Smoothies offer a convenient way to incorporate immune-supportive fruits and veggies into your diet. Here are some nutrient-packed recipes to try.
By
Lauren Bedosky
by
Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDCES
Adding more color to your diet is easy with healthy smoothies.
Immune health is a hot topic. But the truth is that there is no one food or supplement that can boost the immune system, says Rye, New York–based Malina Malkani, RDN, the creator of Solve Picky Eatingand a media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Instead, it’s important to eat a well-balanced diet that includes a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes, and nuts and seeds. This way, you can be sure you’re getting all the essential nutrients that support overall health and normal immune function, such as protein, zinc, and vitamins A, C, and D, Malkani says.
That said, eating a well-balanced diet is often easier said than done. In fact, only 1 in 10 adults get the 1½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of veggies that are recommended per day, according to November 2017 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“If you struggle to get enough fruits and vegetables in your diet, smoothies are a tasty, convenient way to boost intake,” Malkani says. Plus, if you don’t enjoy the bitter flavor of certain vegetables (like spinach or kale), blending them with fruits, spices, and different types of milk (regular, almond, orcoconut) can help make them more enjoyable to consume. And if access to fresh fruits and veggies is limited, frozen versions are just as nutritious and give smoothies a great texture, Malkani adds.
RELATED: 7 Ways to Keep Your Immune System Healthy
To incorporate more immune-supporting nutrients into your diet, try one of these tasty smoothie recipes.
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The Best Green Smoothie
Thanks to the hefty fruit and veggie content (peaches, mango, and kale), this green smoothie from the blog Pinch of Yum boasts a whopping 84.5 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, which is 94 percent of your daily value (DV). Vitamin C is an antioxidant that supports immune health, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—meaning it scoops up damaging free radicals (often found in pollutants like cigarette smoke and industrial chemicals, according to a review) and helps keep your immune cells healthy, according to an article published in November 2017 in Nutrients. The recipe also includes a bit of fresh ginger, a spice well-known for its virus-fighting benefits. Ginger contains nearly a dozen antiviral compounds, several of which may be powerful for fighting the common cold, according to an article published in the International Journal of Drug Development and Research.
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Mixed Berry Yogurt Smoothie
This creamy smoothie from the blog Cooking for My Soul blends fresh ingredients like mixed berries andbananaswithvanilla yogurt and milk. Dairy products like yogurt and milk not only contain calcium but are often fortified with vitamin D, says Christine Palumbo, RDN, a media and nutrition consultant in Naperville, Illinois. Vitamin D both supports immune function and helps you absorb calcium, according to the NIH. Calcium, meanwhile, plays an essential role in keeping your immune cells working in the short and long term, according to an article published in Frontiers in Immunology. To help ensure you’re getting enough vitamin D, you can buy fortified milk and yogurt. One cup of fortified low-fat vanilla yogurt, for example, offers roughly 3 micrograms (mcg), for 15 percent of your DV of vitamin D, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Blueberries are tasty on their own, but this time they’ve teamed up with matcha, a powdered green tea,for extra nutritional punch.Matcha is a rich source of catechins, a type of plant compound that acts as an antioxidant. In fact, the amount of certain catechins is up to 137 times greater in matcha than in other types of green tea, according to research. Plus, dark leafy greens — like the baby spinach in this recipe from the blog As Easy As Apple Pie — offer vitamin A. In addition to being vision-friendly, this nutrient plays a key role in immune system development and helps regulate immune responses, according to a review published in September 2018 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. One cup of raw baby spinach has 117 mcg (13 percent DV) of vitamin A, according to the USDA.
RELATED: 10 Potential Health Benefits of Green Tea
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Green Smoothie for People Who Hate Green Smoothies
Cucumber, kale, celery, and pineapple chunks meet up with coconut water and fresh mint in this flavorful green smoothie created by Malkani. The kale provides a variety of antioxidants, including quercetin, according to research, which stimulates the immune system, lowers proinflammatory cytokines (small proteins released by immune cells), and prevents the release of histamine, a compound involved in allergic and inflammatory reactions, according to an article published in May 2016 in Molecules.
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Wild Blueberry Turmeric Zinger Smoothie
This smoothie from Kara Lydon Nutrition is packed with immune-supporting fruits like blueberries, mango, and orange. Mango offers 75 mg of vitamin C (83 percent DV), 112 mcg of vitamin A (12.4 percent DV), and 0.25 mg of vitamin B6 (14.7 percent DV) per whole fruit, according to the USDA. And according to research, berries have some of the highest levels of antioxidants among common fruits, including melons, bananas, and apples. This recipe also includes beneficial spices like turmeric, a flavorful, bright yellow spice that’s full of antioxidants. Curcumin, the primary active component in turmeric, is an especially powerful free radical scavenger, according to a review published in October 2017 in Foods.
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Avocado Smoothie
This vegan smoothie from Simple Vegan Blog calls for just five ingredients: avocado, banana, plant milk, dates, and spinach. The addition of an avocado not only gives the smoothie a creamy texture, it also supplies immune-supporting nutrients like vitamin B6 — half an avocado has 0.4 mg (24 percent DV), according to the USDA. While more research in humans is needed, astudy in mice published in March 2017 in the Journal of Immunology Research found that this nutrient plays a role in producing antibodies needed for fighting infection.
RELATED: 10 Green Smoothies Packed With Nutrition
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Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
You’ll nab a hearty serving of fruits and veggies, along with a touch of chocolate, with this recipe, courtesy of Running on Real Food. This rich smoothie combines cherries, banana, spinach, chia seeds, protein powder, spirulina (an algae supplement that Harvard Health Publishing notes may confer benefits), and almond milk, as well as cacao powder, which offers zinc. “[Zinc] is actually better absorbed from animal sources, such as beef and seafood, but you can get it from vegetarian sources,” Palumbo says. Zinc is a mineral that keeps your immune system functioning and helps your wounds heal, and as the human body doesn’t have a specialized storage site, you need to get this immune-supporting mineral in your daily diet, according to the NIH. One cup of unsweetened cocoa powder has nearly 6 mg (55 percent DV) of zinc, according to the USDA.
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Wild Blueberry, Brazil Nut, and Tahini Smoothie
This recipe from Blissful Basil combines immune-supporting ingredients like blueberries, banana, almond milk, tahini, and Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are a great source of selenium, a key mineral that may help prevent viral infections, lower inflammation, and regulate immune function, according to a review published in The Lancet. An ounce of Brazil nuts (roughly 6 to 8 nuts) contains 544 mcg of selenium, which is a whopping 989 percent of your DV, according to the NIH.
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Vegan Triple Berry Protein Smoothie
This creamy vegan smoothie from Simply Quinoa offers an abundance of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies, including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cauliflower rice, and avocado. It also provides a good dose of protein (roughly 18 grams), thanks to the protein powder (choose a plant-based version to keep the recipe vegan) and plant-based protein milk. “You want to ensure you get adequate protein in your diet because protein is one of the nutrients that plays a role in the immune system,” Palumbo says. Specifically, the amino acids that make up protein regulate white blood cell function and create immune cells, according to research.
RELATED: The 12 Best Vegan Blogs for Recipe Inspiration
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Orange Sunshine Superpowered Smoothie
This smoothie via Blissful Basil is packed with good-for-you ingredients including banana, orange, and mango, and it gets an an additional boost of nutrients from baobob powder. Baobob is a fruit tree found in the savannah drylands of sub-Saharan Africa, according to an article published in November 2017 in Food Science & Nutrition. In powdered form, 100 g of baobob provides roughly 173 mg of vitamin C (192 percent DV), 2.4 mg of vitamin B6 (141 percent DV), and 3.7 g of protein, according to the USDA.
