The Truth About the Green Smoothie Diet: Does It Work?4 min read

There is a lot of hype around the green smoothie diet and for good reason. This diet has been shown to help people lose weight, improve their health, and boost their energy levels. But does the green smoothie diet really work, and is it healthy for you?

What is a green smoothie diet?

A green smoothie diet is a detox type of diet where you consume nothing but green smoothies for a certain period. Typically, this diet lasts anywhere from one to three days. Green smoothies, unlike fruit juices, preserve the beneficial fibre content from whole foods.

Green smoothies are made by combining leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, arugula, and microgreens with a base liquid like water or milk. While these greens alone may taste bitter, numerous combinations can be used to improve their taste profile and boost nutritional content.

Extra ingredients may also raise a smoothie’s calorie count by increasing its fat and sugar content, including artificial sweeteners. Leafy greens are low in these nutrients naturally, so keep an eye on the quantities you’re adding to ensure an appropriate balance.

Smoothies are thought to be a healthier option than solid food because they’re easier to digest and allow your body to absorb more nutrients. Additionally, drinking smoothies can help you lose weight quickly because they’re low in calories.

Benefits of green smoothies

Green smoothies are made from fresh vegetables and fruits. You can add greens such as spinach or kale to your green smoothie, too. The nutritional values of green smoothies depend on the ingredients that you put in your smoothie. However, these are some overall benefits of drinking green smoothies:

• The raw food in a green smoothie is full of nutrients that you would miss if you cooked them first (this includes enzymes). The body needs these nutrients so that it can function optimally. For example, vitamin C helps the immune system work properly and zinc helps the body heal wounds quickly.
• While juicing fruits and vegetables takes away the fibre, it’s not the case with smoothies. The leafy greens in your smoothies still contain soluble fibre which helps with the digestive system, preventing problems, such as bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.
• The fibre in your smoothie also helps you feel full longer, which aids in your weight loss journey. Also, substituting your unhealthy sugary processed cookies with a glass of green smoothie will be much better for you, not only to lose weight but also to gain more valuable nutrition.

What you need to know before starting a smoothie diet

There are some disadvantages to having smoothie only diet that you need to know.

First of all, Smoothie only diet will contribute to your weight loss tremendously because you’ll be decreasing your calorie intake to as low as 1,200 calories a day, so if you usually consume 2,000 calories per day, and then you switch to consuming three 400-calories smoothies per day, you will absolutely lose weight quickly, according to registered dietitian Wesley Delbridge, R.D., a spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.

The issue is, a lot of it will come from lean metabolism-revving muscle, and not from fat, says Jonathan Valdez, R.D.N., C.D.N., owner of Genki Nutrition, and a spokesperson for the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. When you go back to your old (solid) food habits, your body will start storing those calories as fat, therefore you’ll regain the weight you lost, and possibly even more. It’s less likely that anybody can stand drinking only smoothies for the rest of their lives. Plus, doing so will lead to health problems and you will lack important nutrients that your body needs.

Even if you fill your smoothies with nutritional ingredients, a glass of smoothies is usually 300-400 in calories, which if you only drink three glasses of smoothies daily, the total will come up to about 1,200 calories and it is not enough for your body to function. This will lead to hunger, and when you’re hungry, it will lead to food craving, and food craving will cause you to binge eat. This will cause you to gain weight faster than ever.

In addition, to balance the bitterness of green smoothies, sugar is usually added to the smoothie. If not done properly, this will result in the smoothies having a high sugar amount because sugar doesn’t only come from sweeteners, but also fruits, milk, or flavoured yogurt.

Incorporating green smoothies into your diet

Drinking smoothies is still beneficial for you if done properly. We always recommend a balanced and sustainable diet by either adding smoothies as a substitute for your breakfast, as an afternoon snack or if you’re craving unhealthy food. Drinking green smoothies, or any type of smoothies is still better than eating unhealthy chips or processed sugary snacks.

If you want to try a green smoothie only diet, you can still do it to cleanse and detox your body, but we recommend doing it for 3-5 days only, no longer than 7-10 days, and after this, you can start eating healthy food with balanced nutrition.

Basic green smoothies recipe example

Here’s a basic recipe for making a dairy-free and vegan-friendly green smoothie:

• 2 cups unsweetened liquid, such as almond milk
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 frozen ripe banana
• 2 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons of nut butter, such as almond butter

Other fruits that you can add are frozen cherries, mango, pineapple, or any type of berries. The same goes for the leafy greens, kale, collard greens also work well. Additionally, you can add protein powder as well if you want to have it as a meal replacement.