Speaker 1:
Welcome to The Dr. Gundry Podcast, where Dr. Steven Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone. Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements, and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Hey, I know what we’re going to do today. I’ve got the world-famous, three times James Beard award-winning chef, Jimmy Schmidt, who has graciously stuck around after introducing his phenomenal JR Ranch Foods Beef with Benefits, food you love that loves you back. And I’ve talked him into sticking around in the kitchen, because I hear all the time from you guys, my patients, we love condiments. Condiments we grew up with, mayonnaise, ketchup, bottled salad dressings. And we’re going to show you today how to do it right.
So, I want you to do something very quickly now. Pause the video, run to your refrigerator or cabinet, and grab your go-to condiment. Mayonnaise, ketchup, even your favorite salad dressing. Take that jar and check out the ingredients. Now, here’s something that’s probably in everybody’s cabinet, mayonnaise, mayo. Look at the back of the ingredients. First ingredient is soybean oil. First of all, that is mostly an omega-six fat. It’s loaded with lectins, and it’s the number one ingredient. Okay? Second is eggs and egg yolks. Well, I can guarantee you that these did not come from pastured hens. Next one’s water. Okay, we finally got a decent ingredient. Distilled vinegar, that’ll do you okay. Oops, next ingredient is sugar. And sure enough, then there’s some really interesting, weird protecting things to protect the flavor, which is usually an endocrine disruptor. So, this has got 12 grams of evil oil per serving, and that’s a tablespoon. And I guarantee you, you’re probably using more than tablespoon. So Jimmy, this is what people are killing themselves with every day.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Absolutely. Mayonnaise is lovely, it’s the number one condiment in the world by fact, but it could be the best nutritional delivery system ever.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
All right, so how do we fix this?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Well, it’s pretty easy. First of all, we’re going to get some lemon juice, although you do need an acid in making this dish. So, we’re just going to squeeze these lemons in here.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And can they just buy bottled lemon juice or do we need fresh lemons?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Well, fresh lemons are better, because obviously they haven’t been manipulated.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
That’s true.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Or heat has not been applied to them to diminish their nutrients. With citrus, the fresh form of it is completely bioavailable. Unlike heat usually helps everything else, it doesn’t really help lemons.
So let’s get some lemon juice in there. Now, the lemon is important not just for flavor, but it acts as an acid, which helps support the emulsification. And emulsification is usually two items, liquids, like water and oil, that don’t like to hold each other together. But through emulsion, through technique, the oil turns into very tiny droplets and then starts to thicken. So we’ve got our lemon juice in here. We’ll add in the egg yolks. Now-
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Did you guys see the color of those egg yolks? I feel like I’m back in Italy. This is actually pastured chickens.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yeah, they’re beautiful egg yolks. So, we’re going to make an emulsion. The first emulsion and primary one is between the fat of the yolk and the acid of the yolk and the protein structure, because yolks have fat in them. Good fat.
So first we start here to get our primary emulsion started as you can see. That’s what the acid supports. Second, we’re going to throw in a little bit of mustard for flavor, but also, the mustard is an emulsifier too. So now, it’s a walk in the park to get this done. Now our primary emulsion is in place, you can start to drizzle in the oil. We start slowly so that we can get all the oil broken down into those little droplets.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And that’s one of the keys I learned long ago, probably from you. Do this part slowly, don’t just dump in and have [inaudible 00:04:52].
Jimmy Schmidt:
Exactly, and if it ever gets too thick and starts to break the oil coming out of suspension, add more liquid, which will then emulsify it back down.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Looking good.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Sure does. That’s good.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
I like it.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Slowly add the olive oil so that it begins to form the small droplets that will form the emulsion. And you continue slowly, it’ll continue to break down those droplets, disperse it within the liquids, and thicken the sauce naturally, so that you end up with mayonnaise.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And I think you taught me, don’t just take the half a cup of olive oil and drop it in.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Right, because you will not be able to disperse it into droplets to form the emulsion. And the emulsion is now a permanent one, and it will hold together and not break. It’s beautiful. Now it just needs some salt.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay.
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s your A department.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
All right. And please, please, folks, get yourself iodized sea salt. It’s almost in every grocery store now, if not, you can go to your online place. It’s easy to find. I’ve got literally six or eight different iodized sea salts at any time. And we’re going to put some… Why the iodized sea salt, folks? I check thyroid levels on all my patients. You wouldn’t believe the number of people who are hypothyroid because they’re using pink salt or sea salt and it doesn’t have any iodine. I change them over to iodized salt and they’re good to go. Yeah, a little more, huh?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Right, and iodine is important for brain development too.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Absolutely.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Beautiful mayonnaise, it’s that simple.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And that’s it.
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s it.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Now, we can put that in the refrigerator and it won’t separate, yeah?
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s correct. And yeah, it’s stored in the refrigeration for a week to two weeks, especially if you’re using good eggs. And if you want to store it longer, you can always take the yolks, mix them with a little bit of water, and microwave them just for 10 seconds and stir it in 10 seconds, that type of thing. And you’ll actually pasteurize the egg yolk, which will solidify it from any type of growth, and then you have a long-term solution too.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
What a great trick.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yeah. [inaudible 00:07:16].
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah, thank you, good trick. All right, so you know that’s not hard, folks. It’s easy, and you’re going to have something again, food you love that loves you back. All right, let’s go on.
Okay, now you probably grabbed a salad dressing and nothing better than bottled salad dressing. It’s easy, it’s quick.
Jimmy Schmidt:
It’s got to be healthy, right?
Dr. Steven Gundry:
It’s got to be healthy, and it is got healthy ingredients, and particularly the expensive ones sound really healthy. Like this one is gluten-free, no high fructose corn syrup, no MSG, it’s vegetarian. But the number one ingredient is canola oil. Now, canola oil, unless it says organic canola oil is usually a horrible choice, because almost all canola in North America is sprayed with Roundup. And about 95% of canola oil is sprayed with Roundup. So, that’s not a great choice. Water, oh, good. Rice vinegar, we’re okay. Oops, here comes the trouble, honey, cane sugar. So, honey is the third ingredient, cane sugar is the fourth ingredient. There’s actually four grams of sugars in two tablespoons. A gram, there’s four grams of carbohydrates in a teaspoon of sugar. So each one of these is one, two tablespoons, is a teaspoon of sugar. So you got a bad oil and sugars, but it sounds so wonderful. So, how do we fix this?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Well, dressings are very easy to make, and there’s so many wonderful choices out there with different types of vinegars, whether a red wine vinegar that gives you those nutrients, or a balsamic, which has been aged and is lovely and delicious. There’s a new wine coming on the market next year, which is cherry wine vinegar. Cherries are absolutely full of polyphenols. They are turned into juice, which is still full of polyphenols, but full of sugar. So they actually ferment it into wine to get rid of the sugar, and then convert the wine into vinegar with live culture, so you get the benefit out of the vinegar in your gut, but with five times more polyphenols than anything else on the market. Plus, it’s very pretty.
So we’ll do this. So we’ll start off with a little bit of vinegar, and you don’t need much. Usually that’s like a three to four to one ratio of oil to it. Now the trick is on shallots, shallots can be a little biting. So if you take them and put them in a paper towel and squeeze them, you can remove that level of juice that has been triggered by us cutting them. As we cut them, it’s releasing certain enzymes to protect itself to try to heal, the shallot, because the shallot doesn’t know it’s dead. Just because it’s on the counter, it just thinks it’s hanging out. So you squeeze it, you draw out those juices. This is also the trick the French use on their famous mignonette sauce for oysters. You add the shallots in, and then mix it in with the vinegar. Now if you got a little bit of time, you can always let it sit and it actually kind of pickles the shallots, which makes them quite delightful. Right?
Next up, I am going to throw a mustard I like that’s good.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Oh, good, I do too. And it’s so easy, it makes a big difference.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Maybe I can.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Maybe you can, if we took the top off. I don’t know.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yeah, fooled me. It’s not nice to fool the chef.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
That’s right. And is it okay if I use dry mustard? I actually use dry mustard a lot.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Absolutely, dry mustard is great.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay.
Jimmy Schmidt:
It’s dry before it turns wet again.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah, that’s exactly right.
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s part of the flavor development. All right, now you can start to add in the oil.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay.
Jimmy Schmidt:
And we’re going to do about three times of the amount of vinegar we put in. Now, the mustard will actually help this emulsion, as we talked about before. It is not a permanent emulsion like we did with the mayonnaise because of the attributes of the yolk and such, that protein structure makes it a permanent emulsion. It’s beautiful, but now you’re going to get the delicious flavor of the shallots, the vinegar, the mustard, and the oil, and see how it’s thickening up so it’ll coat very nicely.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Trouble is, that-
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yeah, this is your famous Chef Select olive oil, which is absolutely spectacular, in flavor and polyphenols.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah. This particular olive oil, the reason it’s called Chef Select, is that this particular olive oil is used by more one, two, and three-star Michelin chefs in the world. And it actually comes from the same grower and his family that makes high polyphenol Gundry MD olive oil.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Right, exactly.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah, so.
Jimmy Schmidt:
And you know why Italians invented salads, don’t you?
Dr. Steven Gundry:
To give… about, to the olive oil.
Jimmy Schmidt:
To eat olive oil, exactly. That’s exactly about it.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah. The only purpose of food is to get olive oil into your mouth.
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s right. So, throw some salt in there, any other spices you want to put in, it’s awesome. And it really is that easy.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
It’s about right.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yep, and we’re good to go. It’s that simple.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Boom.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Tastes better, better for you.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And we could put that in the refrigerator, even in a shake bottle.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Right.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
To re-emulsify it.
Jimmy Schmidt:
For a couple of weeks, no problem. Since you kind of pickled the shallots, they will stay very stable in that point.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
All right, now here’s everybody’s favorite condiment of all time. Ketchup. Now, oh, what can I say about tomatoes? Well, first of all, tomatoes are part of the nightshade family. They have peels and seeds that are loaded with lectins. And interesting, Italians by law to make tomato paste or tomato sauce, that tomatoes have to be peeled and de-seeded. There is no such law in the United States.
Now, if that’s not bad enough, for instance, the first ingredient is tomato. Doesn’t say peeled and de-seeded tomatoes, it says tomato. So what they do is just throw tomatoes in. Distilled vinegar, second ingredient. Oops, high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup, normally sugar, sucrose is half glucose and half fructose. Anything beyond that is more fructose than sucrose. And there’s no law determining how high the high fructose can be. Sometimes it’s 55%, sometimes it’s 60, 70%. And fructose, sadly, is turned into fat in our liver. Oh, no. So there’s high fructose corn syrup but to add insult injury, they then add corn syrup, which is-
Jimmy Schmidt:
That’s crazy.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Yeah, it’s like double whammy. And then there’s salt and spices and onion powder. And so there’s four grams of sugar in one tablespoon, and so each tablespoon, and nobody uses a tablespoon, you’re getting a teaspoon of sugar in every tablespoon, and it’s bad sugar. So-
Jimmy Schmidt:
All right.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Let’s get rid of this. What can we use instead?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Well, we can start with tomato paste. Tomato paste is a good choice because it’s pretty uniform, because it’s actually cooked and reduced down to a certain density and a certain brick level, so you know what’s going on with it. You can also use other tomato purees. They’re a little looser, may not mimic the texture that you want when you add in the rest of the ingredients.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Now you just chef spoke. What’s a bricks level? We’re not making a brick ketchup, are we?
Jimmy Schmidt:
No, we’re not. Bricks is actually a measure of concentration that can be applied to things like sugar, but it can also be applied with other substance on density ratio. Okay, so we’ll throw this little tomato paste in here.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay.
Jimmy Schmidt:
We give it a little bit of a swirl around. We want to put in, we do want it sweeter. We like stuff that’s sweet. Why don’t you throw some of your allulose in there?
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So the thing I-
Jimmy Schmidt:
And explain what it is.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So allulose is actually a true sugar. It was first discovered in figs, but it has absolutely not only no calories, but it was actually found to be a prebiotic, that friendly bacteria of love. And there’s some interesting human studies that regular use of allulose allows weight loss, and allulose seems to prevent the sugar spikes, particularly that you get for coffee or something like that. So it’s a win-win, it has no calories, but it actually can help you lose weight and feed good bacteria.
Jimmy Schmidt:
All right. So, in keeping with the recipe, we’re throwing in a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Actually, apple, yeah, apple cider vinegar. This has active cultures in it. You could use the cherry vinegar as well if you wanted to, but you want to throw in more of a neutral red flavor. I think flavors are very direct colors. So you think orange is a color, orange is a flavor. So in this case, we’re keeping that red kind of flavor going. So then you want to give me a shake of, we’ve got garlic and onion, which is the traditional route.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Should be enough.
Jimmy Schmidt:
In powder, and they’re pretty effective of being able to add it and mimic the regular flavor. Now, if you want to go a step further, then you can throw in things like paprika, which is again, red flavor. Go ahead, or turmeric is also fun too.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Let’s go for some paprika.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Okay, and obviously, paprika is full of polyphenols. Add a little turmeric too.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Here it comes.
Jimmy Schmidt:
There we go. You can always make a caution orange mayonnaise with turmeric.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
That’d be fun.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Yeah, it’d be fun. Change your colors.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And how about a little black pepper?
Jimmy Schmidt:
Absolutely.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay. All right.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Right. Now, the taste is already there, it will work really well, obviously. Actually, why don’t we, yeah, I’ll slide this over here. We’ll put it in a pan to cook it just briefly, and with just a little, can you add in a little splash water for me?
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Mm-hmm.
Jimmy Schmidt:
And it will reduce down back into texture. Now, the purpose of heating it, is heat is an active ingredient, obviously, that allows the flavor of the spices to be released. The volatile oils as they’re called. And having them being released makes them more bioavailable. So this is a case where heat is really good to expand that flavor. So it’s a great delivery method for additional polyphenols and flavor.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
And how fast was that?
Jimmy Schmidt:
It’s fast, and if you’re in a hurry, you don’t even have to throw it on the stove, you’ll miss a little polyphenol, no big deal.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
Okay.
Jimmy Schmidt:
Your gut will work out the rest.
Dr. Steven Gundry:
So we’ll put this on the stove so we can have it for later. All right, all right. So, there it is. Three really bad condiments for your health that you’re probably using every day. Three really quick ways to make these condiments food you love that loves you back.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the hidden dangers of soda and reveal the worst offenders out there. Then towards the end, I’m going to make you a few of my approved healthy soda alternatives. But before I get into it, make sure you subscribe if you’re watching on YouTube, or hit follow if you’re listening.
Okay, let’s get started. Topic one, the dangers of soda. By now, I hope you know soda is bad, really bad. A single serving of soda contains around 39 grams of sugar. Drinking just one bottle a day could pack on as much as 25 extra pounds a year. And this much sugar is highly addictive, so you crave more and more soda. So it is also contain harmful acids, which can be a problem if you have a stomach issues such as gastroesophageal reflux, and they’re linked to dental, kidney, and heart issues. So, stay away.
Last week I was in Omaha, Nebraska to get an award from my high school as Hall of Famer, and it brought me back. Our next door neighbor was a professor of chemistry at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. And he used to delight in having us kids bring a tooth up to his house where he would open a bottle of soda and put the tooth in the soda and we would watch it dissolve before our eyes. And I’ve never forgotten it, and you should not forget that either. These phosphates in soda are one of the best ways to produce osteoporosis and osteopenia and tooth rot, that you can design and everybody’s drinking them. And no, diet soda is just as bad, if not worse.
Now, I was a Diet Coke addict. I drank eight diet Cokes a day, and I did that so I could lose weight. And of course, I was 70 pounds overweight. Now, it’s thanks to artificial sweeteners like sucralose or aspartame, or even the newer ones that have even weirder names. These have all been linked to metabolic issues. They’ve all been linked to changing our gut microbiome for the worst. So please, please, please, every one of these commercials about how wonderful these zero calorie sodas are, not true. Plus, they’re still full of these nasty acids and phosphates that are going to do a number on you in more ways than one.
Okay, but what about these new healthy sodas? Now, there are these brightly colored cans labeled as healthy sodas, practically begging you to try the future of soda. Now, the marketing is really slick and convincing. These sodas claim to be packed with gut-friendly ingredients like prebiotics, apple cider vinegar, and plant fibers. They promise everything from weight loss to clear skin to an immunity boost. Please, flip one around and examine the nutrition label, that’s where the real story unfolds. For instance, one of the best-selling healthy sodas packs in 16 grams of carbs per can. That’s like a small candy bar in liquid form. Another one claims it’s infused with apple cider vinegar. But guess what? The second ingredient is cane sugar. Now, your gut doesn’t take kindly to refined sugar, no matter how pretty the can looks.
So here’s what I recommend as a healthy soda alternative, my healthy soda recipe. I’m actually going to give three variations of it for you to try right now. It’s just a few simple ingredients. Italian sparkling water. Now, I personally like San Pellegrino. It has the highest sulfur content of any bottled water, and please, buy it in a glass jar. But here’s a fun fact. By law, Italian sparkling waters have to be pH balanced. There is no law in France, there is no law elsewhere that you balance the acidity from carbon dioxide. So I’m a big fan. I have no relationship with them, but I drink a lot of it.
So you take any Italian sparkling water, my preference is San Pellegrino, and you make what I described long before TikTok or any other YouTube video, was my healthy Coke. Now, get yourself some aged balsamic vinegar. Most of the time it’ll say balsamic vinegar of Modena. Modena I’ve been to, it’s where almost all balsamic vinegar comes from. Now, the longer it’s aged, the thicker it gets, and actually, the sweeter it tastes. But here’s something interesting, you’re going to look on the back and say, oh my gosh, there’s 11 grams of sugar in here. Labeling laws in the United States require you to put the original ingredients that you started with to make the product. And guess what they started with to make balsamic vinegar? Grapes, and grapes are loaded with sugar.
But you say, wait a minute, wine started with grapes and I don’t see any sugar on the wine label. That’s because there’s no labeling laws on alcohol, that’s because the alcohol industry lobbied against a label. So you would actually see the same thing on a bottle of wine, but it’s not there. So just because you see all that sugar, same way with yogurt. If you look at plain yogurt, you’ll see that there’s nine grams of sugar per serving. No, there isn’t, it’s all gone. The bacteria have eaten it. And I can’t tell you how many patients bother me, that, oh my gosh, it’s loaded with sugar.
So, start off slowly. For most people, I recommend about a tablespoon. I personally use two. Now you’ll notice, this stuff is pretty doggone thick. I hope you can see that on camera. And the thicker, the more it’s going to taste like a fake Coke. Now you can, if it’s too bitter for you, here’s a trick. A lot of times it takes a little getting used to. So, get yourself some allulose. Now, allulose is a true sugar, but it has no calories. In fact, it’s actually a prebiotic fiber. So if you want and get used to this, put some allulose in. Or there’s now liquid allulose and you can squeeze that. And here it comes. So you mix that up. And some people, you want a lime Coke or a lemon Coke. Let’s put a squeeze of lime in. I personally don’t use this, but there’s nothing like a little fresh citrus to go around. Then just add some ice cubes and you’ve got a safe Coke. And the great thing is, oh, that tastes great.
One last thing, balsamic vinegar has the highest resveratrol content per ounce of anything, far more than wine. And resveratrol, of course, is the magic French paradox that people in France don’t get heart disease, live forever because they’re drinking so much red wine. So, you can doctor this any way you want, but that is the original fake Coke.
But you say, eh, I’m not a Coke fan, a cola fan. How about a little something different? Well, it turns out that bitters, bitters have been making a comeback. They’re obviously in every bar now, but you’ll often see these in, well, you’ll certainly see them in liquor stores, but you’re beginning to see them in grocery stores. And so get yourself some bitters. This is Angostura, that’s one of the most famous and put some bitters in. Now, bitters by the name are bitter, but these things are concentrated polyphenols. And the more we’re learning about how bitters became popular and how bitters are digestive aids, it turns out that’s because of the polyphenols that are bioavailable, because they’ve been fermented. Now, this is too bitter. So this time I’m going to use some liquid allulose. And again, you’re going to put it in to taste. And then you’re going to get out your trusty sparkling water. And don’t obsess about finding San Pellegrino, but it’s almost everywhere. And stir it around and drop some ice cubes in, and you’ve got a safe root beer. This one almost tastes like a cream soda.
And finally, if you’re a fan of cherry or vanilla Coke, get yourself some flavored Stevia drops, and mix these in. So we’re going to make a black cherry vanilla cream. So we’ll take, usually all you need is a squirt of each. And these are easy to find in almost all grocery stores now, certainly in every health food store. Worse comes to worse, they’re online. Again, with this combination, you usually don’t need any additional allulose because they’re sweetened with stevia. And throw in the San Pellegrino. And again, have fun. If you want to make this and put the cherry flavoring in, be my guest. You want a vanilla fake Coke, use vanilla. The options are endless. We have probably, I don’t know, six or seven different flavors at home. So whenever we’re in the mood for root beer, we have that, if we want a cherry fake Coke. And there you go, we definitely have vanilla cherry here. Oh, I can’t decide. I’ll have a taste off after we’re done.
It’s simple, it’s delicious, and it is actually so good for you. Now, once you give it a try, you’ll never feel tempted to get real soda again. And let me know in the comments your favorite way to make it. I have a number of patients who are sensitive to vanilla beans and easy, use imitation vanilla if you’re sensitive. And please, I hear this every now and then, don’t use balsamic salad dressing to make a fake Coke. Get balsamic vinegar. Preferably, look for the age. And the longer it’s aged, the thicker it is, and believe me, the more you’ll like it.
Today I am tackling a major health wrecker, smoothies. Now, they may seem healthy, but there are a few huge problems and reasons why I avoid them at all costs. Also, Jessie, aka Glucose Goddess, agrees. So check out our discussion on the Dr. Gundry YouTube channel. That said, there is one smoothie I do recommend and drink it at home all the time. So stick around until the end, I’m actually going to make it for you right here. And don’t forget to hit subscribe on YouTube or follow if you’re listening.
Okay, so what is the problem with smoothies? Well, people think smoothies are healthy because they’re made with fruit. But here’s the thing, the fruit that we eat today is not natural. Fruit has been bred to contain loads of sugar, and it’s totally different from the fruit our ancestors ate. Take blueberries, for example. Years ago, wild blueberries were actually very small and tart, but the ones you get at the grocery today are the size of grapes and extremely sweet. So it’s important to understand that fruit, especially today, is nature’s candy, which means you shouldn’t go overboard. And as you know, I recommend sticking to only in-season fruits and in moderation, because you do get beneficial polyphenols and fiber from fruits. But when it comes to smoothies, there can be six to seven servings of fruit in one smoothie. That’s a ton of sugar. And if you’re buying a store-bought smoothie or green juice, you can count on there being even more added sugar in that thing. It’s not healthy.
The other problem is, guess what? Our ancestors never were exposed to fruit 365 days a year. There were no 747s bringing fruit to the smoothie bar 365 days a year. You’re not designed to be exposed to that much fruit. But another problem with smoothies is that when you blend up the fruit, you’re actually pulverizing the fiber particles that would’ve had to be digested to get the sugar released. And when you juice fruit, it’s even worse because you’re removing the fiber altogether. Now that’s why I recommend reverse juicing. Get out your juicer, juice the fruit, throw the juice away, and eat the pulp, or stir it in plain yogurt. Plain goat yogurt, plain coconut yogurt. You’ll get what you’re actually looking for in the fruit, the polyphenols, but none of the sugar content.
Okay, if you’re not ready to give up smoothies or green drinks altogether, don’t worry. There’s actually one smoothie I do recommend, and I’m going to make it for you right now. Okay, let’s do it. So, what you’re going to do is get yourself an avocado and take half of it. If you want to put a whole one in, that’s fine with me, but put in a half an avocado, and don’t spill it. Then I am, as you probably know, a big fan of cruciferous vegetables. One of the cruciferous vegetables, which is great in salads but also great in smoothies, is arugula. And luckily, you can find arugula just about anywhere now. One of the things I like about cruciferous vegetables is the more bitter, the more better, because the bitterness is actually the polyphenols in these vegetables. Now, lettuce is a great choice, but use a darker colored lettuce, like romaine lettuce, and it’ll actually give some pretty good texture. So put in a few leaves of romaine lettuce.
Now, for you really tough folks out there, you see collard greens all the time. Now, collard greens are staple of southern cooking, but collard greens are cooked until they’re mush, for a very good reason. They are really tough and really bitter, but it’s a great place to hide them in a smoothie. Now, you can use kale for this instead, but collard greens, we’re seeing it more, if you want Swiss chard, that’s fine. Be careful, because like I say, the more bitter, more better but you’re probably, if you’re not used to bitter greens, you may not exactly like the taste.
Now, I should have a sprig of mint around here, but I don’t see it, so put in a sprig of mint. Then get yourself some fresh lemon or lime juice. Interestingly enough, we do food sensitivities on all of our patients, and surprise, surprise, a large number of my patients react to lemons. And it shocked me when we first started seeing it, but good news is, lime is not a lemon and limes are readily available. So put in about a whole lime squeeze. Now, if you like, actually put in the whole lime peel. There’s some fascinating compounds that help your liver in the peel of oranges, limes, and lemons. And you’re going to mitigate that bitterness by using, oh, for instance, allulose. Now, allulose is a true sugar, but it has absolutely no calories, and it is a prebiotic fiber. And then put in about a cup of filtered water.
Now, speaking of polyphenols, one of my favorite tricks to change it up every day is get yourself a scoop of Vital Reds for a polyphenol blast. Or, what the heck, let’s put in some Power Blues, a totally different class of polyphenols. Plus, you’re going to get a healthy dose of probiotics. And just because we’re here, let’s really kick it up a notch and put in MCT Wellness, which has MCT oil, as well as more polyphenols. All right, that ought to do it. Incidentally, if you don’t have any allulose, you’re perfectly fine to put in liquid stevia. And you got to play with this recipe for taste. All right, so we put it in a blender. That ought to do it. By the way, I find it’s much better to chop this up first before you put the ice cubes in, because the ice cubes really mess with actually getting all this to chop properly.
So, once you’ve got that chopped to your consistency, put in, oh, I actually use about a cup of ice, but again, however much you want. That’ll be good. Then put it back in the blender and [inaudible 00:38:52]. Okay, and then, oh, I need more grinding of the ice, but you’re going to have a smoothie that tastes great and will actually be good for you, rather than kill you. So, here’s to your good health. Enjoy a great smoothie.
Speaker 1:
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