Why smoothies may not be the best way to get your nutrition.

I recently attended the Plant-Based Prevention of Disease  (P-POD) Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the campus of NC State.  One of the key note speakers at the conference was Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. from the Institute of Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic.  I have been with him on two occasions and each time I have heard him say that Smoothies may not be the best way to get your nutrition.  I remember from my first visit with him the first reason, but this time I learned the second critical reason.

1.  When you process greens and fruit together in a high speed blender, you liberate the sugars from the fiber making the sugars too easily available and quickly absorbed into the body.  That seems like a good thing, but it causes the blood sugar to "spike" and "skyrocket."  This is much like drinking a very sugary drink.

2.  The second reason was even more intriguing to me.  When you choose to drink your green vegetables rather than chew them, you skip a vital step in the biochemical process.  It was explained this way:  Chewing greens is the first step in adding necessary enzymes to the nitrogen found in the green vegetables. The by-product of this chewing process changes the nitrogen, through enzymatic action, into Nitrates.  When the nitrates are then swallowed the second enzymatic process changes the nitrates into "nitrites."  These nitrites are then quickly converted into "nitric oxide," the chemical that is quickly released through the "endothelium" in the coronary arteries.  It is this release of "nitric oxide" through the lining of the coronary arteries (the endothelium) that keeps the blood "slippery" and keeps it from sticking to the artery lining, causing plaque buildup and eventually blockages.

So there you have it.  The recommendation is to eat 5-6 servings of Greens every day.  Chew them carefully in order to properly release the enzymes.  In so doing, you will bath your endothelium in an abundant supply of nitric oxide and keep your coronary arteries clear of further plaque buildup.  This is one of the vital steps in halting and reversing coronary artery disease.
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