A: Symptoms of poor veggie digestion include: bloating, gas, constipation, stomach pain, vegetable fibers present in stool, nutrient deficiencies (vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, folate, selenium, manganese).
It is not uncommon to have issues with digesting raw vegetables, especially in large quantities and especially if one is not used to consuming veggies this way, whether they’re blended or not. Something that can help with that is taking targeted enzymes like Veggie Enzymes by Rootcology, which can also reduce IBS flares due to eating insoluble fiber. Another thing that can help is steaming the greens and letting them cool off before adding them to the blender; that way they wouldn’t end up raw in your smoothie.
Another thing to consider is that because kale and spinach and some other greens are high in oxalates, it might be a potential issue for some people with oxalate sensitivity. For more information on that, you may want to read this article on oxalates by Dr. Wentz.
Just briefly, oxalates form salts in the body by combining with calcium, after we consume foods that have a high oxalate content. When our body can’t process the calcium-oxalate compounds, they crystallize and lodge in our organs, causing inflammation, which can turn into painful kidney stones and lead to other inflammatory symptoms of oxalate buildup in the body, such as joint pain, pain with urination/bowel movements, and even inflammation of the thyroid gland.