Feeling tired after drinking a smoothie?

[seeker5]

A number of times, after drinking a home-made smoothie, I can feel quite tired and sleepy. I usually make my smoothies from spinach, banana and a frozen fruit with a little bit of water. Any idea why? I was wondering it if it was because my mixer holder thingy was dirty, but I have cleaned it a good bit.

When I drink smoothies from other places, I don't feel tired afterward.

[KBaYogi]

Originally Posted by seeker5

A number of times, after drinking a home-made smoothie, I can feel quite tired and sleepy. I usually make my smoothies from spinach, banana and a frozen fruit with a little bit of water. Any idea why? I was wondering it if it was because my mixer holder thingy was dirty, but I have cleaned it a good bit.

When I drink smoothies from other places, I don't feel tired afterward.

Are the smoothies you get from other places using frozen fruits too? Putting something really cold in to your body, causes your body to use energy to warm itself and that stuff up.

[SireneB]

Does your frozen fruit have added sugar? Many brands do. If so, that could be causing it.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by KBaYogi

Are the smoothies you get from other places using frozen fruits too? Putting something really cold in to your body, causes your body to use energy to warm itself and that stuff up.

Yes the smoothies I get from the other places are cold, and usually colder then the smoothies I make. The smoothies I make have regular temperature bananas and refrigerated spinach whereas smoothies I get at these other places have a lot more frozen components to it and pretty much no room-temperature items.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by SireneB

Does your frozen fruit have added sugar? Many brands do. If so, that could be causing it.

The frozen fruit (mangos) I had tonight that I made at my place don't have anything listed in the ingredients except for mangos. The other frozen fruit smoothies at other places most likely have sugar or a substitute for that though.

[KBaYogi]

That's quite odd then, because food is not supposed to make you feel tired and sleepy. At least food that is good for your body. Usually feeling tired and sleepy after food means your body is working extra hard to digest it, not sure why home made smoothies would cause that though.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by KBaYogi

That's quite odd then, because food is not supposed to make you feel tired and sleepy. At least food that is good for your body. Usually feeling tired and sleepy after food means your body is working extra hard to digest it, not sure why home made smoothies would cause that though.

Exactly my thoughts!

[Vantage72]

Try a smoothie without banana and observe if you have the same effect.

Many people have bad reactions to bananas.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Vantage72

Try a smoothie without banana and observe if you have the same effect.

Many people have bad reactions to bananas.

Oh? I normally can eat lots of banana and feel ok. However, I will try it without the banana tomorrow. What do you suggest I use to replace the banana so it's still liquidy?

[Nameless One]

One thing I've noticed with fruit is that if I need rest already, but I'm not noticing it much or putting it off, the fruit will actually enhance that feeling of needing rest.

When water fasting for a few days, I almost always feel like lying down, but I don't fall asleep. It's a restless feeling. I sometimes find it hard to lie down in one position and stay still as well.

When I break a fast and eat a bit of fruit, not only does the restlessness of mind and body go away, but I fall asleep easily, and can sleep restfully for very long periods of time. It feels really good to do so.

[ssandra]

Maybe it is just something that has become habit?

The first few times you were already tired and the entire standing in the kitchen making a smoothie thing and then washing it made you even more tired..

And now you have conditioned yourself that making a smoothie = being tired...?

Just a thought....


(I conditioned myself to fall asleep every time I opened up a Statistics book for school... no matter the time of day or how tired I really was... I would start reading and fall asleep within 2 pages....)

[KBaYogi]

Originally Posted by ssandra

Maybe it is just something that has become habit?

The first few times you were already tired and the entire standing in the kitchen making a smoothie thing and then washing it made you even more tired..

And now you have conditioned yourself that making a smoothie = being tired...?

Just a thought....


(I conditioned myself to fall asleep every time I opened up a Statistics book for school... no matter the time of day or how tired I really was... I would start reading and fall asleep within 2 pages....)

The drooling dogs!

That could be possible, but to condition himself to it, it would have taken more than once.

seeker5 -> Did you use to make a smoothie then go lie down or relax?

[Lancer786]

ssandra is quite right, do you make your smoothie at night? It may possible that your body is already tired and when you intake, you just want to go to bed.

[arthurb999]

Insilun spike and crash...

[seeker5]

Yeah, I did make it at night last night. I didn't go rest right afterward, but went driving around. After a while after my last post on this thread, I ended drinking water, a whole litter of water as I was apparently quite thirsty. I felt more awake after that. Maybe it was other factors like that last night?

I'm not sure about the conditioning of smoothie = tired. I used to associate smoothie = feeling awake as it would be a great energy boost.

I'll try making the smoothie in the middle of the day, or early in the day and see how that affects me.

Nameless One - that's interesting what you wrote about fruits affecting you. I hadn't noticed that with eating regular fruits though. I'll pay attention to that.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by arthurb999

Insilun spike and crash...

That's not the case with fruits, where it is slower acting then things like sugar.

[scorpio1980]

Put some fat, and protein in the smoothie. When you drink a fruit smoothie it will spike your insulin, and then drop it. Add some flax oil, and maybe some hemp protein powder, and I guarentee you will feel much better.

[seeker5]

Well I drank a fruit smoothie three and a half hour ago as a late morning breakfast and I feel fine now. So it may have been that I was drinking them when I would naturally feel tired. I will keep testing that theory

[Vantage72]

Originally Posted by seeker5

That's not the case with fruits, where it is slower acting then things like sugar.

Fruits can spike your insulin just as much as sugar, or even more. Depending on how much and what fruits you eat.

The Glycemic Index