Blending up your afternoon smoothie means going by means of your psychological guidelines of good-for-you substances so as to add to the scrumptious combine. You’ve got bought your go-to proteins, carbs, and fat checked off… the rest?
In line with Rebekah Blakely, RDN, and nutritionist for The Vitamin Shoppe, you may wish to take into account tossing a couple of antioxidant superfoods into your blender.
However earlier than we dive into why, this is a fast science class refresher on what, precisely, an antioxidant is: “Antioxidants are substances that may assist shield your cells from free radical injury,” Blakely says. “Free radicals are…the results of regular metabolic processes and publicity to stressors and toxins. They’re unstable [molecules] as a result of they’ve an uneven variety of electrons, and to allow them to ‘steal’ electrons from different wholesome cells within the physique, inflicting injury.”
Fortunately, consuming antioxidants will help preserve free radicals in examine all through your physique, and they are often present in a variety of meals sources, Blakely says. They’re most ample in fruit and veggies, nevertheless, Blakely notes that the CDC reports that only one in 10 adults eat the beneficial quantity of fruit and veggies, which ranges from 1½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2½ to 3½ cups of greens every day for adults.
In the event you’re one of many 9 in 10 who does not fairly hit that quantity day by day, supplementation can turn out to be useful to push you excessive—which brings us again to your soon-to-be-revised smoothie recipe.
Moreover loading down your smoothie with frozen fruits, veggies, and a beneficiant scoop of almond butter (antioxidants are additionally present in legumes, nuts, and seeds), Blakely has two go-to antioxidant superfoods that make nice smoothie add-in’s: spirulina and beetroot.
If these are new substances to you and your kitchen, do not stress (that may result in extra free radicals, keep in mind?)—you could find them in beet root and spirulina powders from KOS®. Seize them from The Vitamin Shoppe®, and preserve them by your blender as a result of you are going to wish to make them everlasting additions to your smoothie lineup.
Hold studying for an RD-backed deep dive into these antioxidant superfoods.
Advantages of spirulina
What are the benefits of spirulina that make it such a superfood powerhouse? In fact, it is the truth that it is naturally excessive in antioxidants. Blakely says we are able to attribute that nutrient worth to phycocyanin, which is the pigment that offers the algae its blue-green colour.
This vibrantly coloured superfood is understood to assist assist blood oxygen circulation, which is a significant perk for individuals who train steadily, as higher circulation is linked to larger power and better workout endurance.
On high of those properties, spirulina might assist give your immune system some additional assist with its excessive nutrient and antioxidant content material (it additionally accommodates antioxidant nutritional vitamins and minerals together with beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium), which helps to scale back the oxidative stress in our cells.
As if you happen to wanted one more reason so as to add the ingredient to your smoothies, spirulina may assist assist good intestine well being. In line with Blakely, animal studies have proven spirulina can have constructive results on the steadiness of the intestine microbiome.
One of many best methods to get your every day dose of spirulina is to scoop KOS® Organic Luminous Blue Spirulina Powder or KOS® Bolt Blue Spirulina Energy (which mixes pure spirulina with adaptogens and caffeine from natural inexperienced espresso beans for power and focus assist) into your subsequent smoothie. They do not name it a superfood for nothing.
Advantages of beetroot
If there are two issues you realize about beets, it is most likely that they are crimson they usually comprise antioxidants. Okay, you won’t have recognized concerning the antioxidants prior to now, however apparently these issues do have one thing in widespread: betalain.
“Betalains are phytonutrients that give beets their crimson colour and have been proven to supply antioxidant…support,” Blakely says.
In the event you thought that is the place beets draw the wellness-boosting line, you’d be mistaken. In line with Blakely, beetroot has most of the identical advantages as spirulina: It could additionally assist assist wholesome blood stress, in addition to as total circulation and blood move. To not point out, research present beetroot might assist enhance cardiorespiratory performance and enhance time to exhaustion throughout exercise, Blakely says.
So, if you happen to’re searching for a brand new pre-workout scenario, add one scoop of KOS® Organic Beet Root Powder to your breakfast, smoothie, or espresso. Fearful about the way it may style? Blakely recommends beginning with a half scoop to check out the style, and pairing it with different useful substances like tart cherry juice or cacao powder that complement the flavour. Beet root sizzling chocolate, anybody?
