What about Smoothies?

Blended foods fall in an interesting category. In one hand they are raw if they haven’t been cooked. On the other hand, the process of blending alters the food in several ways, and after something is blended, we can’t really say that it is fresh.

According to Dr. Brian Clement, director of the Hippocrates Health Institute, high speed blenders oxidize and destroy up to 85-92% of the vitamins and enzymes in foods. This is because oxidation is caused by oxygen entering the blender and damaging nutrients in the food, that would otherwise be preserved if eaten in its solid state. (1)

Some people disagree with these findings and frame them as exaggerations. They accept that blending causes nutrient loss and oxidation, but they add that this also happens when whole foods are juiced, cut, chopped, shredded, peeled, chewed, dehydrated, and otherwise exposed to air.

Nutrients in food begin to degrade the instant they are harvested, exposed to UV light and heat. It is almost impossible to get 100% of the nutrients in food unless we pick them straight from the plant and eat them within a few hours.

Green smoothies are far from junk food, but they are not ideal. For starters, they require a blender and electricity, which can be highly inconvenient when traveling. Smoothies also mix different types of food that often don’t digest well together.

On the other hand, thousands of people have changed their lives with green smoothies. There is good and bad, better and worse. We are free to choose what works best for each one of us.

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