Tea has lots of good stuff in it – notably antioxidants. On the pages below are two healthy and yummy tea smoothies from Rachael Hartley, RD, LD, CDE (AvocadoaDayNutrition.com). They’re also delicious!

But first, what is it with “antioxidants”. What do they do?

Antioxidants help rid body of toxins, as well as boosting metabolism.

I recently discovered why this matters – the short version goes something like this…

  1. The Daily Health Threat We Face
    Our health is under threat daily from “free radicals” – chemicals which are either produced by our own body, the food we eat, or even the air we breathe. Apparently they can alter the function or structure of cells in our body – even our DNA can be impacted!

    Scientific studies in 1990s found that free radical damage was involved in the early stages of artery-clogging atherosclerosis, and may contribute to cancer, vision loss, and a host of other chronic conditions.

  2. What Defences do we have?
    Healthy bodies have natural defences against free radicals and the food we eat can provide defenders called “antioxidants”, The best known antioxidants are vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and other related carotenoids, as well as the minerals selenium and manganese.
  3. But there’s a Problem…
    There is currently no scientific consensus that taking “antioxidants” is beneficial or not.But, antioxidant supplements industry represents a $500 million dollar business, still growing.

According to Harvard.edu…

Often the claims have stretched and distorted the data: While it’s true that the package of antioxidants, minerals, fiber, and other substances found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains helps prevent a variety of chronic diseases, it is unlikely that high doses of antioxidants can accomplish the same feat.

At the same time, abundant evidence suggests that eating whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains—all rich in networks of antioxidants and their helper molecules—provides protection against many of these scourges of aging.

4. So Here’s a Solution…
Increase our intake of healthy foods, especially whole fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to at least the Recommended Daily Amount (RDA).

And along with that, as we said at the beginning, according to Rachael Hartley tea also has lots of good stuff in it – notably antioxidants…

Note: antioxidant supplements have been found to make matters worse instead of better. Far more effective to include naturally antioxidant-rich foods in your regular meal plan.

As Rachael says…

Tea is packed with all sorts of antioxidant goodness and smoothies are a great way to sneak it in!

Try it in this green tea smoothie with avocado and ginger – has lots of good stuff in it. It’s also delicious.

See the Next Page for the Rachael’s – Gingery Green Tea Smoothie Recipe…

[nextpagelink][/nextpagelink]

Pages: 1 2 3