Research on green smoothies: do you get sick less?
In my research I report on in detail, in The Green Smoothies Diet, I asked 175 regular green smoothie drinkers what health benefits they achieved. Because to participate, you had to be in the habit for only 30 days or less, I had one issue I wanted to explore that I wasn’t able to.
So I have a question for you now. This isn’t particularly scientific, but I would like to know from those of you who have gone through a winter with your green smoothie habit:
Aside from any initial “cleansing reaction” (diarrhea, headaches, etc. are experienced by 18.5% in my study, for up to 2 weeks after beginning a very healthy new habit) . . .
Did you notice getting sick less after beginning to drink green smoothies regularly?
I would like to hear about your experience here, if you’ve been down the path for a while. That is one of the greatest benefits for me and my family: before massively increasing our greens consumption, we used to get sick, and now we don’t.
I think as people go into this winter with all the fear generated in the media about H1N1, GS is a simple habit that I feel much better about promoting than injecting yourself with live or dead bacteria!
Please tell us your experience.
Sick so much less often.
YES!!! I seriously hardly ever get sick! I have only been sick once in the past few months that I can remember (and I’m 8 months pregnant), that was a one night thing that probably involved food poisoning. Whenever I go visit my family in Utah I always get sick (usually with a cold). On facebook I notice my brother gets sick all the time (he writes it in his status). Last time I visited he was trying to tell me how lame I was for cutting my meat consumption to nearly non-existent. He’s in the “trying to get huge” stage of life. I sent him some pictures of vegetarian bodybuilders but he is just too smart for his own good, I guess. I’ve been sending my parents the books that I’ve been reading from the list you recommended and they are making more changes. But unfortunately my siblings are still pretty unhealthy and don’t care about it.
Speaking of being sick, my younger sister (20 yo) was feeling really sick this past week and so she went to the doctor who did an x-ray and he told her she was full of poop! She said she hadn’t remembered going to the bathroom in a long time. (MAKES SENSE!!!)
My mom has been making green smoothies regularly now for several months but my siblings only like eating junk food. I guess they reap what they sow!
When baby comes, he is getting 2 things: breast milk and green smoothies! By the way, I just harvested some (a lot) of collard greens from my garden (in a place where I thought I planted broccoli). I know you store your greens up in the winter. How do I do that? Do I just get freezer bags?
I work with first graders who seem to carry every transmittable disease known to man. The first year I worked in the classroom I was sick constantly. Last year, after being on green smoothies for several months before school started, I was not sick once. Not once. This year swine flu is running rampant through our school and I still have not been ill at all. I have been drinking about a quart and a half of green smoothie every day for almost 2 years. Love it!
Marti
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Although we’ve only been on green smoothies for only a couple of months, I can testify to the fact that eating a diet full of natural vegetables and fruit leads to better health. My husband used to have asthma and tons of allergies, plus he was diagnosed with cancer. We originally went on The pHmiracle diet. Within a month he lost 40 pounds, stopped using most of his 7+ medications, and was asthma-free. His 2-or-3-times-a-year bronchitis went to a once-a-year cold. It has truly been a miracle in our lives. Oh, and his cancer has gone into hiding!! We are now eating a diet closer to yours and he has found a tremendous benefit from eating the green smoothies! Like I have said before, if we had been eating this way before, the problems would never have been there!! Keep up your great work!!
I have been eating raw foods for two years now. I drink 1-2 quarts of green smoothie nearly daily. Before going raw I had interstitial cystitis and fibromyalgia. Seasonal allergies were a constant, I got bronchitis 2x/year without fail. I would also get various 24-48 hour viruses. I’d get 2-4 UTIs/year as well. Since being raw/drinking smoothies – NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, ZERO. I haven’t had a symptom, a sniffle,even an inkling of illness.
I am the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been. People ask me all the time what my secret is. When I tell them, they almost seem disappointed. I think they’d rather I’d told them about some “magic pill”. Oh, if they’d only try green nirvana – just for a little while!
H1N1 is a virus not a bacteria.
Sorry to write again, but I forgot to mention that I no longer have seasonal allergies since drinking green smoothies. I have had extremely horrible spring/summer/fall allergies since I was about 12 (40 now) and have been on many kinds of allergy medications. This past summer I thought I would just see what happened if I did not take any pills and I didn’t have a single flare up. It was amazing.
I also seem to heal faster from the odd cut or scrape.
Marti
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Yes, right–try to avoid injecting yourself with bacteria OR viruses.
Thanks for the snag.
I do not get sick less, I’ve been doing green smoothies for a year and a half. Typically, I drink two cups a day, not as much as I should. I’m also pregnant, so I am catching everything now!!!
I don’t get sick much in general. But I had sinus congestion and a runny nose very often. I would go through at least a box of tissues a week and if it was a bad day I could go through a box a day. I kept cough drops in a container by my bed and in my purse. The mucus, congestion and coughing is all gone.
I was able to drink 32 oz of green drink from the first day and did so for 6 weeks. When it became harder to get them down. I still drink green smoothies but not every day.
I started 3 months ago.
Just wanted to say thanks Crystal for your post. Sometimes I like to hear that stuff as well. I love the testimonials about how awesome people’s health has become with whole food/raw/green smoothies but it’s good to hear the flip side too.
My whole family (5 children and husband) has been hit with the Swine Flu this week. I’m the last one standing. We’re in transition with our diet as a family, but I’m personally fully on board with green smoothies daily and eating as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible, mostly whole grains, very little unrefined sugar and no processed food. I’m wondering how long I’ll hold out, and if I get to avoid it altogether!
After 2 1/2 years of drinking Green Smoothies daily, (I’m up to a quart a day, now) I’m am medicine free, happy and healthy, I haven’t been sick since ’06. I used to get colds and the flu’s several times a year. I used to be diabetic, (shooting up insulin 4 times a day), suffered from heart disease, high cholesterol, eczema, seasonal and food allergies, along with many other illnesses I can’t remember. Oh… I had a couple of strokes that left me paralyzed on my left side. Now I am back to work, driving again and living my life much better than before. Oh… and I’ve lost 85 pounds as a side benefit. Woohoo!
LuAnn, WOW, congratulations!
Tricia, please let us know how your family comes through H1N1, and I’m so sorry you’re going through that. At least you’re healthy to be the mom/nursemaid–that’s a blessing.
Green Smoothies are a HUGE help! I was able to avoid my annual summer cold and the back to school cold! I did however, get the H1N1… I work around school kids and was really pushing one week with too many hours and not enough sleep! I bounced back quickly though and attribute it all to Green Smoothies and a high raw diet!
Yes, I hardly ever get sick. No vaccines or anything for many, many years. Now, I can say that, no matter how raw one is, if you “burn the candles at both ends”, like not getting enough sleep, etc, one can leave oneself open to a compromised immune system and get sick. I went through this recently and I fought it off with rest and fluids. Simple.
last year:
Josh age 4 coughed EVERY day (labor day to labor day), tired always, got sick instantly if we went off Flovent. first name basis with doc, one ER trip for breathing/asthma like probs.
this year (8-12 oz smoothies and probiotic):
Josh age 5, no coughs, lots of energy, no flovent, no flu even when he shared a sucker with his sister who had it! He got the sucker at school and wanted to be nice.
Swine flu is easily treatable with homeopathy. If you have swine flu or know someone who does, feel free to contact my friend, Dr.John Mulliken, at http://bestnaturaldoctor.com
No need for the H1N1 flu shot and all this bull hockey… BLESSINGS!
I’ve been doing green smoothies for 2 years and have not been sick.
The smoothie replaced the sandwich and I also do fresh raw carrot juice. Diet is 90% raw and organic. Health benefits is a win win.
YES! YES! YES! I wholeheartedly agree that drinking green smoothies keeps you healthy. I have been drinking them consistently for a couple of years and I might get sick once a year. I have sinus issues usually, but even that is lessened when I regularly drink my green smoothies. The more you drink…the better you will feel. It is totally amazing.
Unfortunately, I began doing green smoothies during what I now believe was my first gall bladder attack, and the combination of mixed fruits and greens gave me severe and almost instantaneous cramping. My system just couldn’t handle such a load, even though I am very health concious and eat a great deal of fresh fruits and salads on a daily basis. Anything I ate for about a week then set off further upset. I have continued using green smoothies carefully since getting better but still find I can get an upset system with gassy discomfort at times, so I’m back to worrying that some things just shouldn’t be combined. I’ve always believed fruits were best digested all alone, though I realize they make the green smoothies much tastier. I’d love to know how to handle these problems and never have another week of gastric distress – anyone?
Hey Robin,
Love what you’re doing!
I WANT to drink more Green Smoothies but i get such loose bowels when I do….. I’ve tried lots of different kinds, but they all just give me teh trotts! What should I do? This doesn’t happen if I eat raw food, only if i blend it all up together…… advice?
We have been drinking green smoothies for about 2.5 years now. We alternate days of drinking carrot, apple, orange juice with green smoothies (only because we do not like the texture of carrots in our green smoothies – and I think juicing is really a pain compared to making green smoothies:) We attend a huge church and my kids are in the nursery three times a week and in mother’s day out, too, so they are exposed to a lot of other children’s germs. I am 8 months pregnant and my husband is a pilot who travels all over. None of us have been sick at all since last Thanksgiving when we went to visit family without our blender and were exposed directly to people that were ill – and we got over that in just a couple of days. No viruses, no fever, no colds – nothing!! No – we will not be getting any flu vaccines, – our immune systems work great – I don’t want to alter it by injecting some foreign substances in my body. We have been directly exposed twice, recently, to people that had the swine flu (and didn’t know it until after) and have not contracted it. I believe even if we do contract it, our immune systems will be strong enough that it won’t be as severe as it has been for others.
yes, we get sick less when we are drinking green smoothies. we are also regular which helps the system as well. my son, age 6, came home from school the other day and said “mommy, i feel like i am getting sick. can you fix me a green smoothie?” no joke! i was so excited becaused my kids were so reluctant to drink it when we started but they clearly see the difference.
Just started GS about 2 weeks ago…A-MAZING!!!! I already feel more energetic and have been sleeping better, less aches and pains, less cravings for sweets and junk food…and more. I can’t wait to see more results the longer I drink them. Our school has been hit hard by sickness this week and I don’t anticipate getting sick at all this winter thanks to Green Smoothies!!!! I am so excited, now if I can get my family to start drinking them! Baby steps…
My wife and i have been drinking our green daily for 4 years now and have not had a cold, flu, or anything. DRINK YOUR GREENS!!!!
Live Healthy…Live Happy
I can never mix fruits and fats in my smoothies, i have to do just one of them or i get very dizzy. I also get really really tired if i drink fruit juices, so normally i just spice it up with parsley instead of fruits. It would be really interesting if someone else has had these problems or know what can be causing them? I don’t get the flu with or without the greens, my immune system is a bit overactive in the Th2 part.
My husband and I drink green smoothies everyday – they aren’t your exact recipe – we use freeze dried kale, spinach, etc. just because it saves us a lot of money. However, all the veggies that are in your smoothie are in our drink as well. We also add the fresh bananas and berries and flax seed like your recipe. I have lupus, which is an auto-immune disease. We have been drinking these green smoothies for over a year and a half everyday. We very rarely miss a day! I can definately say that our energy is higher, we are very rarely sick, and the smoothies have helped me prevent flares.
I’ve been drinking green smoothies for at least five years. You know how Kale comes in quite a few leaves tied together. Well, my rule is to put the whole bunch in the vita-mix at once, even if I have to tamp it down in the 5 1/2 cups of ionized/filtered water I put in. Then comes the apple, banana, nuts, hemp hearts, parsley and pineapple. Have I benefited from what my son-in-law calls, “green gruel?” I’m 73 and, as my family doctor says, “healthy as a horse.”
Would it have been different for me if I’d stayed on the meat and potatoes diet with vitamin supplements? Don’t know really, but I don’t think my good health is based on genetics, etc. so I’ll staying with my regime of green gruel and organic granola, etc..
4 days from now, it will be 1 year since I dropped meat from my diet. I went all out in the beginning by eating vegan but since then have introduced small amounts of cheese (pizza is just wrong without it) and local/home produced eggs. About 6 months ago I discovered green smoothies and there will be no turning back to my old habits for me! I feel better, am rarely sick, and have quit taking all of the medications I was previously on (2 for cholesterol, 1 for migraines, anit-depressants). In the last year I have been migraine free, I have so much energy and have introduced green smoothies to my family and anyone who will give them a try. My husband is hooked! He says he feels so much better when he drinks his morning smoothie. I have lost 48 pounds and he has lost 12. Keep up the good work Robyn!!!
Be careful how you make your green smoothie. I was drinking a blender full every day last year. And yes!…I Was feeling a LOT better, until…I had to go home from work early on several occasions, before I realized just what was making me So sick. I was using fruit juice (albeit ‘all natural’) as the base to my green smoothies, along with adding plenty of frozen fruit. Then, I would just add ‘everything but the kitchen sink’, as far as veggie ingredients goes. I think it was a pretty darn healthy green smoothie, except for all that fruit juice. My blood sugar was all over the map. So, I’m a little gun shy to try again. But I really want to. And Yes!…I felt Tons better when I was driniking my greens and all those veggies (–all except fo the blood sugar issue). Plus, my skin was looking so much clearer and brighter. Anyone have a good-tasting, no-fruit, green smoothie?
I have been making green smoothies for several years now. Actual green vegetables juiced in my smoothies and in that time I have never been sick. In fact I do not remember the last time I have been sick and that includes sitting next to a woman on a four hour flight who coughed and sniffled the whole flight. I thought that I must at least get that one from her and waited for four days. It never hit me. I can only think that it is from the green vegetables every day that I make in my smoothie.
In the two and a half years I’ve been raw and drinking green smoothies, the only illness I’ve had is a cold that came right after I ate some cooked rice one year in. I quit eating cooked food for good after that. I haven’t taken so much as an aspirin (no tylenol or any of that other junk, either) for over that 2 and a half years. I’m 54, if that has any bearing on any of this…
Bill
Green smoothies are a great way to get the nutrients we need to prevent illness, but raw broccoli, cabbage, mustard greens, cress, cauliflower, kale, and other raw vegetables contain goitrogens that block iodine utilization and work to lower thyroid hormone production. I’d be interested to hear what others are doing to make sure they are getting enough iodine to keep their thyroid in good shape.
I can say a resounding YES! My daughter and her 3 children (2 years, 3 years and 5 years) came to live with us right about the time I started drinking green smoothies – about a year and a half ago. They were sick constantly last winter with colds, flu, ear infections etc… My husband caught everything they had but I didn’t get sick at all. I haven’t been sick since I started which is not normal for me because I would catch everything that came along before smoothies. I have convinced my husband to drink them with me and the two and three year old grandkids love my smoothies, they hear me making them and come running with cups in hand! Looking forward to a healthier winter this year!!!
Last winter I was drinking green smoothies every day. I never got sick the entire winter, not even a cold. My kids all brought home various sicknesses from school but I never caught anything. Sometimes I would feel like I was coming down with something but it would never take hold. In addition to a good diet I also exercise a lot which I think helps.
I get sick less and I recently had a headcold and really didn’t feel very bad at all compared to before green smoothies.
I am 62, the oldest of my other five siblings. We range from 62 to 45. I have always considered food as fuel..either high-octane jet-fuel or diesel sludge depending whether you get it green and fresh or go to McDonald’s (ick). Green smoothies are nothing new to me and my husband.
We are active, very healthy, rarely sick, no major or even minor problems. All my five siblings are on some kind of drug except me. One of them around mid-fifties just told me has prostate cancer. NOW he’s calling me for advice. (sigh) I told him this: Number One: Get off cow’s milk in any form. Number Two: Go for those greens. Number Three: Read two books. The Ph Miracle and the China Study. They back it all up with indisputable hard science.
Yes, GreenSmoothieGirl is right on!
Crystal, consider the idea that you may not be getting “sick”. It could be that it’s you body’s way of dispelling the toxins. Continue on your green smoothie journey with additional volume and see how that works for ya.
been on green smoothie for one month and a half lost 12 pounds eating nothing but raw vegetable and fruits have not learn how to prepare raw but I am taking classes. I have been feeling a little tired, mabe I am not getting enough something. I am on pure herbs to help heal myself from allergies and highblood pressure. I do like doing green smoothies a lot I am a greensmoothie girl forever. I do have grandchildren around me everyday no one has gotten sick as of yet. I will address H1N1 after I have been on the green smoothie for a while.
I have a story for you! My husband was diagnosed a few years ago with cirrhosis of the liver. This was suspected from a blood test…he had a CT scan and was sent to a liver specialist, so believe me it’s well documented. This made no sense to us (or the docs) as we do not drink, and he had not ONE risk factor for it. The prognosis was rather grim, and I set out to figure out how to deal with it naturally. In my research I discovered a link to gluten and liver disease. We went on a grain free diet and massive veggie smoothies. The odd things I will stick in my VitaMix (it’s like a blender on crack, none better!) are legendary. Note to self- green beans and eggplant are NOT tasty in a veggie smoothie, haha!
Anyway, at the next checkup some months later….after a disastrous biopsy put him in agony and I said NO MORE! his liver enzymes were totally normal! No evidence of liver disease, cholesterol had dropped 50 points (still eating animal proteins) and he had lost 85 pounds, me 60.
The doctors could not believe it and refused to attribute it to diet. But we know and we never get sick anymore! We have deviated pretty bad this past year and gained some back and are all achy again so we are back on track….don’t ask me why we humans will SEE the evidence that something works and let our stupid taste buds seduce us down the wrong road again…..it’s so not worth it!
oh and p.s. to Jan McCune- I never put fruit in my smoothies, once in a while I add some frozen organic blueberries (fruit shoots up your insulin levels too much if you are trying to lose weight) but just to make it easier I use a base of store bought organic carrot juice I get at Costco so it’s affordable. I put a couple cups in there and throw any and all fresh veggies I have in the Vitamix….often organic spinach, red or yellow bell peppers, broccoli, celery, raw nuts, whole flax sometimes (the vitamix pulverizes them) anything we are in the mood for. You find what tastes best to you….mine aren’t for the faint of heart,lol! But using the carrot juice instead of fruit makes it sweet and easy and with half the carbs…….sometimes I add coconut oil and some more ice and wham! Glass of life
Hi, My name is Maria and I have been an avid whole foods eater for 20 years. In the last few years I have been eating a lot of raw, green and sprouted foods. I drink a green smoothie daily with very little fruit, maybe a 1/4 – 1/2 cup of berries, lots of greens and some other things. Last spring, my family got the swine flu. My husband and one son missed a week of work/school. I nursed my family for two weeks straight. Thankfully they all have fairly strong immune systems, so nobody ended up at the doctor!! Boy, were they sick though. Bad cough, high fever, not able to move for a couple of days. The cough was awful.
Anyway, out of a family of six, 5 got the swine flu. I did fight it off for four days meaning I felt a scratchy throat and I was tired, but I was never sick. My body fought hard!!
I was in a bad emotional state at that time. Thankfully, I am not there now, but I know if it happened now, I wouldn’t even know my body was fighting. I know my immunity was lowered from my stress level at that point, but I did not get it!! I do eat mostly raw, lots of greens and cultured foods. So, I know it all helps!!!
Jan McCune,
I’d recommend a liver cleanse for your problems.
http://www.herbdoc.com
I have an 8 year old, 6 year old and 3 year old. I haven’t been to the pediatrician since my oldest was 18 mos. old. We still eat a little meat, but we also eat lots of fruits and vegetables. We have been drinking carrot juice and drinking green smoothies for a long time. My kids beg for both. My kids rarely get sick and if they do I treat them at home and it only last a couple of days. My kids have never taken any prescription or over the counter drugs. That is almost unheard of. Every child I know of has been on some kind of medication. I know that eating as much raw food as possible helps you have better health. Just more people would realize that so they wouldn’t have to suffer so much.
I’ve been drinking green smoothies every morning since 2006, mostly with kale, spinach, or collard greens. I haven’t been sick once since, and if I felt as if some bug might try to get me, I would eat raw garlic, and that would nip it in the bud. Green smoothies are the best thing for us to eat; there’s no doubt about it. Raw is great in every form!
Maria
I have been doing GS for about 3 years..Daily..sometimes twice a day. I have not been sick since. Give your body good food and it will return the favor. You are made to be healthy.
I have just recently added green smoothies to my diet, but the majority of my diet for the past 26 years has been raw leafy greens, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The first 34 years of my life were plagued many respiratory problems: colds, flu, bronchitis, and hay-fever. Once I realized that I was allergic to dairy products and changed over to a raw diet, my health problems were solved. Except for one bout of food poisoning in a New York airport, I haven’t been sick for 26 years. I also tan instead of burn, have much more energy, and I am more limber than I was in my 20′s. And here at 60 I’m still waiting for my hair to turn gray. For me, Green Smoothies have added new enthusiasm to my diet, but I’ve known for a long time that such a diet keeps me well.
I just bought the Blendtec blender and your book “Green Smoothies Diet” so I can not comment on the effects of green smoothies. However, I went from approximately 15 years of vegetarian diet to vegan diet about 4 or 5 years ago and don’t get colds or flue for last 3 to 4 years. My heyfeaver attacks are way less severe and practically don’t have nose congestion anymore.
I will post an update after “smoothing” for a while.
Robyn Ive been doing green smoothies since May . All the info I have read
from multiple sources Halleluah diet , Braggs diet , the Budwig diet and you all say the more raw fruits and vegatables you eat the less sick you will be .
The almost unbelievable disease reversals that people have had when switching from the S.A.D. diet to a raw fruit and vegetable diet is absolutly amazeing. I have a 40 oz smoothie every morning w/ 3tbs chia seeds and I’m not hungry till diner at 5or 6pm. Ive lost 25 lbs and I feel great. Thanks for all your insight I never would have tried spinach for breakfast or chia seeds to deal with the late night snack craving if you hadn’t mentioned it I put them on yogurt they are awesome! My sister and I are in your group buy for 100lbs of chia seeds Thanks again for all you are doing to help us get healthy!