That they should only contain greens as the body cannot absorb too many nutrients at once?

what are peoples thoughts on this?

I usually load mine with everything I can, maca, cacao, seeds etc.. I wonder now if this is counter productive.

Is there any evidence that the body cannot absorb too many nutrients at once?

As far as I know, she is probably referring to fruits and vegetables. I've never heard of anyone saying that maca and cacao have a lot of nutrients.....I can't imagine anyone but a salesman saying that.

As far as "too many nutrients at once," I'd like to see more information if possible?

Of course your body can only process so much at once. Any excess of water soluble vits gets flushed out in your urine (hence the bright yellow pee when you take either B or D, I forget which one it is). Fat soluble get stored in the fatty tissue, this isn't really great if you're taking in too much. Moderation is the key I think.

well yeah, but what about varieties of vitamins and minerals? I dont think the body would have a hard time processing those... you just wont use any excess...

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

depends on your ability to absorb what you put into as well.

haha, OMG, I used to make the most ridiculous smoothies- an entire pineapple, huge amounts of kale, rocket, watercress, spinach, spirulina, wheatgrass powder, strawberries, maca etc. My skin glowed like crazy (in a good way). If I had a decent smoothie blender, I would still make those monsters

I never noticed anything beneficial from maca, but then, when you're eating a lot of good stuff it's pretty hard to tell if an individual food or powder is doing it- I imagine cacao takes a lot of credit for people feeling great on raw, when really it's the greens!

The more ingredients in a smoothie, the harder it is for the body to digest the smoothie. The harder it is to digest the smoothie, the more chance that nutrients will not be absorbed. Also, with the use of stimulants in the smoothie, the body will have less chance of absorbing the nutrients, as stimulants move the food through the body more quickly because the body doesn't want to absorb the stimulating material.

When I was eating green smoothies, what I liked was a romaine heart, bananas, and strawberries. At some point I just dropped the greens in the smoothies altogether, and was left with only bananas and strawberries.

That would be way too sweet for me personally but I'm sure the kids would love it. They'll drink the smoothie with baby greens in it and like it but not as much as pure fruit sugar .

Have to agree with the more complicated, the harder it is to digest theory though. That makes perfect sense and is right in line with mono-eating, simplified diet, etc.

Hehe, Prana, that is a good smoothie - bananas and strawberries. Just the way I like it

not for me
i'm addicted to greens

Quick Facts...
Small amounts of vitamins A, D, E and K are needed to maintain good health.

The body does not need these every day and stores them in the liver when not used.
Most people do not need vitamin supplements.
Megadoses of vitamins A, D, E or K can be toxic and lead to health problems.
Vitamins are essential nutrients your body needs in small amounts for various roles in the human body. Vitamins are divided into two groups: water-soluble (B-complex and C) and fat-soluble (A, D, E and K). Unlike water-soluble vitamins that need regular replacement in the body, fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissues, and are eliminated much more slowly than water-soluble vitamins.

Because fat-soluble vitamins are stored for long periods, they generally pose a greater risk for toxicity than water-soluble vitamins when consumed in excess. Eating a normal, well-balanced diet will not lead to toxicity in otherwise healthy individuals. However, taking vitamin supplements that contain mega doses of vitamins A, D, E and K may lead to toxicity. Remember, the body only needs small amounts of any vitamin.

While diseases caused by a lack of fat-soluble vitamins are rare in the United States, symptoms of mild deficiency can develop without adequate amounts of vitamins in the diet. Additionally, some health problems may decrease the absorption of fat, and in turn, decrease the absorption of vitamins A, D, E and K. Consult your doctor or health practitioner should you have concerns.

Bananas and Strawberries don't combine well unless you are using green bananas. The biggest issue with smoothies is that people throw in foods that don't combine well. Does that hurt them? Probably not. However, if the goal is to have optimal health, there are rules to follow with any combination of raw foods so you get the most benefit out of what you eat. Here are 2 links with information to help understand what is best for combinations and what combinations to stay away from. One caveat is that greens should be in their own category. They combine well with most vegetables and most fruits. Here's to your health!

[www.livingfoodvillage.com]

[www.livingfoodvillage.com]

RaysofLight - I don't like that simplification that "fruits are cleansers and veggies are builders" - simply not true. Fruits also build our body, just like veggies do, or even better. We only need some nutrients from veggies, but our main food should be fruits. That is my opinion, anyway.

If I had to choose between fruit and veggies I would choose the veggies. Too much sugar upsets my system. Even more than a handful of grapes is enough for me, there is a definate taste change from yum to blech. Not only that, I find taste and bodily needs an ever changing thing, it doesn't stay the same forever, it depends on what you need at different times for different things.

We are each different, there are no rules like "We only need ____ from ___ and our main food should be ___" that apply to everyone.

well its a good thing that both type of foods exist in the plant kingdom

so that those in the animal kingdom can partake of them

Another thing we have to remember is that Victoria has changed her opinion in another way. In "10 Steps to Raw Foods" she talked about how less than 100% raw is a steep decline in effectiveness for the body. Although I liked that book a lot, it kind of discouraged me from even trying to go high-raw, because I thought that it wasn't good enough. Now come to listen to a recent interview she gave to Matt Monarch and she's eating cooked food now! Not very much, but Matt was blown away because he thought she was still 100% raw.