Nutritious berry smoothies

Nutritious berry smoothies give strength to our bones for just a very few minutes spent every morning. I mean it; in a moment you can aid the well-being of your whole family with the phytonutrients that enhance our vigour. They also help prevent the "non-communicable diseases" that ail our generation.

Functional foods are said to enhance our wellness and help prevent disease; on both scores these nutritious berry smoothies qualify.

Hippocrates said "let your food be your medicine." Whilst his name is hallowed in the halls of pharmaceutical-colleges, to all intents and purposes his philosophy is totally ignored. Stand up and go against the flow; adhere to the advice of the bard.

Nutritious berry smoothies

If you are not into dairy then just add coconut or almond milk instead; or even from oats^[4]. I have tried rather unsuccessfully to show the coffee blender in the background with a teaspoon each of flax and sesame-seeds; grind them yourself first before use.

Flaxseed

Freshly-ground flaxseeds are a wonder for their lignans and omega 3 fatty acids; they are especially the best for vegetarians who would abhor fish oil, the more common source.

Frankly I am not into salmon oil capsules either; by all means enjoy cold-water fish like herring, mackerel or snoek but the highly processed lipids are not for me.

And you absolutely must grind the seeds yourself. The power of flax is the anti-inflammatory omega 3; but it goes rancid, is oxidised very quickly after the shell is cracked.

Never buy the oil; it has none of the lignans that help prevent breast-tumours^[6] and once the bottle is opened, it must be finished within a week or two.

Sesame seed

Sesame seed has many of the properties of flax but it is less potent; it does taste magnificent though. You could use half a teaspoon of tahini.

Berries

I believe there is universal agreement that berries are good for us; usually one would find a dissenter or two but throughout the confusion of nutrition they shine brightly. They are rich in the flavonoids that go around mopping up the free-radicals and the oxidative species that cause our DNA to go crazy and cause tumours.

As always there is a problem with commercial berries however. They contain the highest amounts of toxic insecticides; the bugs love them too.

• Fruit with highest pesticide residues
  

Cranberries are also a good option.

This year we picked 20 blue-berries every morning for our smoothies for over two months from just one bush. What a joy they are, though totally dependent on bees for pollination.

We love passion-fruit, also known as granadillas in our nutritious berry smoothies; we add them after the ingredients have been blended so as not to smash the seeds.

In a powerful twin-study, researchers have shown that habitual enjoyment of flavonoids in our food is strongly associated with stronger bones^[1]. The anthocyanins in berries are the most effective for mineral density in the hip and spine but all are good.

Try to enjoy berries every day of the year; preferably fresh when in season but frozen and canned are options too.

These strawberry nutrition facts will amaze you.

Spinach

After radish spinach is the easiest vegetable to grow in your garden; in mild climates, the plants often go on bearing for several years. No wonder Popeye was so strong. Your dark green leafy veggies are the best source of lutein, one of the three known phytochemicals that give protection against the chief cause of adult-onset blindness; macular degeneration and cataracts too^[2].

Poorly managed type-2 diabetes is another cause.

The other two nutrients are zeaxanthin and L-dopa.

Spinach is also a rich source of folate. A deficiency of this vitamin is strongly associated with miscarriages, birth-defects and anaemia^[5]; and the early onset of frailty syndrome.

Spinach, kale and other cousins like cabbage have little flavour of their own so we dicky them up with garlic, turmeric and onions; or in nutritious berry smoothies with banana and honey.

The benefits of spinach include other nutrients like vitamins, many minerals including iron and fibre for constipation.

Natural honey

Open a bottle of natural honey and you are immediately struck by a powerful whiff of literally millions of flowers. It is almost overpowering; and completely absent from the processed stuff from the supermarket. These scented compounds are heat-labile and driven off by warming if processed. It is a splendid sweetener for your nutritious berry smoothies.

It is astonishing but natural honey given to a group of type-2 diabetics actually lowered their blood glucose; and on average they lost 1.8 kg in eight weeks^[3].

Please note the same cannot be said for commercial honey; in fact quite the contrary. It has a very high glycemic index.

Vanilla seeds

I have what I believe to be a not unwarranted terror of chemicals in my food; and so abhor vanilla essence. Actually once you have tried the seeds in your cooking, you will no never go back to third-best anyway.

The genuine flavour comes through in your nutritious berry smoothies as with all natural foods.

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