Give Yourself A Health Boost; The Best Ingredients To Add To Your Morning Smoothie

Avocados

Avocados are chock full of healthy nutrients, including potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, folate, fiber, as well as vitamins C, K, E, and B6. Most of the benefits connect in some way to all of the healthy fats this stone fruit contains, since in addition to keeping individuals full, boosting healthy skin, and promoting heart health, consuming healthy fats also helps the body absorb other nutrients.

Thus, individuals can better utilize the benefits of the other nutrients in avocados, such as having healthy babies (folate), improving digestion (fiber), building healthy bones (vitamin K), protecting against some types of cancer (folate), and decreasing symptoms of depression (folate). Reports also indicate consuming healthy fats also helps stabilize blood sugar, since the fats slow the body's breakdown of carbohydrates and may even support a healthy immune system.

Spirulina

Spirulina is often referred to as blue-green algae, but individuals should not let that dissuade them from considering this ingredient for their smoothie. They should just be sure to purchase spirulina grown from a lab to be safe. Seven grams of spirulina powder contains roughly four grams of protein, eleven percent of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of iron, and twenty-one percent of the RDI of copper. It also contains fifteen percent of the RDI of riboflavin (vitamin B2), as well as at least a small amount of almost every nutrient the body needs. Countless reports indicate when considering nutritional content gram for gram, spirulina is perhaps the most nutritious food in the world.

Spirulina is capable of reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, thus reducing the risk of heart disease. This ingredient also has potent antioxidant properties, improves symptoms of diabetes (e.g., managing blood sugar), and may even have dramatic positive effects in treating oral cancer according to some reports. Iron, as many may know, helps prevent anemia. The aforementioned antioxidant properties in spirulina help minimize oxidative damage from exercise, which can reduce muscle fatigue and improve both muscle strength as well as endurance. It can also help improve allergic rhinitis, reduce inflammation, and reduce high blood pressure.