Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie — so simple and tropical - VIDEO!!

This Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie is a MUST-TRY! Food is most certainly your medicine, and in this case, in the most refreshingly delicious, most tropical way possible with this perfect smoothie recipe.

This is that perfect TROPICAL smoothie that makes you feel like you're simply relaxing on the beach in Hawaii, toes in the powdery white sand, aqua-blue ocean water sparkling under that warm afternoon sun. But what makes it SO much better is that this is also the perfect smoothie for your body, especially if you want to stave off inflammation and help your body with prevention of disease. What could be a better combination than that? Food is most certainly your medicine, and in this case, in the most refreshingly delicious and simplest way possible.

You can make this smoothie everyday and you won't tire of it AND your body will thank you. It's so unbelievably simple to make--just so easy and extremely quick to gather the few ingredients and throw into the blender.

So HOW do you make the most healthy tropical smoothie ever?

I can't believe a smoothie this delicious can be this simple to make. You could use fresh or frozen fruit. I prefer frozen for texture and simplicity. The one thing is that you should definitely consider using organic fruit because what's the point of eating something that is supposed to nourish your body when you are consuming all the pesticides sprayed all over it too? And washing fruit does not remove all the pesticides that can permeate through thinner skinned-fruits, especially because spraying the plants contaminates the soil and water that feeds the plant. So what you get is a fruit laden with poison. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the reality of it. And it doesn't have to be expensive because frozen fruit (even organic) is almost always cheaper than fresh.

All you need is a banana (fresh or frozen), a big handful of frozen pineapple chunks, a bit smaller of a handful of frozen mango chunks, a few dashes of turmeric, and enough coconut water to get the consistency you want once blended. See? SO SIMPLE! I also absolutely love adding a little bit of coconut milk because it gives it that wonderful piña colada flavor. But that's totally optional--some love coconut, some ...not so much. But if coconut is your jam, by all means, please, PLEASE add some. It takes this smoothie to another level of tropical beauty and lusciousness!

Once you've thrown everything in, just give it all a whirl in the blender and BOOM! Island getaway in a glass awaits.

What exactly makes this tropical pineapple smoothie the HEALTHIEST anti-inflammatory smoothie ever?

Well it boils down to the anti-inflammatory properties of the pineapple and turmeric. Together, they create a synergistic powerhouse of disease-fighting properties. It's absolutely incredible how amazing this combination works at alleviating joint pain by decreasing inflammation in the joints. If you make it a point to drink this smoothie as regularly as possible, you will literally speed up your recovery processes in your body and you WILL feel that any inflammation in your body subsides.

Pineapple is scientifically shown to decrease inflammation, including that caused by autoimmune disease (this is when your own immune system attacks specific parts of your body). Simply put, when you have a bunch of leukocytes, or white blood cells, rushing to a specific area of the body, such as a broken foot or a joint affected by autoimmunity, you end up with inflammation in that specific area.

Now, pineapple contains enzymes called bromelain that actually remove certain molecules on the surface of leukocytes (white blood cells) that are important for allowing the leukocytes to get to their destination of attack. If you block this process at any point for those leukocytes (which is what the medications for autoimmune diseases do), you block inflammation. Bromelain may also be an effective anti-cancer agent and shows much promise in the ability to kill cancer cells.

So then, EAT your pineapple, FIGHT disease.

The second and biggest punch of that inflammation-fighting combo is turmeric. Turmeric is a root that is a member of the ginger family. For centuries, turmeric spice has been used in combating so many different types of diseases (from autoimmune disease to microbial disease to parasitic disease to neurodegenerative disease to cardiovascular disease to cancers). It's a strong antioxidant and it can affect multiple inflammatory pathways in the body, which explains how it has so many roles in fighting so many different diseases. Turmeric really is a magical ingredient. You can buy it in root form in the produce section of your supermarket or in a jar, in powder form. Add a few dashes whenever you're cooking chicken, beef, or pork and it enhances the dish's flavor levels while helping your health. Plus, consuming turmeric alongside healthy, unprocessed, natural fat sources like animal fats, coconut oil, ghee or butter will increase its absorption. Add black pepper to your dish and increase that level of absorption even more!

Considering the fact that 1 in 5 people in America suffers from an autoimmune disease, it is so important to fight it in the most risk-free way possible because if you could, wouldn't you want to? Who needs side effects when you're already dealing with enough ailments, right? And while there are definitely medications that help so much with autoimmune disease-caused inflammation, nothing like that comes without proper risk.

I personally used to depend on medication to ease the inflammation in my joints caused by rheumatoid arthritis and sjogren's disease. And while it helped me a lot with dealing with painful joints and limitations that result from that, it honestly didn't sit well with me that I was introducing more risk into my life and my future. There is definitely some regret with that for me (even though I pushed back and didn't take that medication for as long as doctors wanted me to and I didn't take as much as they had hoped, either--I did what felt right for me). And frankly, I definitely wish I had replaced the anti-inflammatory medication with more anti-inflammatory foods sooner.

The right ingredients in your food are the best and safest sources of medicine--all this coming from a former scientist who has a PhD in the field of INFLAMMATION and who has managed her autoimmune diseases well enough with NATURAL ways (and that includes eating foods that fight inflammation and staying away from ingredients that drive inflammation).

While food is medicine, it doesn't have to taste like it and this smoothie is definitely proof of that as one of the best tasting things you could ever whip up in a blender. Honestly.

You'll love it and your body will love it just as much.

Tropical gorgeousness that's amazing for your health is a huge YES!!

If you want more blended drink goodness, you need to try my layered sunrise smoothie, my summery melon slush, and my all-natural frozen lemonade. For an addicting frozen chocolate drink, try my healthy chocolate smoothie. All these are a cinch to make and so unbelievably tasty!

Recipe

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991605/#R3

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12165279

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22645638

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9619120

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4998156/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3288651/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18140450

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18662800

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20859741

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3604998/

http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/110/11/1177.abstract