The science of making healthy cannabis smoothies

Updated on November 3, 2020

There’s mostly no science behind it, just some good old cooking. You may have smoked cannabis before or vaped it but I bet you never made smoothies out of it. It’s time you changed that! Considering all the healthy terpenes and cannabinoids in cannabis, it’d be a waste not to make a smoothie. You can easily throw in some extra fruits or vegetables to spike it up a bit.

While you can surely create a psychoactive smoothie using high-THC strains, the alternative is also doable. There are countless strains with almost zero THC, making them completely non-psychoactive. The CBD and other cannabinoids, alongside the terpenes and flavonoids, produce plenty of healthy benefits to enjoy. Moreover, cannabis is a very nutritional food, just like other green vegetable that you often eat.

Most interesting is that even if you eat the cannabis raw, the cannabinoids will still affect your endocannabinoid system in wonderful ways. However, it wouldn’t do to just start eating the leaves like that. Chop them up and throw them in an organic smoothie! Think of raw juicing, as well.

What is raw juicing and why is raw juicing good for you?

Well, first off, by raw juicing a fruit or a vegetable, you’re extracting the essential nutrients and all the beneficial compounds. That’s the essence right there. You also avoid the fibers by doing so. These smoothies will be much more concentrated than if you were to eat the associated vegetables and fruits individually. In fact, here are some widely-recognized benefits of raw-juicing:

  • Concentrated juice – Consume the same or a bigger quantity of cannabis by juicing it in a glass of juice. The juice will be extra concentrated, allowing you to obtain the healthy benefits that much faster and with greater results.
  • Easily absorbable – When you consume a glass of juiced cannabis, your body absorbs it faster than if you were to munch on the green leaves. The difference is the lack of fibers. Without fibers, the body absorbs everything much faster.
  • Ideal for specific eating routines – If you follow a certain eating pattern or nutrition diet, juicing your vegetables and fruits makes it easier to stick to that plan. That’s because you know exactly how much you’re eating at any given time.

Now, you should also know how raw cannabis can be juiced. First off, roll up the cannabis leaves and put them in the juicer. Then, add some other fruits and vegetables that you like. You’ll need some parsley, blueberries, ice cubes, lemon juice, avocado, apple juice, and more, to create a super smoothie for you! You can add pretty much whatever you want and you can even incorporate cannabis leaves into your favorite smoothie recipe. 

What makes cannabis good for smoothies?

Essentially, cannabis contains a few compounds that get burnt out when it undergoes the heating process (smoking it). The cannabinoid acids are the primary compounds that transform into THC and CBD through the carboxylation process. The counterpart to THC is THCA, and it’s not at all psychoactive, unlike THC. CBDA is the decarboxylated variant of CBD, and it may improve your mood upon consumption. The science is still insufficient to draw concise conclusions.

But cannabis doesn’t only contain cannabinoids. The terpenes are just as or even more important sometimes. When combined with cannabinoids, the so-called entourage effect comes into play, producing all kinds of incredible effects. If you’re after healthy compounds, nutrients, and vitamins, then raw cannabis is an excellent source of health and nutritional power. When combined with other great vegetables and fruits like apples, blueberries, cranberries, and cucumbers, the resulting smoothie is a killer.

It’ll knock you off your feet and your body will thank you as soon as you drink the first cup. The cannabinoids and the terpenes will collaborate, produce the entourage effect, while the flavonoids will give off an irresistible aroma. You can increase the nutritional value of any smoothie by adding a few leaves of cannabis. Juicing it makes the most sense, since you’ll extract the essential nutrients and vitamins without the fibers.

Cannabis smoothies are not only healthy but a great choice if you want to get the benefits of cannabis without getting high. The cannabinoids acids (THCA mainly) aren’t psychoactive and you can drink as many smoothies as you want without ever getting high. In fact, we can say that cannabis is a superfood that deserves to be emphasized as such. Add it to your next smoothies, and you’ll see why that is! If you decide to try a different THC edible other than a cannabis smoothie, you can buy marijuana-infused edibles online with GrassDoor

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.