green for life

[cgs]

Has anyone read this Green For Life? It's main premise is that as humans we eat waaaay less leafy green vegetables than we need to. I just got done reading it and I've decided to give the green smoothie thing a try. Basically, its drinking at least 1 smoothie a day that is roughly 40% leafy green vegetable and 60% fruit. The cool thing about it is that the fruit will mask the bitterness of the greens. I've been vegan for 5 months, and when I switched I felt really great. However as of late, I've noticed a couple things:

-I'm sleeping like 8-9 hours
-tired in the mornings
-weight loss (bad in this case, as I'm borderline underweight)

My body is telling me something is still not quite right. I think part of it is not chewing enough due to trying to cram in so many calories per day. Consequently my body is not absorbing the nutrients it needs. I think eating to much cooked food is playing a role as well. I'm really excited about trying the smoothie thing - I have a hunch it will take care of all of the above. I just sprung for a vitamix so I'm going to give this a shot, and I'll report back!

[Victoria]

I've wanted to get that book for a while now...I got another book about raw food instead. I lost weight when I went vegan, too. You should gain it back within 6 months, though. Anyway, I like the premise of Green For Life. My goal is to one day have enough money for a Vitamix, but I'm stuck with a regular 'ol one until then.

[escapee]

I had some of problem (more severe) that you described after just 2 months of Vegan.To counter the problem I actually switched back to Vegetarian diet(+egg) but it only made the matter worse. Then i started taking some heavy dose of B12 (1000-1500 mcG/day ) , B complex, Omega acid 3 and Alpha lipoic acid pills thing started to get back to normal mode ( Now i can be active all day without needing nap ) .

I have the feeling that if you are not feeling right on any particular diet, you are either in the deficiency or excess mode of certain nutrient. Each mode leads you to different health issue (eg : Anemia/neuropathy Vs Hearth disease/obesity ). Research hard before you embark on any diet and take care .

Something about Alpha lipoic acid & Acetyl cartinine

[TheHulaQueen]

I've read Green for Life and loved it! We now have a green smoothie daily and are quite creative with them. Yesterday was mango, orange juice, lemon balm, tarragon and raspberries (it was heaven). Start by just adding a little green to your fruit smoothies and build up to 60% greens (in ratio to fruit). It's amazing how easy it is to get lots of greens (and therefore minerals too). Do make sure you vary your greens.

[Dimitry]

What about eating canned veggies once in a while? Like beans, green peas, corn etc? Are those still full of vitamins?

[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Dimitry

What about eating canned veggies once in a while? Like beans, green peas, corn etc? Are those still full of vitamins?

Frozen veggies yes, canned not so much, though they're probably still healthier than a twinkie.

[WanderingOak]

One thing about fresh greens, is that unless you are in an area that has perpetual spring/summer, they aren't always available year round. You could use bagged greens, but after all of the e-coli outbreaks, they are suspect IMHO. One option would be to grow your own bean sprouts. You don't need specialized 'sprouting' beans, just about any dried bean would work. I've heard tell of people sprouting the '7 bean soup' packets for a variety. It does take a small amount of effort, but I think it is worth the trouble. You know the sprouts are fresh, where they've been (at least since you have had them) and how they were prepared. I eat them raw out of the sprouting jar, but can't see why they couldn't be blended into smoothies.

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

You could probably also get one of those polystyrene boxes that fruit are delivered in and grow lettuce/spinach kale etc in them. I suppose if you guys live somewhere where it snows you could even grow them inside maybe. I grow them outside here, but summer gets a bit hot for lettuces. I use shadecloth!

Joy to you
Hazel