves like he's 21 years old.

This is what I gleaned from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn's lecture (plus adding a few bullet points for the newcomers that might read this):

Benefits of Nitric Oxide (NO)

NO makes your blood flow smoothly like Teflon versus Velcro
NO is the strongest dilator of blood vessels in the body
NO will prevent inflammation from forming
NO keeps blood vessels flexible & not stiff
NO, in plentiful amounts, protects you from blockages & plaque
NO will prevent migration of smooth muscle from growing into the plaque

By the time we're 50...even in healthy individuals, the amount of nitrics we get from the endothelium is reduced greatly, BUT we can make NO via chewing greens.

How to produce more Nitric Oxide

Eating greens high in nitrates (kale, Swiss chard, spinach, arugula, beets & beets greens) will mix with the bacteria in our mouth reducing nitrates to nitrics...then the stomach acids will convert it to NO. The NO not absorbed will recirculate to the salivary glands which will add to your pool of nitric oxide. Drinking greens won't produce the nitric oxide that chewing will produce.

I don't want to split hairs...drinking greens is STILL much, much better than the standard American meal...and drinking greens will still receive fiber, mineral, vitamin benefits, but the optimum dietary environment for greens, EXPENSIVE greens, is to chew.

Oh. My. Goodness. You saw Dr. Neal Barnard??! His 'Food for Life' book was the first medical plant based book I read. Game changer. Dr. John McDougall was a close second. Susan Powter (crazy white haired lady...remember her??!) endorsed these guys in all her tapes & books...really she was the one that made me aware there were alternatives.