READER ADVISORY: FOLLOWING CONTENT INVOLVES BODILY FUNCTIONS.


Hi, Everyone,

New to these forums (well, been lurking a bit); hope this thread is in the right place!

I saw "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" like two weeks ago via Netflix and it finally inspired me to improve my diet. Actually, my diet was already pretty good -- definitely great compared to the stereotypical American diet -- as I'm something of an amateur drug-free bodybuilder (non-competitive) but I realized that smoothies and juicing are great ways to dramatically increase my consumption of fruits and veggies.

So anyway I got a Vitamix TurboBlend VS and last night was the first homemade smoothie I'd ever had. This morning, I had another smoothie and then, well, I got diarrhea or something!! It was really, really, really dark green -- to the point of being almost black! I was also stuck on the throne for like a whole hour. Was this the fabled "cleanse" I've heard so much talk about??

I had half a beet; almost a whole bunch of kale, including stems; some spinach; two or three apples (no seeds); and Amazing Grass' Green Superfood and ORAC Green Superfood last night. This morning I had about the same, except with just the Green Superfood, no beets, added some broccoli and carrots, and substituted peaches for apples.

Anyway, just curious whether I can expect a lot of toilet time from now on! I plan on making smoothies like that day and night, while remaining an omnivore for my one or two at most "proper" meals each day.


TIA!!!

Give your body some time to adjust and pay attention to food combining until your digestion stabilizes. I mean, imagine how much time it would take you to sit down and chew up all the stuff you can put into a smoothie, it's quite a change in diet to be downing all that twice daily! Also, be sure to chew your smoothie well to mix it with your saliva and begin the digestive process, don't gulp it down all in one go.
Keep up the great changes you've made, it will probably all straighten itself out in a few weeks and you'll be feeling terrific.

Hey, thanks, Coco!

Okay, so there's an initial shock to the system, eh?? Interesting, I'd never counted on that. I thought this "cleanse" stuff was just metaphorical or a placebo effect.

As for chewing the smoothie, I dunno, not much to chew, really; feels like bits of ice, mostly, and probably tiny particles of veggie and fruit, yeah...but part of the love affair I have with smoothies and juices is that they can go down quick! I enjoy salads well enough but I'd always hated munchin' and munchin' and munchin'....

Anyway, thanks again, Coco; looking forward to what everyone says will be more energy, clearer thinking, and, I dunno, world peace!! ;-)

Since your digestive system is used to dealing with food instead of liquid it will probably need to adjust a bit to accomodate the difference. Not so much a shock, just a relearning. It's really important to chew that smoothie or juice, I can't emphasize that enough. Do Not gulp them down, the digestive process starts in the mouth, whatever is in the mouth sends messages to the brain to prep the digestive system accordingly. It's simply a step you can't skip if you want optimal nutrient absorption rather than just flushing that mixture through as quickly as possible which is what is happening if you're experiencing loose stool.
Try it and see if it makes a difference for you .

Sure thing, though I kinda chew my smoothie as it is, so maybe I'm already doing what you're suggesting, unless you mean to really chew, as if chewing food, soup or something.

Thanks again for the advice! Curious, though...what about juice?? I mean, when juicing, one naturally just drinks the stuff...how come no "pre-digestion" is necessary there?? On account of the lack of fiber?? Maybe I'm over-thinking things here, but it seems that the whole process of the brain signaling the digestive system in the manner you describe -- which you say is so important -- would be avoided in the case of pure juices....

Definitely chew juice . Not so much chewing as swishing to completely mix it with saliva. Highly recommended in order to receive as much of the nutritional benefit as possible. I think the speed at which we consume things is directly proportional to how much absorption is possible. Fast = not so much, slow and steady wins the race.

Okay, will try! Really hard to wrap my mind around the concept as the big appeal was how I could just down everything in fifteen seconds!

BTW, do you also take green powders? I wonder if I might OD on phytonutrients or something....

Occasionally, not really all that often. Take care with fat soluble nutrients, the rest of them you will just excrete in your urine though. Some, like Vit C, can give a negative reaction if you mega dose them but you'd really have to take a lot.