Talk:Green smoothie

Advertisement
How is this article written like an advertisement? What product is it an advertisement for? Hyacinth (talk) 04:18, 11 May 2010 (UTC)
 * It's not, and for that reason I have removed the tag. Beyond My Ken (talk) 01:10, 13 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Hyacinth (talk) 02:41, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Merge into Smoothie?
See discussion at Talk:Smoothie. Hyacinth (talk) 05:56, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Cleanup
Why, what, where, and how does this article need to be cleaned up? Hyacinth (talk) 02:42, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Chlorophyll
Greens are the only living thing in the world that can transform sunlight into the food that all creatures can consume. . The green color in plants is the molecule of chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight and uses its energy to synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water (H2O), a process known as photosynthesis. Chlorophyll is found in most plants and is the basis for every form of carbohydrate on our planet. The molecule of chlorophyll has one atom that makes it different from a molecule of human blood: magnesium instead of iron. Because of this similarity, consumption of chlorophyll can stimulate hemoglobin and red blood cell production. Swiss physician Dr. Maximilian Bircher-Benner said chlorophyll increases the functions of the entire body including the heart, vascular system, lungs, uterus and intestines. There is evidence that supports the beneficial effects of chlorophyll in the human diet and while these claims are not substantiated some research exists showing that diets high in chlorophyll, present in higher concentrations in green leafy vegetables, have lower rates of cancer.

Enzymes
The living enzymes contained in raw fruit and greens give the body active energy. The principle of the raw food diet is to replenish the body with more living, active enzymes than the body can use up. The cells of the body create energy in a multi-step process with an enzyme at work on each step. . Susan Schenck briefly describes sixty-six different scientific studies that reveal various benefits of raw food and dangers of cooked food in her IPPY award winning book, The Live Food Factor.

Alkalinity
Chlorophyll carries significant amounts of oxygen with it and thus plays a critical role in supporting the aerobic bacteria. With the high oxygen content in chlorophyll and high mineral content in green plants, greens are highly alkalizing. Alkalinity is the barometer of total physical health.

General
Greens are filled with amino acids, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. The abundance of amino acids in greens makes them a high source of protein. Spinach contains a complete amino acid profile.

According to the USDA Greens are the highest natural source of vitamin K, Raw leafy greens are also very high in potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C, E

Bioavailability
In order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break the tough cellulose structures of plants. Cellulose is insoluble, which means to get the nutrients, its structure has to be broken into the tiniest pieces, preferably down to the molecules. However after many decades of eating mostly heavily processed foods, modern people have lost their ability to chew normally, which makes absorbing nutrients difficult. . A high speed blender has the ability to disrupt plant cell wall structure and significantly reduce food particle size which may enhance the bioavailability of essential nutrients in fruits and vegetables. .

Fiber
Green smoothies are different from green drink or green juice because the fiber is not removed by blending the greens. Fiber helps to dilute, bind and remove many of the carcinogens and toxins found in our food and water, by cleansing the colon.

I have removed the 'nutrition' section; the information is not applicable just to the subject, and there is no such thing as an 'official' green smoothie anyway; if this information belongs anywhere, it is within the articles on these specific components - thus, I will leave it on this page, below.  Chzz  ►  05:33, 18 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I re-added a very shortened version. Hyacinth (talk) 06:43, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Removed: History
Victoria Boutenko was the first to bring green smoothies into wide public awareness with her book Green For Life (2005). In search for the perfect human diet, Victoria Boutenko decided to look at Chimpanzees, an animal genetically close to human beings, which share more than 98% of human DNA. , yet they possess an extremely strong natural immunity to AIDS, hepatitis C, cancer and other fatal human illnesses. The research of Dr Jane Goodall shows that half of a chimpanzee's diet is fruit and 40% is green leaves. Chimps also eat a small amount of seeds, bark, and pith, which is the stem of the plant, and they eat about 5% insects. Boutenko set out to prove that understanding the eating habits of wild chimpanzees may help us better understand what the human diet was originally, and that large quantities of greens were the missing ingredient to her family’s raw food diet. Blending greens was the solution to consuming large quantities of greens, however Boutenko found that the taste of chlorophyll was not very appealing so added fruit as a way to overpower the greens' flavor and make a palatable beverage with health benefits.

The above was removed with the edit summary "spam for a book". Hyacinth (talk) 06:12, 18 May 2010 (UTC)

Ingredients
I have removed the 'ingredients' section as of today, for several reasons;

As mentioned above the primary ingredients are leafy greens and fruit, preferably raw.


 * 'As mentioned' is non-encyclopaedic meta-information.


 * 'preferably raw' - according to whom?

These may include spinach, kale, chard, edible weeds, wheatgrass, kiwi, bananas, mangoes and apples. Other possible ingredients include green tea, blue-green algae, spirulina and ground flax seed.


 * According to whom? they may include those, sure. They may also contain diced frog. Who are we to judge which are possible ingredients, without an appropriate reference?

An authentic green smoothie does not include vegetables


 * WP:NPOV, unreferenced assertion - or possibly supported by the single source at the end of the para; but why are we giving undue weight to that one opinion? Where is this 'international standards body' which defines the true 'Green Smoothie'?

Combining starchy vegetables with fruit is considered bad food combining and can cause difficulties with digestion. (With ref. "Revolution">Boutenko, Victoria. Green Smoothie Revolution: The Radical Leap Towards Natural Health, pg 46. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 2009. ISBN 1556438125.)


 * A 'radical leap' book does not instil confidence in its balanced views and scientific proof; such a strong assertion (that starchy veg+fruit is 'bad') needs reliable sources - and not original research either.

Please, can we stick to facts here? Thanks,  Chzz  ►  03:36, 25 May 2010 (UTC)


 * You may judge the book by its title (I'm not sure why you would trust a book subtitled "A Conservative Tip-Toe Backwards" more), but it still seems superior to a complete lack of opposing sources. Hyacinth (talk) 03:37, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

Note that above in regards to ingredients you state "According to whom?" but in your edit summary you state "I don't care what one person chooses to put in their own smoothie". These would appear to be conflicting opinions. Do you want sources or not? Hyacinth (talk) 03:43, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

It is recommended that a green smoothie should not include vegetables which contain starch such as broccoli,[13] zucchini and carrot. <- I'm removing this line until someone actually qualifies on the actual page WHY, with proper agreed source. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.165.129.163 (talk) 08:29, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

NPOV
This article says nothing on any opposing sides, so it currently is leaning towards a non-neutral POV by a health-contious perspective. Spitfire19 (Talk) 03:48, 25 May 2010 (UTC)


 * What issue or POV should the article cover both sides of? Hyacinth (talk) 10:23, 25 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Agreed with Hyacinth. What is controversial about a "health-contious [sic] perspective"? What other perspective would you suggest? -- Green wood  tree  03:12, 22 September 2010 (UTC)

Nutrition and bioavailability
Re, the replacement "Nutrition and bioavailability" in the current version at the time of writing,

Firstly, thank you, Msemeb, for attempting to improve the article; I can see what you are trying to achieve, but I feel I must criticize the content; I will explain my reasoning below, and welcome any and all feedback;

Greens are filled with amino acids, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.[9][10]


 * That may be true, but I don't see what it has to do with a 'green smoothie'.

Chlorophyll carries significant amounts of oxygen with it and thus plays a critical role in supporting the aerobic bacteria.


 * How much is 'significant'? (WP:OR / WP:NPOV) - and is Ms. Boutenko really the be-all and end-all definitive authority on the matter?


 * With the high oxygen content in chlorophyll and high mineral content in green plants, greens are highly alkalizing.


 * A) relevence to the article, B) how high is 'high', C) Boutenko again, thus giving undue weight to one source.

In order to assimilate the many needed nutrients from greens, the human body needs to be able to break the tough insoluble cellulose structures of plants, preferably down to the molecules. A high speed blender has the ability to disrupt plant cell wall structure and significantly reduce food particle size which may enhance the bioavailability of essential nutrients in fruits and vegetables


 * According to the ""Breakthrough Research" conducted by...a blender manufacturer!


 * I look forward to comments.  Chzz  ►  03:52, 25 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Why is citing a source, Boutenko, giving it undue weight?
 * Research may be by a blender manufacturer but if you provide no source to challenge it aside from your doubt it seems superior. Hyacinth (talk) 10:25, 25 May 2010 (UTC)

Removed: Chlorophyll

 * Chlorophyll carries significant amounts of oxygen with it and thus plays a critical role in supporting the aerobic bacteria. With the high oxygen content in chlorophyll and high mineral content in green plants, greens are highly alkalizing.

The above cited information was removed as "inaccurate". Hyacinth (talk) 03:39, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

Recipe?
Are articles supposed to contain recipes? I would've thought that wasn't very encyclopedic - surely it'd be better just to add a link to the recipe in the external links section... Chevy monte  carlo  11:43, 26 May 2010 (UTC)


 * What are you talking about? Hyacinth (talk) 08:34, 8 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Okay, so the article as of 01:45, 26 May 2010 contains a "simplified version of Robyn's Green Smoothie Template Recipe (designed for the Blendtec Blender) intended for those new to green smoothies". Which may also be questionable as a Blendtec pitch but was removed. Hyacinth (talk) 08:38, 8 January 2011 (UTC)

Multiple-Issues
What are the multiple problems this article has had? Hyacinth (talk) 08:32, 8 January 2011 (UTC)