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Green smoothies are all the rage these days. Many people are drinking them every day or at least several times a week in an attempt to get healthy and “alkalize” the body.
Whenever I visit the cafe of my local healthfood store, there are usually several people in gym clothes lined up to order a green smoothie to sip after their workout.
Green smoothies are made by blending large amounts of raw leafy green vegetables with fruit to soften and sweeten the taste. Typical vegetables included in green smoothies are cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, collard greens, maca (usually as a supplemental powder) as well as others like spinach, swiss chard, celery, and parsley.
Is the green smoothie fad a truly healthy habit over the long term? Or, could regular consumption of these seemingly healthy drinks contribute to serious health problems over time?
Raw Leafy Greens Contain High Oxalate Levels
Frequent consumption of large quantities of raw, leafy green vegetables blended up as green smoothies can be deceiving at first. This is because green drinks facilitate an initial detoxification process that makes a person feel great. This is especially true when coming off a highly processed, nutrient poor diet.
While very nutritious, the vegetables used in green smoothies are almost without exception high oxalate foods. Over time, a high oxalate diet can contribute to some very serious health problems particularly if you are one of the 20% of people (1 in 5) that have a genetic tendency to produce oxalates or if you suffer from candida or other fungal challenge. In those cases, a high oxalate diet can deal a devastating blow to health.
Oxalate Toxicity Not a New Problem
The effects of oxalate toxicity have plagued humankind since ancient times. For example, scientists discovered an oxalate kidney stone about the size of a golf ball in a 2000 year old mummy from Chile using x-ray analysis.
Build-up of shards of oxalate crystals can occur almost anywhere in the body. Whatever tissue contains them, pain or worse is the result.
75-90% of kidney stones are oxalate related with 10-15% of Americans afflicted at some point during their lives. As the star shaped crystalline stones pass from the kidney, they cause pressure and pain in the bladder and urethra and can actually tear up the walls of the urinary tract.
Oxalate Stones from Excessive Green Smoothies
Oxalate stones can show up in any body tissue including the brain and even the heart.
Crystals comprised of oxalates resemble shards of glass. They can become lodged in the heart causing tiny tears and damage to this vital muscle. With every single contraction, more damage is caused as the heart pumps life giving blood to the rest of the body.
Oxalate crystals which end up in the thyroid can cause thyroid disease by damaging thyroid tissue.
A frequent location for oxalates to end up is skeletal muscle which will cause pain with even normal movement and make exercise nearly impossible. Dr. William Shaw, Director of The Great Plains Laboratory for Health, Nutrition and Metabolism who has studied oxalates extensively, is convinced that oxalate toxicity is a factor in fibromyalgia the pain of which can absolutely devastate a person’s life (1).
Vulvodynia – Painful Sex
Cases of women experiencing painful sex are on the rise with oxalates a possible culprit.
Vulvodynia is a condition causing pain in and around the vagina. It is linked to oxalates deposited in this delicate reproductive tissue. Oxalate crystals are very acidic and they cause irritation, burning, and stinging sensations for affected women. An accompanying feeling of rawness is typically experienced during sexual relations.
Oxalates Are Fungal in Origin
A surprising finding is that oxalates are produced in large amounts by fungus. Large stones have been found in the sinuses and lungs of people suffering from systemic fungal infections such as candida or Aspergillus.
Therefore, anyone who suffers from any sort of candida overgrowth or other fungal challenge like fungus nails or dandruff would be wise to be very concerned about oxalate intake via the diet.
Consumption of green smoothies would not in any way contribute to improvement of health in these situations. The majority of people today suffer from gut imbalance and candida (yeast) issues caused by antibiotic and prescription drug use including the Pill. This renders a high oxalate diet which includes frequent green smoothies an unwise practice for virtually everyone.
Does Cooking Destroy Oxalates?
What about cooking the greens first? Would this reduce the risk of oxalate overload and make consuming greens safer?
Not really, because oxalates are extremely stable. While cooking high oxalate foods and discarding the cooking water does reduce the level of anti-nutrients, it remains quite high.
Green smoothies are usually consumed frequently by those who swear by them. As such, a light steaming of the veggies first would not make a significant difference over the long term if they are consumed regularly. If you consume green smoothies only occasionally, however, a light steaming is a good idea. This practice adds a degree of safety to the process. Other tips for preparing safe smoothies are contained in this linked article.
Healthier Alternatives to Green Smoothies
The best course of action for health, then, is to opt out of the green smoothie diet fad. This is especially important if you have any sort of gut imbalance or candida issues.
If you enjoy green leafy vegetables, be smart about it. Don’t overdo like so many in the health community are doing with the best of intentions. Enjoy green drinks in moderation in salads. Or, cook them and carefully drain and discard leafy green cooking water. Never use it in soups and sauces!
Be sure to serve cooked leafy greens with a healthy fats like butter or coconut oil. Avoid margarine or any factory fats synthesized with rancid and/or GMO vegetable oils like Smart Balance. Using natural fats will facilitate maximum absorption of minerals.
Another option is to drink raw cultured vegetable juice or eat raw cultured vegetables. Not only will you get enhanced nutrition from the culturing process which adds enzymes and nutrients, but you will also get a beneficial and therapeutic dose of probiotics to help balance gut function and improve digestion. It also suppresses fungal overgrowth like candida.
Wheatgrass an Excellent Alternative!
Another option is to do shots of fresh, green wheatgrass juice.
Wheatgrass juice is very low in oxalic acid.
Here is a link to my favorite green juice recipe using wheatgrass and ginger. It is safe to drink regularly, daily if you like, instead of green smoothies. It is also an excellent drink for gently detoxing before pregnancy. The ginger assists with morning sickness issues too if you are already pregnant.
What to do if a Green Smoothie Diet Has Already Harmed Your Health
Are you already are suffering from some of the ailments described in this article? Do you suspect a high oxalate diet which includes green smoothies or a daily spinach salad may be the cause? If so, stop this practice immediately and consult with a holistic physician. You will likely need professional assistance to guide you on the road to recovery. Ridding your body of oxalate crystals that are potentially irritating one or more of your body tissues is no simple task! It is not advisable to attempt this protocol on your own.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist, author, Get Your FATS Straight
References and Additional Information
The Role of Oxalates in Autism and Chronic Disorders, William Shaw PhD
Top 4 Cleansing Myths to Watch Out For
I must apologize. I choked on my green smoothie when I read this.
There might as well have been an aside in this article reading, “so head to McDonald’s and enjoy Frankenfood.” Sarah, you are not a doctor, nor a licensed clinical nutritionist. So your editorial is just that. An editorial.
Pesticides are a concern. Contamination of produce happens all the time. Green smoothies are great pre and post workout than the sugar-laden “smoothie” bars in gyms and what fast food chains try to pass off as “health” drinks.
I think Chris Kresser answers the green smoothie/oxalate issue well. Is your gut damaged? Are you magnesium deficient? Do you eat fat with them? http://chriskresser.com/the-afternoon-sugar-crash-green-smoothies-and-liver-detoxification
Do you have any other sources than this one Dr. Shaw. When you google this man a lot of questionable items appear. You also do not go on to list all the other foods besides greens that are high in oxalates, including fruits, nuts, berries and seeds. Hopefully the people who read this are educated enough to know that every single thing you put in your body has pros and cons. It’s all about moderation. To tell people they should not be eating leafy greens is crazy. The human population got to were we are by those leafy greens, they are needed. It’s about moderation. If all you eat is spinach of course you will get sick the same can be said about any food. Shoot! Oxygen is toxic yet we need the right levels of it to survive. This whole post might be more convincing if there were more than 1 source. Education does not come from 1 place, it comes from all places. 1 source from a man who does not even have any scientific evidence….. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is trying to sell something, just like the “Doctor” who said vaccines are bad so he could market his own…… Who is spending the rest of his life behind bars for what he did. I’m sure I’ll be reading the same about this “Doctor” Shaw too.
For whatever it is worth, I have a masters in nutrition and a bachelor degree from and Ivy League school. Not sure that matters, but everyone here is so edgy and quick to attack, so I thought I would give my credentials.
Funny thing, I read this originally and thought, ok, some people need to rotate their greens, because some percentage of the population is sensitive to oxalates. And I thought that was the end of it. I am a nutrition educator and a former WAPF leader, but hadn’t really looked into the issue beyond what affects that smallish group.
Well, I was wrong. Excruciatingly wrong. I ended up in the ER in December with a kidney stone, accompanied by vulvodynia I had never had. Caused by my pretty high oxalate diet–no smoothies, just lots of high ox foods like almonds, hazelnuts, chard, beets and their greens, tea, chocolate and more…much more. I haven’t been able to eat dairy for years, so the nuts were a convenient go-to food. Oh, add figs and dates to the high ox list–so LaraBars are OUT. Oh, and I had stopped drinking tea last year, after a lifetime of consuming it.
I have now done a ton of research (and thanks very much to Susan Owens and Heidi and everyone else who has paved the way with real research and made it available to us all) and am slowly eliminating the highest oxalate foods. I now see that my body pains and thyroid issues are also related, so the kidney stone did me a service, gave me a wake up call that I am heeding.
People who are dismissing this issue are being pretty intolerant…and you don’t really know if you will be next. So be kind to each other and realize that information is a good thing, not evil. Don’t be so harsh and mean about what someone else says that you don’t agree with. If you don’t like it, ignore it (but know that we will indeed help you when the time comes, even if you were a bit confused and judgmental here.) We all just need to help each other to be well. Dogma doesn’t/shouldn’t enter into it.
BTW, the China Study is a bunch of hooey. Do your research there too. It has so many methodological flaws and been misrepresented so radically that it’s basically useless (and epidemiological studies are only supposed to point out correlations that point to issues for further study using controls and real science).
Thanks for keeping us informed on obscure and controversial topics, Sarah–you never know when the information could prove useful!
Best post on here!
I am sorry but your diet didn’t make you sick with stones because of oxalates but because your diet was highly acidic period. In order for you blood PH to stay normal with this amount of acidity, it pulled minerals from your bones. When the minerals combined with the acids you created stones. IF you were drinking very alkaline green smoothies…which they are alkaline/—-and enough water to mitigate your overacidic food consumption you would be healthy with no stones. I suggest you relearn how to eat…I have been drinking green smoothies and raw green juices for 20 years…I cured kidney failure and stage 4 non Hodgkins lymphoma. This article and your and the author’s lack of knowledge is dangerous in its misinformation. I am a nutritionist and my husband a bio chemist and miicrobiologist. We have a successful practice and have referrals from doctors at Sloane Kettering because of the excellent results we’ve obtained with terminal patients. I suggest you go back and hit the books
So glad your program helps people. Please don’t try to tell me how to eat, however, or to “hit the books”—your success does not entitle you to insult me or assume you know anything about me and how I eat.
Keep helping folks, that’s where it’s at. Kindness helps, while you’re at it….
I’m not seeing very good sources noted at the end of this article to uphold the thinking that greens are bad for you. I’m beginning to think that the person writing the above article has an adversion to greens and this lets this person off the hook of having to eat them as part of a balanced diet. I remember when I was quite young, my older sister piled her portion of spinach on my dinner plate when my parents weren’t looking because she hated greens, too. I never knew eating/drinking greens was a fad. I grew up being told to eat my greens.
If you want to state something as redicidulous as don’t drink green smoothies because they are bad for you, you better make sure you post better resources to back it up.
I agree!!! I want to see more than one very questionable source!!
So now it’s bad to eat spinach? Good Lord what next.
That is ridiculous to say that you shouldn’t eat green vegetables which are packed with healthy vitamins and minerals and to cook them ‘thoroughly’ would destroy any nutrition in them.
EVERYTHING IN MODERATION
I tried reading this again to see if I misunderstood the first time. Are we saying that because oxalates effect 20% of the population, that the other 80% shouldn’t eat high oxalate foods? To me it seems as if that’s the same as saying since some people are gluten sensitive that everyone should give up wheat. I honestly think this message could have been given in the light that you should *check* to see if oxalates may negatively affect you. Similar to how World’s Healthiest Foods (whfoods.com) does. They always present balanced information.
And I feel like people on both sides of this argument have valid points, and there are also irrational arguments on both sides. There are cultures that eat only vegetables and there are cultures that eat only animal products, literally. There are healthy people from each side too. I think it’s time to step back before we demonize food and understand the actual source of where we get our information to make informed decisions.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=48
More info in greens and oxalates.