I've always felt amazing after a smoothie. Normally very wide awake and full of energy. However, I stumbled upon some information from Dr. Esselstyn. He addresses smoothies on this page as well as on a YouTube video:

[www.dresselstyn.com]

I was looking for some thoughts or opinions on this?
Maybe someone has more information. I was watching a YouTube
video from Bananiac in which he mentioned that fruit phytonutrients
prevent harm from being caused to the liver and that the studies
were done with high fructose syrup and not actual fruit.

Still, smoothies are delicious and I'd rather not give them up!

Also, I'm new here and was wondering if anyone would be able to redirect
me on where to go to get some medical help on here? I've had some health
issues with raw and was hoping there might be somewhere I could get some
insight/advice/ask questions.

Thank you! ^-^

I am not a fan of smoothies, but they do help people get well and give them energy. Stickm with them, but make sure you chew your smoothies well to get full benefit.

Despite the opinion of Brian Clement, who claims that blending destroys lots of nutrients and promotes indigestion because you're "swallowing roughage", I think smoothies are a health food - depending on the ingredients. Personally, I wouldn't drink green smoothies, intuitively it just doesn't seem like a good idea. I would rather juice my greens or eat them in salads. However, fruit smoothies appear to be a healthy choice. Not only can you mix it with other healthy ingredients such as coconut water, young thai coconut meat, superfood or superherb powders, etc., but liquefying fruit may also increase phytochemical bioavailability. If you experience any digestive issues with smoothies, try swishing each sip in your mouth for 5-10 seconds so it can mix with saliva, this should help with digestion.

"swallowing roughage"
Did Clement actually say that. So wrong.
Me too, I juice my greens but do make smoothies with other vegetables such as carrots, butternut squash and some frozen fruits not in season like cherries and blueberries
I do not like to juice carrots.
I make yellow smoothies (carrots or butternut squash)

But wouldn't swishing it around promote cavities?
I've heard of some people getting many cavities while
others seem to have no problem at all.

I personally enjoy green smoothies as a way of getting in
more greens.

I have had issues with raw slowing down my digestion.
It has become very sluggish. Tips would be appreciated!

This is too much fun





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 05:59AM by coconutcream.

"But wouldn't swishing it around promote cavities?"

Thoroughly rinse your mouth with water afterwards, wait 10-15 mins, do another quick rinse, and then lightly brush.


"I have had issues with raw slowing down my digestion."

-High quality probiotics
-Systemic enzymes
-Aloe vera juice/gel
-Peppermint oil
-Apple cider vinegar
-Green juices (wheatgrass/sunflower greens, cucumber, dandelion greens, etc.)

Make a smoothie with coconut water, papaya, aloe vera, and ginger. Try this for a few days and see if you notice any improvement.

Hydration is important - try to drink 1 liter of water within 30 mins of waking up every morning.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2015 06:18AM by jtprindl.

It obviously depends on the ingredients. Ideally you want to not put an insane amount of fruit in there because that'll spike your blood sugar, which is NOT good.

I tend to eat my smoothies quite slowly. I've been drinking them for years and they do give me energy and good mental clarity.

Cavities? Just look after your teeth, brush them? :p

@Exeggutor Certains strains of bacteria can help decrease transit time. You might wanna try Healthy Origins, Probiotic, 30 Billion CFU.



-------------------------------------------
My blog: [www.crvitality.com]

I love smoothies. I first started with banana strawberry, and banana with orange juice, but they made me bloated, so I got a great advice to stick to plain banana milk, which I did and I felt great. I now love banana raw carob water smoothie, it's perfect for my digestion. I chew my smoothie because I want to enjoy it, and it's been great so far. I'd love to juice greens but I don't have a juicer. I made green smoothies in the past and I liked them - spinach, dill, bell pepper, tomato; or with stingy nettle; or with radish leaves. But my favourite is sweet fruit smoothie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Raw vegan for life. Vegan for the animals. Raw for my health.

mattscr Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It obviously depends on the ingredients. Ideally
> you want to not put an insane amount of fruit in
> there because that'll spike your blood sugar,
> which is NOT good.
>
> I tend to eat my smoothies quite slowly. I've been
> drinking them for years and they do give me energy
> and good mental clarity.
>
> Cavities? Just look after your teeth, brush them?
> :p
>
> @Exeggutor Certains strains of bacteria can help
> decrease transit time. You might wanna try Healthy
> Origins, Probiotic, 30 Billion CFU.
>
>

Matt, A few days ago, as I was reviewing that fantastic AGE's video you posted last year, I was wishing you'd come back. So glad to see you posting again!!



Here's a new Marcus Rothkranz video I just watched. It's another interview of James Sloane.

"The Importance of Stomach Acids and what to do about H Pylori"

[www.youtube.com]

Hey! I remember you. Thank you! I'm happy to be back.

Sorry for disappearing. Around the time I was posting here I woke up one morning to find my adsense had been disabled by Google. Someone probably click-bombed them on my CR site... I never found out why or who... So I had to deal with the consequences of that. And then I had a bunch of other things on my mind like getting a job because obviously my revenue from adsense was gone, so I just dropped things for a while.

Anyway, I hope to get to know you all! I'll stick around this time. :p

-------------------------------------------
My blog: [www.crvitality.com]

Great!

are smoothies a health food?


if you put healthy foods in it, it is

swish around sugary foods in your mouth?

do that when you have a more savory smoothies like rich dense greens
its okay to swish chlorophyll all over your teeth

It makes sense to me what he says. But rather than saying smoothies are bad, do not eat them, it should be put in a relative context.

best-salads and whole fruit with fiber intact

not as good-smoothies

worst-juice and oil, much of the goodness is removed and too much fat and sugar get dumped too quickly.

Eat a whole-foods plant diet for maximum benefits.

Of course fresh plant smoothies are way better than an oreo and can have a place in a healthy raw diet. But if you are trying to overcome disease, you might be interested in the maximum benefit route.

Lots of interesting different points of view.

If I was to eat things whole, I feel I would replace
a decent amount of my greens intake with fruit.
Would this be bad for health?
Humans are classified Frugivores.
The Hunza people who are well known for their longevity
eat lots of fruit, probably more than any other group
of people.

But it is interesting that several of the top vegan doctors
like to put a limit on fruit to 2-3 servings a day.
They warn about excess fruit causing high triglycerides.

FullyRawKristina, who looks amazingly healthy, had
an elevated level of triglycerides on one of her tests.
Any thoughts on the above?

If I was to eat things whole, I feel I would replace
a decent amount of my greens intake with fruit.
Would this be bad for health?

This is why I concentrate on salads. I try to get a lot of greens in,
a pound of romaine plus 1/2 to 3/4 pound of other greens.

If eating a smoothie is the only way you can get more greens
in then that is probably a very good choice for you. John Kohler
puts 2 lbs of greens in his daily smoothies.

But it is interesting that several of the top vegan doctors
like to put a limit on fruit to 2-3 servings a day.
They warn about excess fruit causing high triglycerides.

FullyRawKristina, who looks amazingly healthy, had
an elevated level of triglycerides on one of her tests.
Any thoughts on the above?

I do not believe a slight elevation of triglycerides is
pathogenic in the context of a healthy whole-foods
plant-based diet when total cholesterol is low.

"Triglyceride levels are relatively high in certain Third
World societies which are virtually immune to coronary
disease so long as they persist in their traditional
very-low-fat diets; in Ornish's celebrated study, a
moderate rise in triglycerides coincided with a marked
reduction in coronary events."

ref:
[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Thank you for the information!

I know the importance of greens but I struggle with
salad dressings that are low fat. I haven't found some
that taste good.

Anne Osborne, famous fruitarian, doesn't eat greens interestingly.

Exeggutor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for the information!
>
> I know the importance of greens but I struggle
> with
> salad dressings that are low fat. I haven't found
> some
> that taste good.
>
> Anne Osborne, famous fruitarian, doesn't eat
> greens interestingly.


Have you tried any of the aforementioned suggestions for your digestion?

Here's a delicious salad dressing recipe (it's not low-fat but hemp seeds are one of the best, if not the best fatty foods to consume - so maybe this dressing could meet your daily fat preferences)...

Creamy Garlic-Hemp Salad Dressing
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp sea salt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2015 12:57AM by jtprindl.

I want to try the smoothie you suggested.
I haven't gotten to try much as I need to grocery shop
(blizzards non stop here lately)

But I will have to try that dressing as well! Thank you!

I forgot to mention that I did increase my water intake.
I started drinking LOTS of lemon water. It's maybe been
slightly beneficial for digestion but not that much that
I've noticed as of yet, but it has helped somewhat with my
other health problems.

"But I will have to try that dressing as well! Thank you!"

No problem

It's also a convenient dressing for your situation as garlic, hemp seeds, and apple cider vinegar are all beneficial for digestion.

jtprindl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> It's also a convenient dressing for your situation
> as garlic, hemp seeds, and apple cider vinegar are
> all beneficial for digestion.

i don't know where you come up with crazy stuff like that.

school?

He's worried about nitric oxide production, which we need to keep our endothelial function at peak and prevent heart disease.

When you don't chew your greens, your saliva can't do its magic and make it. So you won't be getting the full benefit from the greens.

He makes a good case here:
[www.youtube.com]


And here is what he has to say about raw food diets:
[www.youtube.com]

He doesn't think they are helpful if they are high in fat.

If you believe what he says you could increase your greens, decrease your fats, and chew almost everything.

arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He's worried about nitric oxide production, which
> we need to keep our endothelial function at peak
> and prevent heart disease.
>
> When you don't chew your greens, your saliva can't
> do its magic and make it. So you won't be getting
> the full benefit from the greens.
>
> He makes a good case here:
> [www.youtube.com]
>

seems to making this too complicated

note
"Low levels of nitric oxide production are important in protecting organs such as the liver from ischemic damage"

so do we want the level high or low?

also
he would need to have done a control on patients on his protocol without this nitric oxide production which i am sure he has not.


and it's a contradiction to recommend cooked and then ban smoothies.
as well as his statements about smoothies are not shown at all, just his own hypothesizing.

>
> And here is what he has to say about raw food
> diets:
> [www.youtube.com]
>
> He doesn't think they are helpful if they are high
> in fat.
>

No, he doesn't say that. What he said is that he wondered where the calories were going to come from, concluding that it must be fat. which of course is absurd.



> If you believe what he says you could increase
> your greens, decrease your fats, and chew almost
> everything.


his raw diet comments were just stupid and ignorant.
yes, the great doctor is completely ignorant on raw diets, even worse than mcdougall.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2015 05:07AM by fresh.

I think he is going with what he knows.

He deals with very sick people. Extreme restriction is what
saves their lives.

There are times when the difference will be life or death.

But maybe his advice is not appropriate for all people.

If you are not sick or mildly sick you have more leeway.

Yes, he assumes that people on raw vegan diets are overdoing it
on fat and juice (or blending which is a partial breakdown of the
fibers) and he does not think these things are good. But he considers
this from his patient base.

I don't know the proportion of raw vegans who are sticking with
low fat, unprocessed foods only. I suspect it is very small. So
maybe there is a reason for him to think this way. Not saying it
applies to everyone.

I think there are compelling reasons to increase the amount of
uncooked plant foods in the diet. But I also think that blending,
juicing, and overdoing fats are not the best way to go about it.

But that does not suggest that I know what is best, either. I just
like to think about things.

arugula Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think he is going with what he knows.
>

yes i know - people seem to do that all the time.
makes them look foolish to those who are actually doing it
or know something about it.

I wouldn't pretend to tell him something about his expertise,
or tell Rip how to fight fires, yet everyone has their opinion
on raw diet, meanwhile knowing nothing.


> He deals with very sick people. Extreme
> restriction is what
> saves their lives.
>

yeah, i just think too much credit is given to this or that intervention,
nitric acid or whatever but he really does not have the data for that.

any sufficient improvement, even if just eating rice and veg (dirk benedict cured himself of cancer by going macrobiotic), will cure
because it allows the body to do it's natural job which is to always
seek to clean and heal.

but I know esselstyn needs some way to make money, so he comes up with a complicated protocol and justifies it with all kinds of fancy jargon.

> I think there are compelling reasons to increase
> the amount of
> uncooked plant foods in the diet. But I also think
> that blending,
> juicing, and overdoing fats are not the best way
> to go about it.

sure. but there's no evidence or logic that simple, brief blending is a problem.
he brings up worst case scenario.
and i agree regarding the juicing and fats.

>
> But that does not suggest that I know what is
> best, either. I just
> like to think about things.

and you do that very well,
and i appreciate what you share.

I think the main problem is, as T Colin Campbell has stated, there has not been research done on the raw diet. HOWEVER, even he acknowledges that theoretically eating raw or mostly raw would be the best for health. It is hard to conduct an actual in depth study as there are many versions of the raw diet and it is a very small percentage of the population that stick to it for any significant amount of time.

If your food is supposed to be chewed to a liquid, drinking a smoothie slowly doesn't seem like a bad idea. Most people don't liquefy their food before swallowing.

Well, I think it's about time he put that to the test.

Maybe he is afraid that compliance would be poor.

One of the ways he was able to get compliance with his
cooked vegan lowfat diet was intimidation.

He can have a cooked lowfat group, a raw lowfat group,
a raw high fat group, and a control group.

One of those MDs will do it eventually, if for nothing but
curiosity.

One of the main problems l see with smoothies is that the food would be diluted by the water you need to add when blending, so digestion would have to be compromised somewhat because the stomach acids would be diluted. Nature provides enough water in fruits and veggies, so why add more? Regardless, better to do raw vegan smoothies than SAD....none is perfect, but better the lesser of the two evils imo.

www.thesproutarian.com

True, water is a problem.
But every problem has a solution.
I personally do not add water, I blend high water content vegetables first like cucumbers or tomatoes for few seconds and then add the other vegetables