Growing Strong, Going Green
True story: I never really ate green vegetables until I was in recovery. Really!
Now I start every day with a green smoothie and I feel the power of every living thing flowing right through my body. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Addiction is fueled by dietary imbalance (Hello, Twix bars! Potato chips! Churros!), and addiction fuels nutritional imbalance, sucking vitamins and minerals out of our body’s storehouse, leaving us drained and spent.
Greens, the diet of our earliest human ancestors, are the answer to what ails us, addressing many symptoms people in recovery often experience: poor digestion, nutrient deficiencies, dehydration, fatigue, moodiness, and constant cravings. (A morning green drink stabilizes blood sugar and contains amino acids that are the building blocks for our cells, hormones and enzymes. In other words, everything we need to survive!)
Even if our overall diet continues to be just okay, simply adding more greens will help. (For one thing, when we load up on greens, they start to crowd out the foods that make us sick!). How did a person who gulped down glass after glass of wine every night until I blacked out become addicted to a big glass of green smoothie every morning at dawn? Baby steps, friends, baby steps.
American Diet vs. Green Addiction
When I immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager, I assimilated by assimilating the Great American Diet into my body: Pizza! Hamburgers! French fries! Sure, if there was something green on top of my pizza, I ate it. When I ate salads, I ate salads with so much other stuff in them --croutons, cheese, dressings full of sugar-- you could hardly see the green. Eventually, I gained about 20 pounds.
I don’t remember really eating green vegetables until I met my nutritionist. By that point, I’d spent five years ping-ponging between alcohol, junk food, and sugar. So, when she told me how a healthy plate should look --half of your plate should be green!-- I was ready to try it. (Couldn’t be any worse, right?) The results had me reeling! I felt amazing. Very, very quickly, I became addicted to greens.
I see the same thing all the time now with my clients: the more greens I ate, the more I wanted to eat. If I go without greens for two days, I feel like a wilted flower. Of course, there’s psychological dependence: If I don’t eat greens, I’m not healthy. But physically, too, without greens, my digestion isn’t the same, my mood isn’t the same, my skin tone isn’t the same. My new addiction feels primal: before our ancient human ancestors could hunt or farm or cook, they pulled wild green plants out of the ground to survive. When I eat the food the earliest humans survived on, I feel connected to my deepest self and to the earth beneath my feet. Those are pretty powerful connections!
Today, I have my morning green drink, half a plate of greens with lunch, half a plate of greens with dinner. That might sound like an impossible amount of vegetables to eat. But, when I work with my clients, I tell them how to get there:
Salad, Salad, Salad? Definitely not!
When I meet with my clients, I always ask: What’s your favorite green vegetable? Let’s start there. But there is actually a right way and an easy way to approach a green diet. Here are some thing to consider:
Go Green, not yellow
Green foods fortify us with three things: chlorophyll, protein, and vitamin A. Chlorophyll helps turn the carotenoids in green foods into vitamin A more quickly than carotenoids in yellow foods do the same. Vitamin A is critical for liver function, immunity, and protein production. And Vitamin A deficiency is so common in recovery (Wrinkled look, anyone?).
Salad, salad, salad. No!
When I ask my clients about the vegetables they eat, some of them tell me: Salad for lunch, salad for lunch, salad for lunch. Salad as a regular meal sounds healthy, but the truth is that a constant diet of water-based leaves doesn’t have much substance and can be hard to digest. Salads are best when salad greens are seasonal (spring and summer), and as the side to a substantial meal. And, as always: mix it up! Use different leaves and combinations. No single nutrient is enough to keep us strong.
Stick to nutrient-dense, dark, leafy greens
Dark, leafy greens like kale; baby greens like baby romaine; and cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts and broccoli are all wonderful choices. (Spinach? Not so much. Its high oxalic acid content can inhibit calcium and iron metabolism, and also produce a laxative effect. Especially if anemia, fragile teeth, osteoporosis, arthritis, mineral deficiencies, or diarrhea are concerns for you, limit your intake of all oxalic acid-rich foods.) Eat dark, leafy greens plain or integrate them with anything you’re going to eat! But...
Cooked, not raw
Raw plants are great when they are seasonal and local, but not as the primary ingredient of a diet for people in recovery. I lived with raw vegans for six months and cannot recommend an exclusive diet of raw vegetables, especially for people in recovery! For many people in recovery, whose digestion is often poor, they are very hard to digest and absorb. After six months as a raw vegan, my period became extremely painful and I became anemic. Instead, lightly cook or steam your vegetables to break down the cell walls and make them easier to digest. Blending vegetables has the same effect. So throw a couple kale leaves on top of your next soup or stew and let them steam for five minutes. Or throw a few baby romaine leaves into your next smoothie. You won’t even taste it, but you’ll start to enjoy the effects of a green diet!
Start green
I love my green drink early in the morning, not just because it loads me up with healthy nutrients, but also because, when you start your day green (instead of with coffee and a donut), you set yourself up for success.
Learn more
All my clients receive a beautifully designed brochure with information about all the greens you can eat, their nutritional benefits, and how to prepare them. Schedule a FREE chat with me to get yours!
Try a little bit! Start where you are!
You don’t have to become the Jolly Green Giant. Little changes make a big difference, so start incorporating spirulina or sprouts or steamed kale into your diet and see where it takes you! You might be surprised at how quickly you become a green addict, too!
I wish I could tell you that I am completely free from addiction right now, but I am completely addicted to greens.
Eat as many greens as you like and rotate between different ones for maximum benefits and energy gain. Fill half your plate with greens and ask for extra green side dishes when you’re out, no matter what else you order. Always think green!
Enjoy!
I’m Elena Singh, founder of the Sweet Science wellness program. I’m a certified nutrition counselor, science-based health coach, and addiction survivor. I help people in recovery heal their bodies and minds so they can learn to love sober life—not just survive it.
READ MY STORY
Glorious Greens!
Greens are high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and zinc, and they’re a powerhouse of vitamins A, C, E, and K, fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.
My favorite greens:
Cruciferous family greens:
Broccoli, broccoli rabe, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, collards, arugula, watercress, and kale, plus the lesser-known Asian greens: komatsuna, mizuna, and tatsoi
Leafy greens: in addition to the leafy greens of the cruciferous family above (those in bold), there is an abundance to choose from: Belgian and curly endive; Boston and Bibb lettuce; Mâche (Valerianella Locusta); mesclun; mustard greens; radicchio; and romaine, head, and butter lettuce. (Eat spinach, chard, and beet greens in moderation, especially in recovery. Their high oxalic acid content can inhibit calcium and iron metabolism, and also produce a laxative effect. Not fun!)
Other green vegetables:
Asparagus, artichokes, string beans, haricots verts, celery, cucumbers, and peas
Sprouts & microgreens:
Sunflower sprouts, broccoli sprouts, buckwheat sprouts, other field green sprouts and microgreens, and small bean sprouts. All are best eaten raw, though they can be lightly cooked.
Fresh green herbs: basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, garlic chives and scapes, lovage, mint, and sorrel. Finely chop and sprinkle on any dish, or even in tea to spice it up with fresh flavor and add extra vitamins and minerals.