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Green Smoothies=Constipation? (help)

germin8germin8 Raw Master

Hello! We’ve been drinking green smoothies daily for almost two months. And, now we think they are constipating us. The green smoothie is about 12 oz a day… made mostly of greens, then water, then a couple fruits.

Does this happen to anyone? Even my mother-in-law, one week into green smoothies and she experienced the same. I experience it less of often than my husband… do we need to drink more water?

Comments

  • I don’t know, but thanks for posting because I am curious about the same thing. I have spent the last 4-5 days more or less green smoothie fasting and I haven’t been constipated per say but I have had a very small amount of movement when I have one. I was expecting a little more cleansing action. I hope somebody can help us understand.

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    put some flax seed in your smoothie, or chia seed gel. You’ll be in BM heaven.

    reikifeet
  • Also try hemp and chia seeds.Works for me!

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    heathermarsbomb/Mon46: Have you experienced this (“constipation”) before with green smoothies?

  • alpdesignsalpdesigns Raw Newbie

    Spinach has a laxative effect. What are you putting in the smoothie?

  • germin8, no, not really. Maybe smaller bms once or twice, but generally the smoothies have really improved my digestion. I used to have IBS with constipation and that has stopped since going raw. TMI, I know!

  • heathermarsbombheathermarsbomb Raw Newbie

    No….the opposite actually….my sympathies to you :(

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    Yes, I had improved digestion as well… that was at the beginning of the green smoothies. But, now… almost two months of doing this… it’s not as good as it was before.

    I’m wondering why there is a difference now.

    My husband and I share the green smoothies, so we can get 4 servings from this recipe:
    2-2.5 cups filtered water
    about 5-7 cups greens (any greens)
    1-2 fruits (like apples and dried pineapple, or just mango)

    I should also mention we are not 100%... raw with cooked (vegan).

  • Hi germin8, do you use bananas as well in your smoothies? I heard that bananas can cause constipation for some people. Fruits like figs, plums could help. Have you heard about raw braun millet or chufas? Whese can also help, you can put some of these in your smoothies, as well as some flaxseed oil.

  • just make sure you drinking enough water..dehydration causes constipation…chefraw.com

  • This also happened to me. I stopped using bananas and that helped. I also just found out recently that you should drink a cup of water for every cup of green smoothie because of the high iron and fiber content. Soaked flax helped as well.

  • I really like green smoothies a lot but I have a related question. I have read that you should not drink water or anything else with food because it dilutes your digestive juices. So adding water to fruits and vegetables in a blender seems like it might be diluting your body’s digestive juices which could make it hard to digest I would assume. Today instead of blending a green smoothie, I had a green smoothie salad without the water or the blender. It was good and light and made me feel great. Maybe that would be easier to digest but I don’t know.

  • modhinamodhina Raw Newbie

    eat a pear or apple with it and drink a lot of water

    ClaireT
  • grahamefgrahamef Raw Newbie
    I suffered constipation within days of starting green smoothies. I was really surprised and now i will stop drinking them everyday. The secret to avoid constipation is to dramatically increase plain water intake at same time because of increased fibre intake soaking up body fluids
  • aayushibaayushib Raw Newbie
    germin8 said:

    Hello! We’ve been drinking green smoothies daily for almost two months. And, now we think they are constipating us. The green smoothie is about 12 oz a day… made mostly of greens, then water, then a couple fruits.

    Does this happen to anyone? Even my mother-in-law, one week into green smoothies and she experienced the same. I experience it less of often than my husband… do we need to drink more water?

     Yes, Your green smoothie could very well be the reason for your constipation.

    1. Too little of fibre in your diet causes constipation. Also, too much of fibre in your diet causes constipation. Since smoothies are concentrated with fibre and you probably suddenly began drinking them and that too every day thinking that it's good for the body, your body had too much of a good thing too soon. from a certain amounts of fibre per day, it suddenly started getting way more than it was used to. So, your body will behave differently.

    2. Also, fibre absorbs water. So, when you increase your fibre intake, you are also supposed to increase your water intake substantially.

    3. To make matters worse, you add things like flaxseed and chia seeds to your smoothie. Flaxseeds are VERY water absorbing. So, if you eat that, you have to drink even more water. Same for adding powders like whey, moringa, wheatgrass.

    With each ingredient you add, you increase your water intake accordingly.

    4. Also, smoothies should be incorporated in your diet gradually. Start with half a glass. Maybe alternate days. Or maybe every third day. Do this for a month or two and gradually increase the portion to one tall glass (no more than that) and maybe after six months or so to every day.

    5. Not to forget, the ingredients you use. There are fruits and vegetables that have yin (cool) and yang (hot) energies in them. Yin cause the body to cool and relieves constipation. Yang causes the body to get heated and causes constipation. So, research well and then add ingredients.

    6. Too much fibre can also cause diarrhea as well as constipation. So, keep the quantity in check. Anything in excess is bad. Sleeping late can cause constipation. So along with smoothies, straighten up your lifestyle.

     

     

    TammiTrue
  • TammiTrueTammiTrue Raw Master

    Smoothies with a higher fruit concentration work for me!

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