Make an Antioxidant Smoothie

Antioxidant foods can promote health because they boost the immune system. Antioxidants help avert the process by which free radicals are produced, thereby potentially decreasing the substances that cause cellular damage. Increasing intake of naturally occuring antioxidants can help with everything from avoiding colds and the flu to battling cancer through natural means.

One of the most delicious – and effective – ways to get your daily intake of antioxidants is by easily and quickly blending up a smoothie. As most of the ingredients are tasty on their own with flavors that compliment each other, you can experiment and find your favorite combination, knowing that you are taking steps to improve your health!

Some of the foods with the highest levels of antioxidants also make outstanding smoothies. Take for example mango, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, peaches, apricots, oranges, and soaked goji (wolf) berries. Use fresh ingredients in season and avoid canned or frozen where sugar has been added. Some less obvious ingredients that are high in antioxidants include nuts like macadamia and almonds, green leafy vegetables like spinach, and superfoods like spirulina and raw cocoa.

Spinach or spirulina in a smoothie might sound like it wouldn’t taste good, but sweet leaves of fresh baby spinach or a teaspoon of sea algae has been a health food secret of vegetarians and raw foodists for years. The taste is actually very mild. Forget about the spinach, what business do nuts have in a smoothie? Sweet nuts like almond and macadamia not only have a pleasant flavor, they blend up beautifully creamy. As far as raw cocoa goes, use it sparingly! It has a very strong taste and contains caffeine.

So how do choose from and prepare ingredients so it actually tastes like something you would want to drink? First, know what fruits you like and what tastes you like together. Second, it helps to balance sweeter ingredients like mango with less sweet fruits like berries for balance. Third, to blend it up nicely, you don’t need anything more than fresh water and a good quality blender. Leave out the milk, fruit juice, or yoghurt. Not only do you not need it to achieve delicious fruity creaminess, you want your body to be able to quickly digest and assimilate the antioxidant benefits of your smoothie.