Just a little while ago, I started answering reader questions, using the “Ask McKenna” feature on my Facebook Page. Usually I answer in the form of a weekly article, here on this blog. But sometimes the answer is so simple that it doesn’t require an entire post. I have a few questions that I’ve been wanting to answer that fall under that category. So today, I’m going to do a mini Q&A from my readers. These are questions I have been asked multiple times, so I’m excited to answer them today! If my answers raise any additional questions, please comment below, or use the Ask McKenna feature to ask a new question!

Question: “I wonder about caffeine versus natural caffeine.” – Suan

Answer: Plain and simple, caffeine is a drug. The reason it’s classified as a drug is because it affects the central nervous system to cause enhanced alertness. Synthetic caffeine is especially bad for you, but natural caffeine isn’t perfectly ideal, either. It’s still a stimulant that will affect your central nervous system. You’ll feel a surge of energy, followed by a crash in energy several hours later. It’s best to get your energy from non-stimulant sources, and it’s absolutely possible to do!

For anyone trying to ditch a caffeine habit, whether from soda, energy drinks or coffee, a good place to start is to switch to natural teas. Green tea, Yerba Mate and Ginseng teas have similar effects to caffeine, without the synthetic chemicals. The absolute ideal would be to stop caffeine altogether. There will be a withdrawal period for a few days, but once you’re through it, you’ll feel more clear-headed and energetic than when you consumed caffeine every day. This is especially true if you also make sure you feed your body excellent nutrition. If you replace your morning coffee with a green smoothie for 2 weeks, you’ll feel every bit the pick-me-up, and more. If you drink coffee and are considering switching to decaf, please know that the chemical processing that occurs in order to strip caffeine out of coffee makes it even more unhealthy than its caffeinated counterpart.

Question: “What about molasses? Is it good for you? Is there a certain type that is better for you?” – Laura

Answer: Molasses is a great alternative sweetener to sugar. Because the taste is so robust, it doesn’t have a ton of uses, but it’s good in some smoothies, over oatmeal, granola, and it’s popular in a lot of raw, whole food desserts. Blackstrap molasses is the best kind, because it has the lowest impact on blood sugar levels and is very high in iron and B vitamins. Other variations of molasses are more processed, have higher sugar content, and less nutritional value.

Question: “I have an intolerance to spinach and bananas. Do you suggest an alternative to these in your shakes?” – Marcia

Answer: Virtually any fruit and any leafy green can be used to make delicious green smoothies that are exploding with nutrients. I often use spinach as the green because it’s the most mild green. And bananas are one of the sweetest fruits. But romaine, green leaf, red leaf, kale and chard are some of my other favorites for green smoothies, and each delivers their own unique blend of nutrients for your body. Other fruits that are fantastic in smoothies are berries (any kind), peaches, pears, oranges, pineapple, mangoes, apples and grapes! My free book, Green Smoothies for Beginners has a bunch of recipes to get your started. If one of the recipes in that book sounds appealing but it calls for spinach or banana, just swap it out!