My anti-inflammatory smoothie
Recipe:
1 banana
1 c of papaya
1 c of wild blueberries
Good handful of baby spinach
2 tbsp hemp seeds
1 medjool date
Ginger root to taste
Ceylon cinnamon
1 tbsp spirulina
The Beauty Chef hydration + water to blend (or coconut water)
Toppings:
I like to top my smoothies with something crunchy (bee pollen, granola, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, etc), this is because chewing activates your digestive enzymes, in turn helping with digestion!
Benefits of these ingredients:
Banana - improves gut health due to increasing production of short chain fatty acids, rich in fibre, manganese boosting collagen production
Papaya - antifungal and antibacterial, contains powerful antioxidant pyrroloquinoline quinone improving brain health (the seeds can also cleanse parasites)
Wild blueberries - potent prebiotic that contain higher anthocyanin, vitamin C, iron, folic acid content than regular blueberries
Spinach - rich in chlorophyll, glutathione and folate, get those greens in!
Hemp seeds - helps the body produce its own collagen, one of the omega-6 fatty acids in hemp seeds is gamma-linolenic acid which may have anti-inflammatory effects similar to drugs like ibuprofen
Medjool date - anti-parasitical and contains B vitamins like pantothenic acid, folate, and niacin to help with fatigue
Ginger root - increases serotonin and dopamine levels which leads to decreasing inflammation levels in the body, stimulates digestion and circulation
Ceylon cinnamon - helps with blood sugar balance, the active ingredient cinnamaldehyde has anti-inflammatory properties due to blocking the production of prostaglandins
Spirulina - contains a powerful protein called phycocyanin which is an antioxidant that inhibits the release of histamine by mast cells, reducing inflammation
Coconut water - antimicrobial properties, is a natural isotonic beverage with the same level of electrolytic balance that we have in our blood
I'd recommend to try and get biodynamic/organic over conventional ingredients - this is because the nature of conventional farming makes it harder to avoid genetic modification such as growth stimulants and nasty pesticides/glyphosate. Organic food tends to be grown in richer soil, meaning more nutrient density and more flavourful!
With love,
B