Why is it important to rotate greens in smoothies?
Leafy greens contain small amounts of toxins as a defense mechanism to protect a plant from predation. Glucosinolates in Brassica vegetables like kale, turnip and cabbage as well as oxalic acid in spinach and beet greens may provide some health benefits in small amounts, but in large amounts, are toxic to humans and other animals. Eating two bunches of greens each day is perfectly safe, but to prevent a potential for a buildup or overdose of toxic elements in a certain species of plant, it’s best to rotate every few weeks. For example, we might eat dandelion greens and romaine lettuce every day for two weeks, and then we’ll switch to beet greens and kale for a couple weeks. Then we might do leaf lettuce and spinach for a few days. It is important to rotate greens among different plant families. Rotating one Brassica like kale with another Brassica like bok choy isn’t a good rotation because you are still getting the antinutrients that are in all Brassicas. A better rotation for kale wo
