During my research, I noticed that chimpanzees are very fond of greenery. I remember watching these animals at the zoo and seeing their excitement when fresh acacia branches, young tender palm leaves or spinach were brought to them. Looking at the chimpanzees, I was so "infected" that I went to the neighboring bushes and tried to eat acacia leaves myself. To tell the truth, these greens were not exactly pleasant to the taste, which presented a significant problem.
Consuming greens always seemed like a chore to me. Often I just forced myself to eat the ration. Sometimes I would buy juice from the greens, quickly gulp it down, and relax afterward for a couple days, reassuring myself: my quota was met. Other times I would make a delicious salad dressing and thickly drizzle it over the greens. It was one of the few ways for me to enjoy greens. But I could never imagine myself just sitting around munching spinach, cilantro, or chard.
While I only disliked greens, to put it mildly, my husband Igor just couldn't stand them. Growing up, he was always persuaded to eat mostly meat and bread, as befits a "real man". Living in Russia, we almost never saw greens in the stores.
Only in summer people could buy dill, parsley and green onions at the market. Sometimes, usually in spring, I saw lettuce (salad leaves) at the bazaar and considered it a rare exotic plant.
The more I read about the nutritional properties of greens, the stronger my conviction that greens are the most important food for people.
If only I could find a way to make consuming greens enjoyable! Then it would be possible to eat these healthy leaves in the quantities necessary to restore health.
I repeatedly forced myself to eat more greens and only found myself physically unable to do so. After consuming approximately two cups of chopped leaves, I would get heartburn or nausea.
One day, while reading a biology book, I was intrigued by the surprisingly sturdy structure of plants. It turns out that cellulose, the main building block of plants, has one of the strongest molecular structures on the planet. The green leaves, which contain an abundance of valuable nutrients, securely pack all those vitamins and minerals inside their cells. Made of tough material, these cells probably serve as a means of protecting the plant by making it harder for animals to eat it. To get valuable nutrients out of plant cells, you have to tear their walls. And tearing them is not easy. That's why eating greens without sufficient chewing cannot meet our nutrient needs. Simply put, we must chew our greens to a mushy consistency to get the benefits.
In addition, in order to absorb the minerals and vitamins contained in the leaves, our gastric juices must contain a sufficient concentration of hydrochloric acid (i.e. the acidity factor (pH) must be 1.6-2.0).
These conditions, food pulverization and adequate gastric juice acidity, are absolutely necessary for the absorption of nutrients from greens. Obviously, when I ate my greens, I didn't chew them well enough and, in addition, my gastric juice acidity may have been too low. As a result, after eating greens, I experienced unpleasant sensations indicative of an upset stomach, so I later developed an aversion to greens in general.
Because of decades of eating mostly processed food, people have almost completely lost the ability to chew properly.
With each generation, jaws are becoming more and more narrow. As a result, our children have to wear braces even after having their wisdom teeth removed. The jaw muscles have become too weak to chew coarse fiber. I often hear my dentist advise me to take care of my teeth, not to bite hard fruits, but to grate them. In addition, fillings and dentures also prevent the greens from reaching the desired consistency.
So one day, in August 2004, I decided to try "chewing" my greens in a blender. I popped one bunch of spinach into it, poured water over it, and thought, "Now I'm going to blend, close my eyes, pinch my nose, and drink this." But as soon as I took the lid off, I quickly closed it again because I felt nausea coming on from the thick smell, reminiscent of the scent of cut grass. This dark green, almost black, mixture was completely inedible in appearance. After thinking for a while, I peeled some bananas, added them to the mixture, and ground them again.
This is when the magic began. Slowly and with some trepidation, I removed the lid of the blender and gently sucked in the air. Much to my surprise, this bright green mixture smelled very pleasant. I tasted it carefully and marveled: the mixture was even better than just tasty! Not too sweet, not too bitter. It was the most unusual tasting drink I had ever tasted. It could only be described in one word - "freshness".
Within 4 hours I drank everything I put in my smoothie, to be exact: a bunch of spinach, 4 bananas and a liter of water. Feeling great, I decided to do it again. I was triumphant, realizing that finally, for the first time in my life, I had consumed two large bunches of greens in one day, and without any added oil or salt!
Drinking the green smoothie felt good. I felt great and didn't experience any of the unpleasant sensations that usually accompany eating greens. I was happy that I had reached my goal.
The solution to my problem was unexpectedly simple, and consuming greens this way took very little time. I passionately continued to experiment with mixing greens and fruit every day.
I have to admit that the idea of making smoothies with greens was not new to me. Eleven years ago, when our two children, my husband and I attended the Institute for Creative Health (ITH) in Michigan, we were lectured about the extraordinary healing properties of a so-called energy soup made from blended sprouts of various seeds mixed in a blender with a small amount of avocado and apples.
This soup was invented by Dr. Ann Whitmore, who developed the "living food" concept. Despite repeated assurances from nutritionists and other ITH staff about the exceptional health benefits of energy soup, most trainees were unable to eat even two spoonfuls of it simply because it was unpalatable.
At the same time, I was overwhelmed by the testimonies about the amazing healing properties of energy soup. When I returned home, I began desperately experimenting with its recipe, trying to create an acceptable flavor - I really wanted my family to experience its health benefits. But one day I had to stop my attempts - I suddenly heard Valya yelling to Sergei in the yard, "Run! Mommy is making this green mess again!".
Despite the numerous testimonies about the invigorating properties of energy soup, I heard many stories about people who needed recovery and desperately tried to eat this green soup, but unfortunately could not bring themselves to consume it regularly.
I find it amazing that 11 years after I first learned about this soup, I came up with a similar idea of chopping greens in a blender. When I started drinking smoothies made from greens, I didn't tell anyone about it (except my family members) and, not having any serious health issues, I didn't expect any serious results. All I hoped for was to try to slow down the aging process.
However, after about a month of taking the green smoothies pretty haphazardly, I noticed that my skin was visibly younger and even my moles were starting to disappear, which spoke of a stronger immune system. I also felt more energized than ever before and began to wake up easily with the sunrise. Then I started sharing my experience with my friends.
Suddenly I noticed that the irresistible cravings for heavier foods such as nuts or crackers that I had sometimes had, especially in the evenings, had completely disappeared.
I noticed that many of the wrinkles on my face had disappeared. Others noticed this as well, and I began to hear compliments about me. My nails became strong and shiny, my eyesight sharpened, and my mouth had a pleasant taste that lasted even after waking up in the morning (a pleasure I had not experienced since my teenage years).
I was finally consuming large amounts of greens every day, feeling light and energized. My tastes began to change. I found that my body had become so hungry for greens that within a few weeks I was living almost exclusively on green smoothies alone. Regular fruits and vegetables became more desirable to me, while cravings for fatty foods decreased significantly, and I easily cut down on salt intake.
One day my husband and I were hiking along a trail of thick grass, and I was suddenly salivating at the sight of the dark green, crunchy branches of mallow and plantain weeds growing in abundance along our path. I was surprised to find myself wanting to pick them and start chewing. I shared these thoughts with Igor. He listened attentively, but he didn't share my enthusiasm.
Igor had already noticed that I had been eating differently lately. Instead of making a huge salad consisting of various finely chopped vegetables, a large avocado, sea salt, and lots of onions and olive oil, I now chopped a large bunch of green spinach and tomatoes, sprayed it with lemon juice, and enjoyed it immensely, rumbling with pleasure and rolling my eyes.
I still don't miss the same old food and feel completely satisfied with the meal. I now know that anyone can learn to love greens!
I noticed another change that amazed me. I used to have the urge to eat some heavy, junk food when I was tired. For example, when traveling, after a night on an airplane or in a car, or after a full day of intense lecture work, I would start thinking about heavy raw foods or even authentic Russian food from my childhood that I hadn't tasted in years. These desires annoyed me as I found it difficult to shift my attention to more important matters. In such cases, I would usually make more substantial raw foods for myself, such as sunflower cheese and crackers, or just fill up on nuts. I have heard from many raw eaters that they have experienced similar bouts of overwhelming desire for heavy foods.
When I started drinking green smoothies, I immediately noticed that such cravings disappeared. My husband also noticed these changes in my behavior. In the evening, after a hard day's work, he still wanted something to eat, while I was completely indifferent to food and relaxed reading a book or talking with my family. Then Igor joined me and started asking for a cup of "this green stuff" whenever I made it for myself.
I want to reiterate that neither Igor nor I had any medical conditions at the time, and so at first it was hard for us to tell if we were really feeling better or if we thought we were. But soon we could both say for sure that we felt better and looked much younger. After two months of consuming green smoothies, Igor's gray mustache and beard had noticeably darkened, making him look like the Igor I had once met.
Igor became so enthusiastic that he became our family's champion green smoothie drinker. Every morning he wakes up early and makes two or three large cans of smoothies: one for me, one for himself, and one for Sergei and Valya.
Our kids were also excited about adding this tasty green drink to their daily diet. Even with their seemingly excellent health, they still noticed significant positive changes, such as a desire to sleep less, increased energy and cheerful mood, as well as improved teeth and gums.
One of my fears was that one day I would get tired of green smoothies and just not want to consume them anymore. However, months passed and we continued to enjoy drinking them regularly. Now I find it hard to imagine my life without green smoothies, as they have become 80% of my diet.
In addition to smoothies, I consume salads, flax crackers, fruit and occasionally seeds or nuts. To always be able to make fresh smoothie greens, I bought an extra blender for the office. Whenever friends or clients stop by my office, they see a large pitcher of bright green liquid next to my computer. I always offer a taste of the marvelous smoothie. To my satisfaction, everyone likes green smoothies without exception, despite the fact that everyone eats differently.
Unexpectedly, some friends and coworkers have improved health after a cup of green smoothie in my office!
No kidding! For example, the creator of my website had raw food cravings after just a few smoothies, and after a couple of months he lost 7 pounds. The woman in the office next door got rid of her eczema by going in for a cup of green smoothie almost every day. Even my mailman tried and loved these smoothies.
Inspired by the positive results, I wrote an article, "An Ode to the Green Shake" and emailed it to all the recipients. Almost immediately, I began receiving rave reviews and many detailed descriptions of the wonderful results of smoothie consumption from my friends, students, and readers. As I prepared to continue my research on a more serious level, the many healing properties of green smoothies became apparent to everyone who tried them: the number of people using smoothies became a growing "green wave" every day.
