November 19, 2024

The stories that help us

Start your day the Smoothie Way

How a smoothie can add years to your life and it’s a great way to start your day

When it comes to your health and well-being your diet, lifestyle, and exercise play a significant role in your longevity, you should know that there are factors beyond genetics and your environment that can affect your lifespan. Your daily habits and, more importantly your diet play a significant role in determining how long you’ll live.

Eating too many unhealthy foods like the convenience of highly processed foods can put you at a higher risk of numerous diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Having an unhealthy diet contributes to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in America making it one of the leading causes of death in the US, alongside physical inactivity.

Worldwide, 11,000,000 deaths are attributable to dietary risk factors, according to a 2019 study published in The Lancet. Having said all that you have to enjoy your life too, so there has to be a balance – you can still enjoy your takeaways but try to minimize them or replicate them by cooking at home, at least you will then know what ingredients are going into your dinner. The use of MSG  (monosodium glutamate) in takeaway foods has possible health implications, it’s added to foods like Kentucky fried chicken, Doritos, Pringles and other snack foods. The advice is to read the label of the product you are buying to avoid MSG, the FDA in America has regulated food companies to use the full name (monosodium glutamate) so that consumers can be aware of what ingredients are in a product they are purchasing.

Foods To Maximize Metabolism

With these statistics in mind let’s turn a negative into a positive, following a healthy diet can extend your lifespan and eating a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and fish, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that you can decrease your risk of an early death or disease by more than fifty per cent, on top of eating a balanced diet, some specific superfoods are rich in nutrients that are particularly powerful when it comes to helping you live longer.

Smoothies are a great way to start your day and you can make so many different types, this one is highly recommended by dietitians and wellbeing experts like David and Stephen Flynn of the Happy Pear food and wellness company. The ingredients in it are the foods that lengthen your lifespan, it’s a breakfast smoothie with Yoghurt, Spinach, Blueberries, Almonds and Chia seeds, but if there is one ingredient in the smoothie you don’t like swap it out for something you do like.

Yogurt

This dairy product is rich in probiotics with living bacteria that promote better gut health, which is linked to healthier digestion, lower inflammation, and benefits your alertness. Probiotics also happen to be linked to a longer life. Researchers discovered that people who eat large amounts of probiotic-rich yoghurt have an unusually long lifespan. They believe that probiotics can promote longevity by decreasing the harmful effects of stress and modulating your insulin response. If you do not like dairy yoghurts you can swap them out for yoghurts that are 100% plant-based.

Spinach

Some people just don’t like spinach but it’s one of the most popular leafy greens, spinach is rich in antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful health benefits. Studies show that eating leafy greens regularly can decrease your risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. If this is one of the ingredients you don’t like try to swap it out for another green vegetable, but to be honest with all the different ingredients in the smoothie you won’t taste it.  

Blueberries

These berries are some of the healthiest foods you can eat, especially when it comes to lengthening your life. Blueberries are rich in flavonoids, a group of bioactive compounds in blueberries that has been linked to longer lifespans which is contained in a report by the British Journal of Nutrition Study. The researchers found a close link between eating flavonoid-rich foods, including blueberries, and a reduced risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who did not consume these foods in significant quantities. If you do not like blueberries you can swap them out for raspberries or strawberries.

Almonds

Nuts are rich in fibre, protein, and heart-healthy fats, which means they deliver massive health benefits and can help you live longer. People who eat the most nuts have a lower risk of dying of any disease, according to a study by The New England Journal of Medicine. If you do not like almonds you can always substitute them with other nuts like walnuts or cashew nuts.  

Chia seeds

One secret to living a longer life is eating more fibre according to the Archives of Internal Medicine, a study found that people who increased their dietary fibre intake by just 10 grams significantly lowered their risk of death, the good news is that a couple of tablespoons of chia seeds delivers that amount.

To make this healthy smoothie all you need is a half-cup of blueberries, a handful of spinach, a couple of tablespoons of chia seed, a tablespoon of almond butter, and some yoghurt – the amount depends on how big of a smoothie you like, a cup of almond milk and some ice. Pop it into the blender and blend for the perfect way to start your day, a good tip would be to make it the night before and put it into your fridge overnight. Enjoy a healthy breakfast simply.

Image by rorozoa on Freepik

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