– by Monique Batien
It happens. You discover spinach. You discover that, despite the shockingly green and gooey appearance, bananas and spinach blended together in a green smoothie taste AMAZING!! And it sure beats chewing your way through buckets of salad! You start drinking your beloved banana and spinach green smoothie every morning, congratulating yourself for making such a great choice!!
Then someone comes along to burst your green bubble and tells you that this new and healthy habit you’ve just embarked on may have a down side… that you shouldn’t really be eating all that spinach. It’s got… *gasp* OXALIC ACID in it (whatever that is)!!
Today we share a Question and Answer feature from nutritionist Monique Bastien. Find out what the fuss and fear towards this fresh green is all about!
Q: I have a question about which greens to use. Some sources say not to use those such as lambsquarters, beet leaves, purslane, spinach, Swiss chard, parsley, amaranth leaves and sorrel. Is this true?
Here’s what I read:
“Some greens are high in oxalic acid which binds with calcium to form calcium oxalate, an insoluble salt. Add these to a Green Smoothie for variety, but do NOT make an entire Smoothie out of them. They are lambsquarters, beet leaves, purslane, spinach, Swiss chard, parsley, amaranth leaves and sorrel. Leave rhubarb leaves alone; they can poison you when eaten in large quantities. Sweet baby-leaf spinach is fine to eat in quantity. It tastes like the acid has been bred out of it.
LOW in oxalic acid and good to eat in Green Smoothies are: dandelion greens and kale (more calcium than dairy), lettuce, celery, watercress, escarole, mustard greens, turnip greens, carrot tops, broccoli, asparagus, cabbage, and most other greens.”
If you can find any clarification I’d appreciate it. Thanks!
A: Hello Green Crusaders:
For one thing all greens have oxalic acid in them, but in different amounts depending on the greens. As far as being worried about it binding the calcium, you need not worry.
Let’s think logically. Here’s the thing (and think about this), we and other animals get most of our calcium from greens. If we were not able to absorb it because of it binding with oxalic acid then there would be a lot of animals as well as humans with brittle bones, which in the case of animals who eat naturally, there isn’t.
Every herbivore animal has milk to feed their young and calcium is in it for their young. Their young need calcium to build strong bones quickly so that they can run fast and avoid predators. Again, they get this from greens that they eat. They don’t go around saying, “I can’t eat lambs quarters or parsley,” do they? They know that greens are the best food for them. In fact, they prefer it over any other food they are given.
I think ladies that you need to stop reading and worrying about what the so-called experts are saying. Cause let’s face it, they are all saying something different. Does that make any sense to you? I mean come on, they can’t even agree.
I want you to remember something that I learned a long time ago when I was studying nutrition. What they know and what they tell you are two different things. I also want you to use your common sense; you are just as smart as anyone else. You have the ability to think. Use your own experience and skepticism when you are reading things about food, or anything else.
I’d like you to think about this as well. I’ll use my family as an example, (but there are many other examples as well). I raised my children on a vegan diet, 70-80% raw. They got their calcium from greens and a small amount of nuts and seeds each day.
My children are the picture of health; they don’t get sick and so they don’t visit the doctor, except for a health check up once a year. They are strong, tall, and solid due to strong bones. My oldest is 6 feet tall, as strong as an ox, and by no means weak.
I noticed in your statement that you quoted that they say, “do NOT make an entire Smoothie out of them.” Well you’ll find that the recipes don’t do that. You are eating the greens with fruit about 60/40. Trust me, you would never want to make an entire smoothie out of just greens; it wouldn’t taste very good.
Here is another thing to remember. We should always eat a variety of foods; that includes greens. You should never eat only one food in large quantities. You know the saying, “too much of a good thing, can be bad”? It’s true. The 7 day detox and the 21-Day Detox program give a wide variety of foods, as well as the flexibility to chose something else that you like instead. So look over the recipes and you’ll see.
One more thing. Greens build your body up because of the high mineral content, whereas fruit cleanses and detoxes the body. They make a great combination.
So eat a variety and have fun.
Monique
Monique Bastien is the author of Have Your Cake and Eat it Too