How to improve your health with green smoothies: The Ultimate Green Smoothie Guide Part 2 (Q&As

[pinit] After the success of the first Ultimate Green Smoothie Guide Part 1: General Guide to Green Smoothies, it is finally time for the second instalment.  The second part of this massive article series helps people with specific health problems or concerns with regards to drinking green smoothies.  For example you may want to know whether green smoothies are good for diabetics, for men or you may be concerned about headaches after drinking green smoothies.

After doing a lot of research, I’m proud to produce this guide for you to help you overcome your specific health problem by drinking green smoothies.

Although I think green smoothies are extremely beneficial for your health, and I’ve seen massive improvements in my own health and have lost a lot of weight since drinking them, I’m not a doctor.  I would advise you to get the all clear from your doctor before making any changes to your diet or health practices.  The following research is largely based on individual testimonials from other people, which I can’t prove, and not on thorough studies.  It is my opinion and I would urge you to do your own research before making any major changes yourself.

I really hope this guide inspires you to change your health and recover from any health problems you may have.

[tweetherder]It all starts with one little green drink.[/tweetherder]

I would love to hear from you if you have a story to share.  Have green smoothies improved your health?

Please click on the link below to jump to the section you are most interested in.

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Green smoothies acne

Green Smoothies can prevent acne due to the vast amounts of nutients and carotenoids found in the fruit and vegetables.  Green Smoothies don’t contain anything that would cause an outbreak of your skin unless you are allergic to specific ingredients.  If you want to get the most benefit from preventing acne with green smoothies, you should avoid other triggers such as processed food, white flour, sugar and fatty foods.

Green smoothie headache

If you replace your normal cup of coffee with a green smoothie, you might get headaches for up to a week as your body will be detoxing and you will be going through caffeine withdrawals.  After a week you should notice your headaches decreasing if you drink enough water throughout the day and eat healthily for the rest of the day.

Green smoothie nausea/ Green smoothie stomach ache

If you feel very sick or have a stomach ache soon after drinking a green smoothie, it can be for a number of reasons:

1. You included too many greens to start with.  If you are new to green smoothies, start with half a cup of greens and increase the amount every day.
2. You had too many different types of greens that you aren’t used to.
3. The greens you used were too bitter.  Try some mild greens such as spinach with sweet fruit like banana.
4. You are experiencing detox symptoms.
5. You drank the smoothie too quickly.  Chew your smoothie.  I know it sounds stupid but our stomach needs to prepare the stomach acid for the green smoothie, and it will only provide that if it’s prepared by the saliva chewing the food or drink.
6. You drank the green smoothie too close to other heavy meals.  Try drinking them on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.

I find if I avoid the problems listed above I actually have a great deal less stomach aches with green smoothies than before I started drinking them.

Green smoothie IBS

You will probably find after going through an intial detox that your IBS gets a lot better after drinking green smoothies.  It’s much easier for your body to digest blended foods as long as you follow the steps above to drink your green smoothie in the best way.

I used to suffer badly from IBS but when I have green smoothies for my meals I never get IBS at those times and a lot less at other times of the day too as long as I remain healthy and don’t eat any of my trigger foods.  However I do put some of my trigger foods in a green smoothie, such as oranges or nuts and I’m absolutely fine.  The process of blending breaks down the fibres so they are much easier to digest and less likely to cause a stomach ache.

To properly heal your IBS I recommend following the GAPs diet. Have a look at the GAPs diet here. 

Green smoothies for diabetics

There have been numerous testimonials from people recovering from diabetes by drinking green smoothies.  A lot of people assume if you are a diabetic you have to avoid fruit, but it’s actually too much fat that is the problem.  As green smoothies don’t contain any added fats and are very easy to digest, it makes them a perfect food for recovering from illness.

Green smoothies for diabetics recipes/ Are green smoothies ok for diabetics

Some people are concerned about consuming too much fruit sugar.  I find adding fillers to the green smoothie (Green Thickie) really balances out the high fruit content and help the body release the sugars slowly throughout the day.  The best fruit to eat for low blood sugar is berries.  This Berry Smoothie Recipe is a great recipe for people with diabetes.  Just don’t include the additional sweetener.

Green smoothie eczema

A diet free from dairy products and high in vitamins and minerals is extremely beneficial for exzema.  I used to suffer very badly with eczema especially on my eyelids.  They used to swell up so badly I could barely see.  When I gave up dairy and started drinking a daily green smoothie it totally cleared up and has never come back again.

Green smoothies for inflammation

Short term acute inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury.  It may last up to 2 days and it’s the way the body naturally removes the debris from the injury.  However when you have chronic or long term inflammation, the pain doesn’t go away.  It’s often harder to tell the body is inflamed as it might affect parts of our body we can’t see.  It is a sign that something has gone wrong with the body.  Any stress placed on the body such as from processed foods is a big cause of inflammation and we can often do a lot to help the body recover from inflammation just by changing our diets. Changing your diet to one made up of unprocessed foods, no white flours, no refined sugar, an abundance of fruits and vegetables and healthy fats will work wonders for reducing your inflammation and help you to lose weight.  Just by replacing your breakfast with a green smoothie or a green thickie will be a big turning point in terms of reducing your inflammation.

Green smoothies for arthritis

Before starting a Green Smoothie diet the Boutenko family were suffering from rheumatoid arthritis amongst many other health problems which totally cleared up after drinking more green smoothies and adopting a completely healthy diet.  Studies have shown that arthritis is caused by nutrient deficiency especially a lack of vitamin K.  Leafy greens have everything the body needs for good health so a lot of people start to show a great improvement after introducing green smoothies to their diet.

Green smoothies for cancer/ Green smoothies for fighting cancer/ Green smoothies for cancer patient/ Green smoothies for cancer recipes

Disclosure: I am not offering any advice about the treatment of cancer, and I am not qualified in this area so I would suggest discussing any concerns with your doctor.  With regards to green smoothies for cancer, there are many testimonials from people who say eating a whole food/real food/nutrient dense/dairy free diet has helped them in their struggle with cancer.  Here is a great testimonial by Jane from the Daily Green Bar about the power of drinking green smoothies and eating healthily and her battle with cancer and ill health. Here is another testimonial, and if you want to do some further reading, here is a very popular book: Anticancer: A New Way of Life which should help you to read further around the topic.  I would also recommend the Gerson Therapy.  Get the Gerson Therapy book here.

Green smoothies for candida

There are so many symptoms of candida that many people believe they have a candida overgrowth when it could actually be a symptoms of another health problem.  Unless you have actually had a blood test for too much candida it might be better not to assume you’ve got it.  We all have a certain level of candida present in our bodies which is healthy.  Experts agree that when we consume too much unhealthy fat we can get a candida overgrowth which causes health problems.  Experts disagree about how to treat candida.  Some say avoid fruit and others say eat more fruit.  They also disagree about the type of fruit you should eat.  Before I started drinking green smoothies I also thought I may have candida although I didn’t get a test done.  After changing to a green smoothie diet all my symptoms of what I thought was candida disappeared. I now believe that once you take the processed food out of your diet, you will be able to tolerate fruit a lot more easily.  Read more about Candida here.

Green smoothies for constipation/ Green smoothies for diarrhoea

Due to the amount of fibre in Green Smoothies, even just including one green smoothie a day will ease constipation.  It may take a while of eating healthily for your digestion to return to normal, and you may experience episodes of diarrhoea while your body tries to normalise again.  This may take a long time but rest assured the work has begun from the first green smoothie you drink. Diarrhoea and constipation are a lot of the time the same issue, toxicity has built up in the colon and it is no longer functioning as it should do.  When you start drinking Green Smoothies your stools will become much looser and  hopefully over time your diarrhoea will settle down too.  If your digestion still isn’t functioning well after a while on a whole foods diet, try the GAPs diet.  Have a look at the GAPs diet here.

Green smoothies for depression

Depression can be caused by many different factors, but one cause is a lack of nutrients which green smoothies can help with.  Green smoothies will also give you much more energy and clarity of thought which will help motivate you to do different things.  There are many testimonials about drinking green smoothies to relieve depression.  I can testify that just getting well and getting more energy made me feel so much more positive and alive.  I believe my illness was causing my low mood and green smoothies lifted that.

Green smoothies for high blood pressure/ Green smoothies for blood pressure

Adding a daily green smoothie to your diet and giving up processed food will really help your high blood pressure to normalise very quickly.  I didn’t have high blood pressure before I started with green smoothies, but throughout my pregnancy my blood pressure remained normal when it often goes up.  I continued to drink at least one green smoothie each day during my pregnancy.

Green smoothies for hypothyroidism

There are rumours circulating the web about too many greens actually causing hypothyroidism.   I believe that eating a variety of greens is the healthiest thing you can be doing to improve your health conditions.  If you want to read more about green smoothies for hypothyroidism, you might want to have a look at this article.  However raw greens might not be suitable for everyone.  Everyone’s bodies are unique and different people are sensitive to different foods so it’s important to listen to your own body.  If you’d like to read more about why you might be deficient in iodine and what to do about it, read this post.

Are green smoothies safe during pregnancy

Yes Green Smoothies are totally safe during pregnancy and are perfect to add to your diet to provide your baby with an abundance of nutrients.  I drank green smoothies every morning followed by a bowl of porridge during my pregnancy.  I never found green smoothies filling enough for my pregnancy which is why I invented the Green Thickie: A green smoothie with fillers and seeds or nuts which makes it into a complete meal.  These really helped me last throughout the morning after my baby was born when I also needed more energy.

Green smoothie acid reflux

Acid reflux is caused by eating unhealthy processed and fatty foods.  They make the food hard to digest and the food goes backwards into the oesophagus causing pain and discomfort.  Changing your diet to include more raw fruit and vegetables can work wonders for acid relux.  A green smoothie every morning will help you on your way to an improved diet.

Green smoothie adrenal fatigue

The adrenal glands are responsible for regulating stress responses in the body.  You may have adrenal fatigue if you have excessive sweating, back pain, bags under the eyes, dizziness when standing up, low blood sugar, twitchiness, moodiness, insomnia, lack of concentration and intolerance to stress.

A poor diet can cause adrenal fatigue so green smoothies and a healthy real food diet can help reduce adrenal fatigue.  It may also help to reduce any stimulants, get enough sleep and learn to relax.

Green smoothie age spots

I have also read testimonials from people who claim that their age spots (liver spots) have disappeared within 2 months of starting a green smoothie diet.  I’d be interested to hear your stories about this.

Green smoothie hangover

Although of course it’s better for the body not to drink alcohol at all, a green smoothie will certainly help with your hangover.  A major cause of a hangover is dehydration, low blood sugar and the body working so hard to get the alcohol out of the body.  A green smoothie is full of antioxidants. natural sugars. Vitamins and minerals which will help give you more energy, hydrate you and help the body to repair the damage caused by alcohol.

[pinit] Green smoothie heartburn

If you suffer from heartburn, green smoothies can really help with this as heartburn is usually caused by eating the wrong foods such as foods which are too acidic or are reacting with other foods in your body.

If you are finding that green smoothies are actually causing your heartburn, it would be a good idea to look at the rest of your diet.  If your whole diet is made up of unprocessed food, you shouldn’t have so much of an issue with heartburn.  Try to drink your green smoothie on an empty stomach very slowly and see if that helps to reduce your heartburn.

Green smoothies allergies/ Green smoothies for eczema

I can personally vouch for the fact that green smoothies completely cleared up all my allergies.  I had such bad hayfever like symptoms all year long.  I would sit for hours and scratch my eyes ending up in hospital after doing damage to my eyes from scratching.  My whole face was itchy and I also had asthma and eczema too.  After an initial detox on a green smoothie diet, I didn’t have any more allergy symptoms whatsoever.  

Green smoothies should improve your allergies but you might find avoiding dairy or any food you are intolerant to including gluten and all processed food will also help reduce your allergies.

Green smoothies for asthma

As I mentioned above, all my allergies including asthma completely disappeared when I started drinking at least one green smoothie a day and became vegan.  You can try and control what is outside the body, i.e. watching dust levels and triggers but unless you control what goes on inside the body and watch your diet, you probably won’t see a great improvement in your asthma.

[pinit] Green smoothies for a cold/Green smoothies for colds

My own point of view is that when we get colds and viruses and go off our food, that is the body trying to tell us to stop eating as it needs all the energy it can get to fight the cold or flu symptoms.  Eating food actually requires energy from the body so it makes sense to rest up and drink lots of water.  However in reality we can’t always do this, so the next best thing is a green smoothie.  A green smoothie is easy to digest and will provide you with many needed vitamins to help repair the body.  It is also much easier to digest liquids than a heavy meal.

Green smoothies are a great drink when you’ve got a cold as they provide an abundance of vitamin C and other nutrients that will help your body fight the bug.  They will also give you an energy boost that you’ll really need when you’re feeling run down and tired.  They also are much easier for the body to digest so place less burden on your system, allowing your body to use what little energy it has to fight the cold.

Green smoothies are also great at preventing colds.  Since I started drinking green smoothies 3 years ago I haven’t had a single cold.  Before then I used to get bad colds and flu almost constantly throughout the winter.

Here is a green smoothie recipe for a lime and ginger drink which is a great immune booster.

Green smoothies for anxiety

Changing your diet to incorporate more green smoothies as well as improving your overall diet has been shown to greatly help anxiety.  If you also take the steps above for reducing adrenal fatigue, this will massively help with anxiety too.  I used to suffer really badly from anxiety and it did lessen with a change in my diet but I find the best thing I can do in addition to watching what I eat is to get a good night sleep.  When I’m exhausted I am more prone to panic attacks.  I also found Holy Basil amazing for completely eliminating my panic attacks and anxiety.  I used this brand. 

Green smoothies for fibroids

Fibroids are non cancerous tumours.  About 20% of all women experience fibroids in their lifetime.  Sometimes they go away on their own, but often once they are removed they grow straight back.  People who are overweight or obese have a much higher risk of developing fibroids so watching what you eat and losing weight are very important to prevent and treat fibroids.  Green smoothies will help you to lose weight and speed up the healing from fibroids.

Green smoothies for gout

Gout is a disease where the body has not been able to metabolise uric acid and it causes arthritis. It can be caused by eating foods too high in purines.  Some fish and meat can be high in purines but fruits and vegetables are low in purines.  The best way to get more purines into your diet is to drink green smoothies.  It’s the easiest way to drink your greens in such a sweet drink as you won’t taste them at all.

Green smoothies for grey hair

There are plenty of stories scattered across the internet from people who have noticed the natural pigment of their hair returning after drinking green smoothies.  Some people I respect have also shared their testimonials regarding their hair changing from grey back to it’s natural colour after green smoothie consumption.  I personally am extremely interested in this particular health benefit as this is something I suffer from.  My hair started going grey in my early 20s and over a decade later it was gradually getting more grey every year.  After a few years of drinking green smoothies I can’t say I’ve noticed a reduction in the number of grey hairs I have.  I don’t monitor them though as I dye my hair before they’ve grown too long.  But you will be the first to know if I noticed any improvements. Ann Wigmore, who originally invented green smoothies, along with Victoria Boutenko who made green smoothies popular, have testified to their hair colour returning to their natural colour after changing their diet to a mainly raw food diet and drinking green smoothies.

Green smoothies for headache

Green smoothies shouldn’t really cause headaches unless you are allergic to some of the ingredients or you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms from giving up caffeine or other food.  Green smoothies are good for easing headaches as they are very hydrating, but the best thing for a headache is a large glass of water.

Green smoothies for kidneys

Adding green smoothies for your diet will give you kidneys a big break.  If you have had kidney problems in the past I would speak to your doctor first before a sudden change to your diet.  It is better to detox slowly by changing one meal every few weeks.  Changing your breakfast to a green smoothie will make a big difference to your kidney functioning.

Green smoothies for men

Often men are looking for a diet that makes them taller, bigger, stronger and have more muscle, but bigger does not mean healthier.  I believe it’s healthier to be stronger but not necessarily bigger.

Green smoothies for men are growing in popularity as they give you so much energy and are amazing for your health.

[pinit] Iron Man was shown drinking his green smoothie that he calls “chlorophyll” in Iron Man 2.

If you want to increase the number of calories you are consuming alongside your meals, instead of drinking a protein powder shake, try a Green Thickie.  These are extremely filling smoothies that you can make with any number of calories in them and can help you put on weight if you add them to your existing diet as a snack.  You will have enough energy to complete your workout with a green thickie.  A Green Thickie is made up of water or fruit juice, leafy greens, fruit, nuts or seeds, fillers and dried fruit to sweeten it.  Try a green thickie before your workout and see how much more energy you have.

Green smoothies for bodybuilding

When bodybuilders are cutting or ‘on a cut’ they are trying to reduce their body fat percentage while retaining their muscle mass.  So this isn’t the same as regular dieting as they are not trying to reduce their weight.  A lot of female body builders will try and achieve between 6-10% body fat which is very low.  They may do this by eating a diet based on whole foods, for example with lean meat, brown rice, eggs, oatmeal, fruit and salad.  They will monitor their protein and carbs intake to cut down to a low body weight.

A lot of bodybuilders are discovering green smoothies and how healthy they can make them feel and energised for achieving their goals.  Some people say they have still achieved their ‘cut’ by drinking green smoothies.

A lot of people want to slim down but increase their muscle mass to trim and sculpt their bodies. 

My belief is that we should be eating to hunger, doing as much light exercise as we can in a day and eating a whole foods diet made up of a lot of vegetables, fruit and leafy greens for optimum health.  When we eat this way our weight and body fat percentage will balance out to the levels it should be.

Green smoothies for athletes

Green smoothies are perfect for athletes and as a pre workout drink, or a post workout drink or even a drink during exercise.  They  have everything you need to fuel your body properly during exercise and to help it recover after exercise.   If you add coconut water to your green smoothies these will replace electrolytes which might have been lost during more intensive workouts.

Green smoothies for gaining weight/ green smoothies for muscle building/ green smoothie for muscle gain

Although most people are raving about how much weight you can lose by drinking green smoothies, a lot of people, men especially are trying to gain weight.  It’s more important to gain weight in a healthy way rather than eating fatty foods to try and gain fat as it will only lead to health problems later. Some people may avoid green smoothies as a lot of them don’t provide many calories, however it is possible to put on weight by drinking a lot of green smoothies.  The key to putting on weight is to not only up your calories but to increase the amount of weight training that you are doing.  You should do specifically weight training or workouts which are designed to improve your muscle mass.  If you only increase your calories but don’t do any exercise, you will only gain fat.  The body needs resistance to put on muscle.  If you want to make green smoothies which are still healthy but have added calories you can add the following ingredients to your green smoothies:

• Fillers (My whole website is based on thick filling green smoothies containing oats: Green Thickies)
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Higher calorie fruit such as banana, mango, grapes, peaches, pears
• Coconut
• Grains such as quinoa
• Sweet potato
• Butternut squash or pumpkin
• Dried fruit
• Dates

If you make massive calorie rich smoothies and have them inbetween your regular healthy meals, coupled with a weight training program you should put on weight.  This is what my husband did to gain weight. 

Green smoothies for menopause

Studies have shown that diets based on large amounts of fruits, vegetables and whole foods can help tremendously with hot flashes/hot flushes and night sweats.  Also having extra fat on the body causes it to be of a higher temperature, so losing weight can also help with overheating. Exercise can also improve these symptoms too.  Drinking green smoothies daily will naturally help your menopausal symptoms as green smoothies are high in fruits and vegetables.  You should lose some weight when you change your diet and incorporate a daily green smoothie into your diet.

Green smoothies for ms

There is a growing body of people who are supporting the idea that you can recover from or at least manage your symptoms of MS through diet.  Some say that there are certain trigger foods for MS which are yeast, gluten, legumes and dairy and that if you eat a diet very high in raw leafy greens and fruit you are much more likely to see improvements in your symptoms.  Some say that on a real food diet they have recovered completely from MS.

Green smoothies for dogs/ Green smoothies for cats / Green smoothies for pets and other animals

According to an experiment the Boutenko family carried out, most animals go crazy for leafy greens as they recognise how good they are for them.  They put a bowl of leafy greens out on a mountainside and animals flocked to enjoy the green smoothie.  Raccoons, skunks, deer and a brown bear all came to lap up the gorgeous green goodness.  You should check with your vet before giving green smoothies to your pets but supposedly they are great for animals especially if they’re ill.  Dogs shouldn’t be given onion or grapes and cats shouldn’t have any fruit at all in their green smoothies. Here are some green smoothie recipes for your pets.

Green smoothie UK

[pinit] Green smoothies are very slowly catching on in the UK.  The weather doesn’t always lend itself to eating a high proportion of fruit, vegetables or raw foods.  Stodgy cereal and toast is a classic breakfast in the UK which is quick, filling and high in sugar.  Unfortunately cereal and toast will cause you to have a sugar high and then a crash later on in the morning.  Cereal and toast also don’t have many of the nutrients that you can get from a green smoothie.  Green Thickies are a Green smoothie with added fillers so they fill you up all morning and they are thicker and more satisfying than a classic green smoothie.  If you replace your cereal and toast with a filling Green Thickie you’ll notice immediate improvements in your health and won’t find the transition too difficult.

Green smoothies food combining

If you suffer from digestive issues it might be worth looking into food combining as a way to minimise your digestive discomfort.  To digest foods easily it is better to eat fruits on their own or with leafy greens, to eat any fats such as nuts or seeds towards the end of the day and not combine foods high in protein with fruits.  I have suffered from severe digestive problems in the past so I don’t eat fruits after heavy meals.  I always eat citrus fruits and watermelon at the start of the day too as they are best eaten on their own.  I do add fillers and nuts or seeds to my smoothie alongside fruits and greens.  I call these my Green Thickies.  Even though I sometimes have problems combining nuts and fruit when I eat them normally, I never have a problem digesting a green thickie no matter what I’ve added to it.  I put this down to the fact that the food is blended so it’s already pre-digested and improves digestion making food combining less of an issue.

Green smoothies for fasting

You are considered to be fasting whenever you have given up something.  A lot of people go on a water fast where they only drink water, or a juice fast when they only drink juice.  The idea is to detox and give the body a rest from foods that are more difficult to digest.  During a detox the body can repair itself and you will notice health improvements. By going on a green smoothie fast you would only drink green smoothies, or you may go on a raw food fast where you only eat fruit and vegetables and perhaps nuts and seeds for a period of time. A green smoothie is perfect food for a raw food fast because it’s blended, it’s already pre-digested so it requires even less energy from the body to process the food.  A green smoothie fast, detox or diet will result in major health improvements if done for a long time such as over a course of several months, or on a regular basis e.g. once a week.  If you’re interested in trying a Green Smoothie Fast, here is a great one for you. 

I hope this guide to green smoothies for health problems has encouraged you to try green smoothies.  Why don’t you try drinking one green smoothie a day for a month and see how much better you feel.  Please let me know how it goes and leave me a comment below.  All the best.

Katherine

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Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies

Founder at Green Thickies

Katherine lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Green Thickies.
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