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Green smoothies are all the rage these days. Many people are drinking them every day or at least several times a week in an attempt to get healthy and “alkalize” the body.
Whenever I visit the cafe of my local healthfood store, there are usually several people in gym clothes lined up to order a green smoothie to sip after their workout.
Green smoothies are made by blending large amounts of raw leafy green vegetables with fruit to soften and sweeten the taste. Typical vegetables included in green smoothies are cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, collard greens, maca (usually as a supplemental powder) as well as others like spinach, swiss chard, celery, and parsley.
Is the green smoothie fad a truly healthy habit over the long term? Or, could regular consumption of these seemingly healthy drinks contribute to serious health problems over time?
Raw Leafy Greens Contain High Oxalate Levels
Frequent consumption of large quantities of raw, leafy green vegetables blended up as green smoothies can be deceiving at first. This is because green drinks facilitate an initial detoxification process that makes a person feel great. This is especially true when coming off a highly processed, nutrient poor diet.
While very nutritious, the vegetables used in green smoothies are almost without exception high oxalate foods. Over time, a high oxalate diet can contribute to some very serious health problems particularly if you are one of the 20% of people (1 in 5) that have a genetic tendency to produce oxalates or if you suffer from candida or other fungal challenge. In those cases, a high oxalate diet can deal a devastating blow to health.
Oxalate Toxicity Not a New Problem
The effects of oxalate toxicity have plagued humankind since ancient times. For example, scientists discovered an oxalate kidney stone about the size of a golf ball in a 2000 year old mummy from Chile using x-ray analysis.
Build-up of shards of oxalate crystals can occur almost anywhere in the body. Whatever tissue contains them, pain or worse is the result.
75-90% of kidney stones are oxalate related with 10-15% of Americans afflicted at some point during their lives. As the star shaped crystalline stones pass from the kidney, they cause pressure and pain in the bladder and urethra and can actually tear up the walls of the urinary tract.
Oxalate Stones from Excessive Green Smoothies
Oxalate stones can show up in any body tissue including the brain and even the heart.
Crystals comprised of oxalates resemble shards of glass. They can become lodged in the heart causing tiny tears and damage to this vital muscle. With every single contraction, more damage is caused as the heart pumps life giving blood to the rest of the body.
Oxalate crystals which end up in the thyroid can cause thyroid disease by damaging thyroid tissue.
A frequent location for oxalates to end up is skeletal muscle which will cause pain with even normal movement and make exercise nearly impossible. Dr. William Shaw, Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism who has studied oxalates extensively, is convinced that oxalate toxicity is a factor in fibromyalgia the pain of which can absolutely devastate a person’s life (1).
Vulvodynia – Painful Sex
Cases of women experiencing painful sex are on the rise with oxalates a possible culprit.
Vulvodynia is a condition causing pain in and around the vagina. It is linked to oxalates deposited in this delicate reproductive tissue. Oxalate crystals are very acidic and they cause irritation, burning, and stinging sensations for affected women. An accompanying feeling of rawness is typically experienced during sexual relations.
Oxalates Are Fungal in Origin
A surprising finding is that oxalates are produced in large amounts by fungus. Large stones have been found in the sinuses and lungs of people suffering from systemic fungal infections such as candida or Aspergillus.
Therefore, anyone who suffers from any sort of candida overgrowth or other fungal challenge like fungus nails or dandruff would be wise to be very concerned about oxalate intake via the diet.
Consumption of green smoothies would not in any way contribute to improvement of health in these situations. The majority of people today suffer from gut imbalance and candida (yeast) issues caused by antibiotic and prescription drug use including the Pill. This renders a high oxalate diet which includes frequent green smoothies an unwise practice for virtually everyone.
Does Cooking Destroy Oxalates?
What about cooking the greens first? Would this reduce the risk of oxalate overload and make consuming greens safer?
Not really, because oxalates are extremely stable. While cooking high oxalate foods and discarding the cooking water does reduce the level of anti-nutrients, it remains quite high.
Green smoothies are usually consumed frequently by those who swear by them. As such, a light steaming of the veggies first would not make a significant difference over the long term if they are consumed regularly. If you consume green smoothies only occasionally, however, a light steaming is a good idea. This practice adds a degree of safety to the process. Other tips for preparing safe smoothies are contained in this linked article.
Healthier Alternatives to Green Smoothies
The best course of action for health, then, is to opt out of the green smoothie diet fad. This is especially important if you have any sort of gut imbalance or candida issues.
If you enjoy green leafy vegetables, be smart about it. Don’t overdo like so many in the health community are doing with the best of intentions. Enjoy green drinks in moderation in salads. Or, cook them and carefully drain and discard leafy green cooking water. Never use it in soups and sauces!
Be sure to serve cooked leafy greens with a healthy fats like butter or coconut oil. Avoid margarine or any factory fats synthesized with rancid and/or GMO vegetable oils like Smart Balance. Using natural fats will facilitate maximum absorption of minerals.
Another option is to drink raw cultured vegetable juice or eat raw cultured vegetables. Not only will you get enhanced nutrition from the culturing process which adds enzymes and nutrients, but you will also get a beneficial and therapeutic dose of probiotics to help balance gut function and improve digestion. It also suppresses fungal overgrowth like candida.
Wheatgrass an Excellent Alternative!
Another option is to do shots of fresh, green wheatgrass juice.
Wheatgrass juice is very low in oxalic acid.
Here is a link to my favorite green juice recipe using wheatgrass and ginger. It is safe to drink regularly, daily if you like, instead of green smoothies. It is also an excellent drink for gently detoxing before pregnancy. The ginger assists with morning sickness issues too if you are already pregnant.
What to do if a Green Smoothie Diet Has Already Harmed Your Health
Are you already are suffering from some of the ailments described in this article? Do you suspect a high oxalate diet which includes green smoothies or a daily spinach salad may be the cause? If so, stop this practice immediately and consult with a holistic physician. You will likely need professional assistance to guide you on the road to recovery. Ridding your body of oxalate crystals that are potentially irritating one or more of your body tissues is no simple task! It is not advisable to attempt this protocol on your own.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, author, Get Your FATS Straight
References and Additional Information
The Role of Oxalates in Autism and Chronic Disorders, William Shaw PhD
Top 4 Cleansing Myths to Watch Out For
Oh, I understand…
I’m cool with keeping it open for comments as everyone has a right to their opinion, whether I agree or not. But, to each their own. 🙂
My request has nothing to do with people voicing their opinions, we’ve read them all…over and over and over, since “fly by” late to the party commenters keep repeating the same thing over and over and over with no knowledge of previous posts.
The “horse” died in late June. Time to move on.
Or at least, how do I get off the carousel?
Sarah –
Any chance of closing down the comments for this post…it would be a blessing for most of us.
Thanks.
I do not agree with this article either. Two years ago, I began drinking green smoothies after heart surgery and it was the best decision I made. I’m really tired of authors or articles trying to put the fear of God in everything I do. This article just takes the cake! Don’t consume green smoothies? Don’t eat your normal intake of fruits and vegetables as required by national health standards? Geez. How about giving credit to those us that find sometime in our daily busy CRAZY lives to inject some healthy habits that will sustain for long terms. Green smoothies are practical and quick. They are a VERY easy way to get our daily intake of fruits and veggies. I’ve even starting having my kids drink these. Much simpler to do this than having them not eat their veggies at dinner. I’m so over these articles. I recommend anyone who reads this article to do your own EXTENSIVE research into the health benefits of green smoothies. I’m sure any of these benefits far outweigh some negligible risks.
Hi. Sometimes I save the water from cooking veges and use it to water my plants. I wonder if watering my garden plants with this liquid is a mistake? Thanks!
bottom line is this article is completely unfounded. She has absolutely NO weight to this argument in terms of greens being the actual cause of kidney stones. These kind of articles are the exact reason people get so worried about what they should and shouldn’t be eating – for the wrong reasons. In addition there are no referenced peer-reviewed scientific journals or articles to back up her argument. Wake up people! this is the problem you get in todays society when you have the internet – you can literally post anything you want and people will believe you and follow it. Sarah has no scientific education behind her, especially in nutrition, which is obvious. Sifting through the mountain of inaccurate and unfounded health information is what confuses people. Seriously if you want health advice search peer-reviewed journals on whichever topic, or go and see a dietitian.
Right on, Abby!
That is a bunch of horse ****. Cook green vegetables with butter? are you kidding. Let me guess a fat person wrote this article. You don’t get kidney stones from eating green vegetables. Just ask all the athletes, centenarians, and fitness experts and they will tell you green vegetables are vital for health in fact 2-4 servings of them a day should be consumed. Trying to avoid kidney stones? Watch the soy, coffee and tea, and liquors. The only way green smoothies can adversely affect your health is if that’s all you consume. Too many idiots drink nothing but smoothies and yes that will harm you but a a smoothie a day with a well balanced diet of whole foods and plenty of water consumption you will be fine. They are really meant for a nutritious supplement to a diet, not a meal in itself. The author should’ve mentioned that part.
I don’t agree with all her advice, but if you look at her videos, you would see she’s not fat.
This article is only going to keep unhealthy and misinformed people from eating greens – what a huge mistake!!!!
The author is making a big scare about a rare illness. The way she is attacking a healthy habit just gave me a glimps of her “intelligence.”
Seriously…Sarah, you talk of fad diets and smoothies yet promote fads at the same time. So greens are not that healthy for you and nor is a variety of nuts. So we take out a multitude of vitamins and proteins and replace them with what exactly? Isnt it time for people to listen to their bodies and not other people’s views? Why have we lost our ability to read our own bodies and feed them according to our needs. Im talking in a sensible way now. What works for Joe does not mean it will work for June. We see this in allergies. We are all individual with individualising requirements. So perhaps it is best to tell your readers to maintain the “at ease” stance and listen to what their bodies are telling them without punting a particular horror story ladened with all possible side-effects if they choose to go the way their body is telling them. It’s ludicrous. It’s even more ludicrous that people can be so gullible by reading this jargon and then changing their diets to suit what you suggest. I’m astounded by the scaremongering and how readers are falling into the trap of believing such nonsensical rubbish. Hunters and gatherers must have had an awful time when foraging for their food and wondering if oxalates or kidney stones where going to send shards through their hearts and make their kidneys shut down. All the women must have been skating on their behinds with such serious itching back in their day. Lordy, it must have been total mayhem out their without reading material as to what berries, nuts and greens could be eaten and then battling to join the dots as to why they were not fit enough to hunt a Wooly Mammoth with a spear because of a serious itch caused by a leafy veggie because it was not cooked in butter. How silly.
Amen to that.
The most nutrient dense foods is natural food (in particular dark leafy greens and nuts), but apparently these are bad for us so they must be replaced by over-processed foods that lack in nutrients so that we must then take supplements in order to get essential vitamins and amino acids. We have almost come full circle, get back to nature, eat simple, that’s all there is to it.
Side note: butter is laden with cholesterol and animal fats that clog up arteries and is also high in calories and cooking food strips it of its enzymes, so, all in all, bad suggestion.
For a so called “healthy” home economist, you don’t really know a lot about health or being healthy, I suppose you think all vegetarians and vegans are anemic and that people should drink a glass of milk with every meal, eggs and bacon at breakfast and a big steak for dinner, so about right?
Oh my gosh you are beginning to see the light! Beginning I say! With your last sentence! Whoooooooo!
Alyssa & LS –
you make many assumptions. study up the healthy home economist, Weston A. Price foundation, the latest studies which confirm the age old truth about saturated fats, clogged arteries and cholesterol. then comment.
a simple difference of opinion and an attitude to agree to disagree is the way to go.
“I’m astounded by the scaremongering and how readers are falling into the trap of believing such nonsensical rubbish.”
you ass-u-me much.
http://www.coconutsecret.com/saturatedfats2.html
Sorry for my opinion, at least I’m not trying to misinform the public.
Definitely entitled to your opinion, Alyssa. And I wholeheartedly agree. The internet has good and bad points. This article is the latter.