7 Smoothie Ingredients to Reboot Your Immune System

It’s that time of year when everyone I know is getting sick, sick or getting over a long cold. When you’re feeling under the weather, it’s hard not to resort to unhealthy food choices and comfort foods. Grabbing a can of sodium filled chicken noodle or wallowing our sickly sorrows in a tub of ice cream isn’t actually the best route. Finding natural alternatives is a great way to reboot our immune system and kick nasty colds to the curb. Let’s check out some easy ingredients to reboot your immune system!

Since transitioning to a healthier, primarily Paleo diet, I’ve spent a lot of time researching ingredients. Little did I know that a lot of the foods that I considered healthy can actually cause inflammation and block our bodies defense systems, making it easier to get sick & harder to recover.

Today I’m going to share seven of my favorite ingredients to add to smoothies & smoothie bowls to help fight off colds and flus!

Smoothie Ingredients to Reboot Your Immune System

Whether you’re trying to avoid the stomach flu or catching a cold, having a strong immune system is your best bet. As many times as you wash your hands or disinfect grocery cart handles, at some point your body will become exposed to a bug. Ideally, this is when your immune system jumps in and protects your body from germs. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always work and you get sick.

Luckily, there are tons of natural ingredients you can throw into your daily smoothie to prevent this from happening. The odds of catching a bug are much lower if you live a healthy lifestyle. If there’s one thing I’ve learned (particularly this past year), you should never underestimate the power of a healthy diet. Packing your plate with nutrients and immune boosting foods can be a game changer, especially during colder seasons.

Some foods are rich in nutrients that boost your body’s ability to fight off harmful pathogens. Here are my top 7 picks that are easy to throw into a smoothie & taste great!

Dragon Fruit

Dragon fruit is one of my all time favorite ingredients. Not only does it taste amazing, it gives your smoothie (or bowl) a beautiful fuchsia color! Dragon fruit is also known as pitaya. This fun fruit is rich in vitamin C, B1, B2 and B3, and minerals such as iron, calcium, and phosphorus.

Considered a “super fruit”, it’s packed with a ton of benefits like it’s active antioxidants. To rid your body of free radicals and cancer-producing properties, you can eat foods that contain antioxidants.

The high levels of vitamin C in dragon fruit help boost the immune system and stimulate the activity of other antioxidants in the body. It also has great antifungal and antibacterial properties. These can help increase the white blood cell count in your body, which defend against toxins and also prevent the growth of fungal or bacterial infections in the organs.

I recommend blending your pitaya into a tropical smoothie. You can buy it in either powder or frozen form. My favorite way to incorporate it into my diet is by making a pitaya smoothie bowl. I blend frozen dragon fruit with coconut water. Then, I serve it in a bowl topped with grain-free granola and fresh fruit. It’s a great swap for ice cream on a hot day!

Kale

Dark, leafy greens like kale are a great way to increase your vitamin A intake and boost your immune function. Kale isn’t just for salad though! You can throw a handful into your smoothie for an added boost of vitamins!

Of all the super healthy greens, kale is king! It’s actually considered one of the healthiest and most nutritious plant foods!

Kale contains vitamins A (which helps your skin and vision), K (which contributes to bone health and blood clotting) and C (helping to boost the immune system), as well as sulforaphane, a chemical compound with antioxidant, anti-cancer and antimicrobial properties, that stimulates natural detoxifying enzymes.

Kale is also high in calcium (per calorie, it’s actually higher cow’s milk), which is needed for bone strength and to prevent osteoporosis. It’s fat free and its Omega-3 content (ten per cent of your RDA per cup of kale) makes it an anti-inflammatory food. Inflammation is the cause of many of today’s chronic illnesses.

You can literally throw a handful of kale into any smoothie and you won’t taste much of a difference, but it will give it a bright green color! I like using frozen kale instead of ice in my smoothies.

Ginger

Ginger is a go to ingredient when you’re sick. Not only can it help decrease inflammation, it can help soothe a sore throat and other inflammatory illnesses. I also love using ginger to help with nausea.

Ginger has active T-cells, which are an important part of the immune system. They are a group of white blood cells capable of destroying cells infected by virus as well as tumor cells. Meaning ginger helps support the body’s natural defense against disease!

Since ginger is great for digestion, it’s great for cleansing the colon and reducing colon spasms and cramps. it’ also helps clear gas, relieve indigestion and prevent nausea, vomiting and motion sickness.

I recommend adding 1/2 inch of fresh ginger to any green smoothie that has orange, lemon, lime, pineapple, banana or chocolate as the dominant flavor. That way your smoothie won’t have an overwhelming gingery flavor. You can also simmer ginger root in hot water, then add some lemon and honey!

Almonds

When it comes to preventing and fighting off colds, most people focus on Vitamin C. But what about Vitamin E?

Vitamin E is actually key to a healthy immune system. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning it requires the presence of fat to be absorbed properly. Nuts, like almonds, are packed with the vitamin and also have healthy fats.

Vitamin E acts like a “big brother” to other vitamins, protecting them from oxidation and allowing them to do their work.

I love using almond butter in my smoothies not only for the health benefits, but it adds great flavor and the added fat keeps you full longer! It’s also one of the easiest ingredients to add to any smoothy to reboot your immune system!

Turmeric

Turmeric is one of those ingredients that I used to only associate with curry. But did you can also add it into your smoothies!?

If you’ve never used it, turmeric is the spice that gives curry its yellow color. It’s been used in India for thousands of years as a spice and medicinal herb. Turmeric contains compounds with medicinal properties, called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and has powerful anti-inflammatory effects & is a very strong antioxidant. It can also help you to fight off a variety of viruses, including the flu.

I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder into one of your citrus based smoothies. Make sure you pick up non-irradiated, organic turmeric to get all of the benefits. Other brands may be processed and won’t contain the same healing properties.

Green Tea

We all know that you can sip on warm green tea for a pick me up or to soothe our throats, but did you know you can also add it to smoothies?

Green tea os packed with flavonoids, a type of antioxidant. It also has high levels of epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, another powerful antioxidant. EGCG has been shown to enhance immune function. The fermentation process black tea goes through destroys a lot of the EGCG. Green tea, on the other hand, is steamed and not fermented, so the EGCG is preserved.

Green tea is also a good source of the amino acid L-theanine. L-theanine can help aid in the production of germ-fighting compounds in your T-cells.

To make a green tea infused smoothie, brew a cup of tea and then pop it into the refrigerator to cool. Blend the cold unsweetened green tea with frozen fruit and a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Sunflower Seeds

When I think about sunflower seeds, I think about grabbing a giant bag for a road trip. I never really thought about the fact that sunflower seeds and sunflower butter are packed with nutrients like phosphorous, magnesium, and vitamin B-6. They’re also high in vitamin E, with 82 percent of the daily recommended amount in just a quarter-cup serving!

Sunflower seeds are a great snack or smoothie addition, but it’s important to keep it healthy. Many of the available-everywhere varieties are roasted and loaded with high-sodium flavorings. They’re also probably not organic or GMO-free – two things you want to look for.

I recommend trying sunflower butter instead of peanut butter in your next smoothie. It’s got great flavor and adds healthy fat to your smoothie. I like that it has a more neutral flavor than peanut butter, so it’s easy to add to fruit, green or chocolate based smoothies. One of my all time favorites is adding a tablespoon of sunflower butter to my chocolate protein shake!

Shop Ingredients ingredients to reboot your immune system

SKIP THE STORE – TIPS FOR GROCERY SHOPPING ONLINE

WHY YOU NEED A KITCHENAID MIXER + MY FAVORITE OATMEAL COOKIE RECIPE

CELERY JUICE BENEFITS: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST HEALTH CRAZE