A study at Lund University in Sweden has shown that a drink containing spinach extract suppressed food cravings for sweets and unhealthy foods and also promoted weight loss in participants. Substances in spinach called thylakoids induced satiety hormones enabling better appetite control and the green drink before breakfast allowed the participants to feel more satisfied during the day.
We all know that we should be maximising our consumption of vegetables and fruits, but sometimes it is difficult to actually consume the sheer amount and variety that we need. Green smoothies are a great way to enjoy vegetable and fruits in quantity, flooding your body with the phytonutrients from plants. All plants produce phytonutrients as part of their normal metabolic activities and they make a huge impact on our health, reducing the likelihood of our developing chronic disease. Remember organic fruit and vegetables produce more phytonutrients than non-organic produce. Smoothies are different to juices. Juices can also provide you with intensive nutrition but all the fibre is stripped away. A green smoothie grinds up all the beneficial aspects of the plants with nothing lost. Try combinations of avocado, pears, spinach, apple, berries, kale or any other vegetables and fruit that you choose. Search the internet for recipes by entering green smoothies into a search engine and you will see many interesting combinations. They take only a few minutes to make and unlike juices don’t have to be consumed immediately. My favourite at the moment is spinach, pear, kiwi fruit, ginger, turmeric and coconut water, with a squeeze of lemon added, but they can be made with any fruit or vegetables to hand. Try to keep a proportion of sixty per cent vegetables and forty per cent fruit.
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