Children and dieters alike have been told many a time to eat their greens. All the while, health guru’s clutch their kale smoothies closely and hiss at anything not in their favourite hue. But in 2014, we are seeing an exciting trend emerging.
Dieters are going green with envy
After years of kale smoothies, broccoli breakfasts and serious nutriant deficiency, dieters lives started to become more colourful. It began with the occasional brave Instagram post of a berry smoothie here, or a vibrant fruit salad snap there, and suddenly the dietary world of 2015 was changed in the best kind of way.
It is inadvisable to restrict your diet to only greens. At best, this will give you a serious nutrient deficiency. When you cut out other fruit and food from your diet, you miss out on vital nutrients and vitamins needed to function healthily.
Rememberthe phrase everything in moderation? It is possible to have too much of a “good” thing.
At worst, restricting your diet to only greens may result in death. Green veggies are rich in fiber. In recommended amounts, fiber is one of the healthiest nutrients for your body – it encourages healthy digestion, prevents blood sugar spikes, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure levels, eases hunger pangs and lowers your risk of obesity and premature death.
But studies have proved you can have too much of a good thing. According to Columbia University’s health department, excess fiber in your diet can lead to nutrient deficiencies, abdominal discomfort, digestive difficulties and even blocking of the gastrointestinal tract.
What tips the scales
Now the question on everyone’s tongue is what tips the scale? How many greens can you continue to have? And what is a healthy balance?
Truth be told, the answer to this question is different for everyone. We all have different body shapes, sizes and metabolisms. So it doesn’t make sense to have a cookie cutter amount that works for everyone.
A good guideline is this: eat no more than four servings of fruit and seven servings of veggies per day. An even better guideline is this: listen to your body. Listen to your digestive tract and overall health. You may find your limit is five servings of veggies.
And at is okay! The most important thing is that you are healthy. You may also find your tolerance for any fruit or veggies is low. This is most likely to be true if your diet was severely ill balanced before. All your body is trying to tell you is that it needs time to adjust and to take things slowly.
But what about my beloved kale smoothie?
Just because of revelations about how dangerous a restrictively green diet is, it does not mean you should entirely give up on something you love. However you should always exercise caution. The dangerous thing about kale, spinach, celery and other leafy smoothies, is it’s easy to lose track of your servings.
By that I mean, you can easily have too many servings and not even realise it until it takes an tole on your health. That is when the overload of oxolate causes oxolate stones to form in body tissue such as the brain or heart. Ew!
So if you still must indulge in your slightly toxic green smoothies, go ahead. But please only do so in moderation. For me, I’m going to be embracing this multicolour dietary trend with open arms.
