Choosing a Gbiota smoothie

Colin Austin © 28th July 2020 Creative commons this document may be reproduced but the source should be acknowledged. Information may be used for private use but commercial use requires a license.

Minerals, vitamins and biology in Gbiota smoothies

The main aim of a Gbiota smoothie is to improve gut health but they also contain the minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients essential for health.

The plants in all Gbiota smoothies are selected to provide these essential minerals, vitamins and gut biology. However there are two vitamins which are not readily available from plants.

The first is vitamin D which honestly is best obtained by going for a walk in the sunshine, the second is Vitamin B12 which is generated by fungi – not plants. The best way of getting vitamin B12 from your smoothie is to add Malt extract (which makes them taste better anyway, there is no need to worry about the extra sweetness as the plants acts as sugar blockers). Read about suger blockers here

Important points to notice about Gbiota smoothies

People eating a typical western diet have a sugar loving a gut biota. Gbiota smoothies actually contain beneficial biology (pre-biotics) but this is not enough. To thrive this beneficial biology has to be fed with the right food so the beneficial biology can out breed and compete the sugar loving biology.

Gut biology has a short life and is changing continuously. You have to wait for some three weeks for the sugar loving biology to die so don’t expect to have just one glass of Gbiota smoothie and expect you gut biota to change – it takes time.

The less sugary food you eat in this transition the better but after that the Gbiota smoothies act as sugar blockers.

Your current gut biology may not be able to process the high vegetable content of Gbiota smoothies so we suggest that you start of slowly with small glasses and check that your body is handling the change.

Some of the plants we can use in Gbiota smoothies can contain gluten. If you are gluten sensitive you should tell your blender so they can avoid high gluten plants (like Barley grass which is an excellent sugar blocker), start of slowly and watch for any issues.

Also the biology in the plants are kept healthy while growing but the minute they are harvested the biology will deteriorate.

Plant biology deteriorates as soon as the plant is harvested so we avoid carrying stock – it a simple question of pick and eat. Talk to your blender about pre-ordering.

Regular Gbiota smoothie

The regular Gbiota smoothie aims to provide this broad spectrum of minerals and vitamins.

Minerals are no problem – if the minerals are added to the soil and there is active biology to make them available to the plants they will end up in the plants and hence us.

Vitamins are more of an issue as different plant provide different vitamins so Gbiota smoothies are best made from a variety of plants depending on seasonal availability.

I cannot give a single standard list of plants for Vitamins as they are often seasonal but there are many different plants for supplying each vitamin. The table below lists the plants we can use or you read ‘Eat your Vitamins’ (which is an excellent source of information) you will find a list of all vitamins and the plants they can be obtained from.

There is typically a wide range to select from – for example Vitamin A can be obtained from Spinach, Carrots, Collards, Cantaloupe, Sweet potato and Bell pepper.

Many plants supply a range of vitamins so Gbiota smoothies can be made from a manageable number of plants to cover all vitamins.

This is all part of the Gbiota growing system.

We want to avoid using toxic chemicals which may not hurt us but can certainly damage our gut bacteria (that is what they are used for – to kill bugs).

We use a system called tipping where we grow multiple plant at a high density. (We can get away with the high density because the soil is so nutritious). This gives acceptable protection from pests and weeds. (Just as effective as the blanket bombing used in much of commercial agriculture).

We let the plants germinate, as used in shoots, then go past the baby green stage until they have developed an effective root system for extracting nutrients and beneficial biology from the soil. Plants grown in Gbiota soil are natural pre and pro biotics. We then just harvest the new tips and let them regrow for the next harvest.

We don’t harvest the old (we call them mother leaves) which are powering the plant from the sunlight, if they get attacked by insects it is not a significant issue.

These tips are then mixed with some fruit, such as bananas to make the drink taste better and given a brief blend. We are happy if our smoothies are somewhat crunchy as we don’t want to destroy the fibres in the plants which are highly beneficial for our guts.

It is more healthy to use minimum blending to minimise the damage to fibre but talk to your blender if you prefer them more like a conventional smoothie.

This is the basic Gbiota smoothie but we can alter the basic blend by adding extra plants with specific benefits as I will now describe.

Gbiota sugar blocker

Many health enthusiasts think that fats and sugars are some creation of the devil and should be avoided at all costs. That is not correct, they are our basic source of energy and we really need them, but in the right quantities.

They are really dangerous is sugar spikes. Sugars in modern foods are typically very quickly absorbed into our bodies (natural sugars take a lot longer). This creates a short term sugar spike. See sugar blockers.

Plants like Barley wheat are very effective sugar blockers but contain gluten. Talk to your blender.

Gbiota immunity smoothie

It is well understood that a combination of zinc and Vitamin C is important for a healthy immune system. Plants like lentils increase zinc levels and many plants contain Vitamin C.

While we can add plants which increase levels of both zinc and Vitamin C we want to make this clear;-

It will not stop you getting the Corona virus or help you if you do get infected. We know that a lack of either zinc of Vitamin C will lower your immunity and make you more vulnerable. If you have a healthy immune system then the odds of you dying from the virus are much reduced. However there is no information that increasing your levels above the normal healthy levels will make any further improvements to your immune system – we just don’t know.

Gbiota iron smoothie

Ladies can suffer from a low iron levels in the blood and plants like water cress can increase iron levels.

Common plants and their benefits

Vitamin A	Spinach, Carrot, Collards, Cantaloupe, Sweet Potato, Bell Pepper
Vitamin B Thiamin	Acorn squash, Brown Rice, Legumes, Sunflower, Yoghurt
Vitamin B2 Riboflavin	Almonds, Green vegetables, Mushrooms, Oats, Quinoa
Vitamin B3 Niacin	Peanuts, Rice
Vitamin B5 Pantotghenic Acid	Broccoli, Peanuts, Sunflower, Soybeans, Yoghurt
Vitamin B6	Banana, Chickpeas, Potatoes
Vitamin B7 Biotin	Spinach, Sweet potato
Vitamin B8 Folate	Avocado, Banana, Peanuts, Peas, Spinach, Wheat
Vitamin B12	Yeast
Vitamin C	Bell pepper, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Guava, Kiwi fruit, Orange, Strawberries, Tomato
Vitamin D	Sunshine, Mushrooms
Vitamin E	Almonds, Annatto, Avocado, Gareley, Broccoli, Flazsees, Hazelnuts, Kiwi fruit, Oats, Palm fruit, Peanuts, Pine nuts, Pumpkin, Rye, Spinach, Sunflower, Wheat,
Vitamin K	Brussels sprouts, Collards, Grapes, Kale, Mustard greens, Spinach, Pine nuts, Turnip greens,
Calcium	Broccoli, Chia, Chinese cabbage, Collard greens, Kale, Okra, Spinach, Soy, Turnip, Yoghurt,
Chloride	Celery, Olives, Salt, Seaweed, Tomatoes
Choline	Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Mushrooms, Potato, Kidney beans, Quinoa
Chromium	Banana, Basil, Black pepper, Broccoli, Garlic, Green beans, Potato, Wheat
Cobalt	Cabbage, Figs, Nuts, Green Vegetables, Sea vegetables
Copper	Almonds, Mushrooms, Peanuts, Soybeans, Sunflower,
Fluoride	Black tea, Carrots, Straw berries
Iodine	Lima beans, Prunes, Sea vegetables, Spinach, Yoghurt,
Iron	Broccoli, Dark Chocolate, White beans, Pistachio, Pumpkin, Tofu, Quinoa, Cashew nuts, Chickpeas
Magnesium	Almonds, Brown rice, Oats, Pecans, Pineapple, Pumpkin, Spinach, Sweet Potato, Tofu, Wheat
Manganese	Almonds, Oats, Pecan, Pineapple, Pumpkin, Spinach, Sweet potato, Tofu, Wheat
Molybdenum	Kidney beans, Lentils, Lima beans, Mung beans, Oats, Peanuts, Peas, Tomatoes, Walnuts,
Phosphorous	Most vegetables, Almonds, Lentils, Pumpkin, Wheat
Potassium	Asparagus, Avocado, Apricots, Almonds, Banana, Brown rice, Beet greens, Edamame, Lentils, Peaches, Prunes, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Spinach, Squash, Yam,
Selenium	Brazil nuts, Brown rice, Cheese, Oats, Spinach
Sodium	Salt but typically in excess
Sulphur	Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts), Nuts, Whole grains
Zinc	Cashews, Cheese, Dark chocolate, Kidney beans, Lentils, Oats, Pumpkin,
Amino Acids	Bean, Cheese, Lentils
Antioxidents	Berries -Amla, (Indian gooseberry, Bilberry, Blackberry Chokeberry, Barberry, Dog rose berry Cherry, Red Whortleberry, Fruits – Apricots, Grapes, Pomegranates, Olives, Plums, Prunes. Mangoes Herbs and Medicinal plants – Arjuna, Arnica, Cascara sagrada, Cinnamon, Triphala, Turmeric
MCT and LCT (medium and long chain triglycerides	Butter, Coconut oil, Lard, Palm oil, Yoghurt
Polyphenols	Artichoke, Broccoli, Curry, Green Tea, Yellow onions, Prunes, Potatoes, Strawberries,
Omega 3	Edamame, Flaxseed, Hempseed, Linseed, Soy, Tilapia, Walnuts,
Omega 6	Apricots, Almonds, Black currents, Blueberries, Celery, Cloves, Chestnut, Corn Oil, Dark chocolate, Elderberries, Flaxseed, Hazelnuts, Olives, Oregano, Peppermint, Pecans, Pomegranates, Rosemary, Sage, Soybean, Spearmint, Star Arise, Sunflower, Thyme, Tofu, Walnuts,
Prebiotics	Apples, Artichoke, Asparagus, Banana, Cocoa, Chicory, Dandelion, Flaxseed, Garlic, Jicama, Leeks, Oats, Onion, Seaweed, Soybeans, Wheat,
Probiotics	All vegetables grown in biologically active soil, Apple cider, Buttermilk, Cheese, Dill Pickles, Garlic, Kefir, Kvass, Olives, Natto, Tempeh
Resistant starch and fibre	Green bananas, Beans, Chickpeas, Peas, Lentils, Maize, Nuts, Oats, Potato starch, Red kidney beans