Whether you have never tried green smoothies or whether you have been enjoying green smoothies for a while already, you may have stumbled across this statement as well:
Green smoothies are dangerous! Green smoothies are unhealthy – green smoothies are poisonous!
Now the big question is of course – is that true?
Luckily, no. It is not true. Green smoothies are actually great for you and can transform your health.
But how did anyone come up with the idea that green smoothies could be bad for you?
Oxalic Acid!
Leafy greens contain oxalic acid, especially spinach, beetroot and chard. Since oxalic acid has been linked to kidney stones, it would be easy to say that therefore green smoothies provoke kidney stones.
But oxalic acid can also be found in many foods. All of the following have a high oxalate content ( meaning an oxalate content of more than 10mg – content level may differ depending on climate, location, part of plant analysed, quality of soil, ripeness):
| FRUITS with high oxalate levels: Blackberries, Blueberries, Citrus fruit (Lemon & Lime peel, Orange peel, Tangerines), Concord grapes, Fig, dried, Kiwi, Plums, Raspberries, Red currents, Starfruit, Strawberries |
VEGETABLES with high oxalate levels: |
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NUTS & SEEDS with high oxalate levels: Almonds, Brazil nuts, Cashews, Hazel nuts, Peanuts and Peanut butter, Pecans, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds |
GRAINS with high oxalate levels: Amaranth, buckwheat, oatmeal, popcorn, spelt, stone ground flour, wheat bran, wheat germ, whole wheat bread, whole wheat flour |
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ANIMAL PRODUCTS with high oxalate levels: Eggs, and what’s even more interesting: your body produces oxalic acid when digesting meat. |
OTHER FOODS with high oxalate levels: Beer, black pepper, carbonated drinks, chocolate and cocoa, soft drinks with soda, tea (black and green) |
So I cannot eat anything if I am prone to kidney or gall bladder stones??
Don’t worry – it’s all about variety and balance.
Only if you have extreme calcium deficiency issues, already have been diagnosed with gall stones or kidney stones, it will be smart to consume the foods mentioned above in restricted moderation or stay away completely (people mainly have issues with beet greens, spinach, swiss chard and rhubarb). There are still plenty of foods you can eat and you could also look into a kidney cleanse or gallbladder cleanse.
But otherwise, at least in regards of green smoothies, a rotation of greens is sufficient to steer well clear of any issues. This means, have a different green in your smoothie for each day of the week. The next week, you can repeat the greens.
For example:
Monday lettuce, Tuesday mint, Wednesday spinach, Friday cilantro, Saturday carrot tops, Sunday basil. Or chard. Or arugula. Or kale. Or parsley. Or Bok Choy. Or dandelion. Or romaine ..
There is an abundance of greens waiting to be discovered by you ♡