Staying Healthy with Vegetable Smoothies
Vegetable smoothies are mixtures made up of leafy greens, fruit and water or some other kind of liquid. The composition ratio is usually sixty percent fruit and forty percent greens. Even if fruit is the main ingredient, smoothies take on the color of the leafy vegetables. Its appearance, specifically the green color, might deter most people from drinking it but appearances can indeed be deceiving. In spite of how it looks, vegetable smoothies are very delicious and nutritious.
To maintain good health, each person is required to have five servings of fruits and vegetable everyday. However, most people are not able to adhere to this requirement. To do so would mean eating salads with every meal and chewing each mouthful many times to obtain the nutrients. All plants have their cells surrounded by cell walls that must be broken down so that the nutrients found inside these cells will be released. Chewing breaks the cell walls, releasing approximately 25% of the nutrients. Blending, however, does this more efficiently and can increase nutrient absorption to 95%.
Drinking vegetable smoothies is very good for the body. Fruits contain fiber, vitamins and antioxidants which help the body avoid disease. Vegetables also contain fiber plus other nutrients that lower blood pressure, keep the blood healthy, and prevent cardiovascular illnesses and cancer. Having adequate amounts of greens in our diets regulates stomach acid and will result in a better-performing digestive system. The fiber found in both fruits and vegetables captures toxins in the body and eliminates them. Chlorophyll found in plants, and in the leafy greens, makes the body alkaline, promoting better health as an acidic body is known to be very prone to disease. Further, these foods provide the body with the minerals sodium and potassium, which is needed for effective nutrient exchange. Since vegetable smoothies do not contain fat, weight watchers need not be wary of them.
People who are stressed may find vegetable smoothies quite helpful. During these times, liquid food is preferred by the body because solid food still needs to be digested. Without digestion, as in the case a smoothie, nutrients can have a more direct path from the digestive system to the bloodstream.
Nutritional value is not the only benefit that vegetable smoothies offer. Because they are delicious, it is easier to let children drink them so they too can have the recommended five daily servings of fruit and vegetables. Fruit makes the smoothie palatable and masks the odor and taste of the greens while the greens balance the sweetness of the fruit. Further, they are easy to make. Preparation only involves putting the ingredients in a blender and pushing a button, an action which takes less than two minutes.
Vegetable smoothies are creamy, delicious, fruity and easy to make. Most of all, they are good for the body. There is indeed no reason why people should not enjoy a glass or two everyday.