Hey Platinum Wellness family! Dr. Infantino here and today I thought I’d cover how to simply boost your immune system with a smoothie in the morning.
WATCH HERE, IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK.
It’s especially important this time of year since our immune systems tend to be under assault between the stress of the holidays and extra sugar in our diet. That’s the reason the flu season is right after the holidays. In fact it’s been said 2 tablespoons of sugar will decrease your immune system function by up to 60% for 4 hours!
So a couple extra cookies here and there along with the stress of finding the right gifts and it’s no wonder we all tend to be sick after the holidays!
So today I’ll share with you my simple morning routine that goes a long way toward boosting your immune system and for that matter helps you lose weight, stabilize your blood sugar, give you more energy and heals your gut, all while alkalizing your body which is especially important.
Best part of all is it only takes about 5 minutes in the morning. The smoothie is full of vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants. It’s designed specifically to boost your immune system and counteract all those things this time of year that suppress our immune system. Who knows, you might enjoy doing it so much you’ll continue it throughout the year!
So here goes… The most important ingredient
in this smoothie is greens. To be honest it doesn’t matter what type of greens you use, but there were a few I would try to include- dandelion, parsley and/ or cilantro.
These greens are particularly cleansing and great for the liver. By the way, cleansing your liver is particularly important since it’s your body’s furnace and performs over 500 different jobs including stabilizing blood sugar, burning fat and cleansing your body. So think of it like your body’s giant filter that needs to be cleansed itself so it can continue to keep you clean 🙂
As far as the greens above go, you can get these in bunches and pretty much any produce section. What we usually do at our house is cut the bottoms off about a quarter of an inch and put them in a glass of water so they stay alive.
One bunch of these greens is usually a foundation of my smoothie to which I add a handful of mixed greens. Usually I get mixed greens at Costco, but you can get them virtually anywhere. I typically take as much as I could fit in one hand and stuff it into the Vitamix or any blender. I like mixed greens because it’s so simple but you can put plain spinach or virtually anything else that’s green in there 🙂
Next, I like to add lemons. You can do this one of two ways- you can squeeze the lemons, or what I prefer to do, since it’s simpler, is peel the lemons and throw them in whole. Lemons definitely make it taste better and they add vitamin C which also boosts the immune system along with helping the mixture last longer. It’s like a natural preservative.
Ginger is another great addition. You can buy a
piece of it at most grocery stores. I usually add a chunk about the size of my thumb. That gives it a pretty strong taste but ginger has so many benefits from a powerful anti-inflammatory to its benefit to the digestive system I feel it’s worth it. Personally I enjoy the taste.
A few other things you can add to the shake are chia seeds and flax seeds which will increase omega-3 fats and fiber. I would highly recommend avoiding fruit however as the added sugar just isn’t necessary. You can also add a good quality whey protein and or fiber if you like. One challenge with both of those however is you’ll need to drink it relatively quickly as the fiber will thicken your mixture up over time. Personally I don’t add these since I like to drink my green drink throughout the day.
Another thing that’s great to add and very easy is powdered vitamin C. A scoop, which is usually 1000 mg or so, will boost immune system function and add antioxidants while making the smoothie last longer.
Well that’s it for now! Hopefully that’s helpful. Just a very simple way to get a bunch of greens in, alkalize your body, boost immune system function and overall just get you healthier 🙂
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!
Dr. I