Berries, the real MVP

Berries are such an underrated food. They offer protection against cancer, boost the immune system and act as a guard for the liver and brain! Wait, so berries taste great AND help you live longer? That's right!

The American diet consists of mostly pale and beige foods: white bread, white pasta, white potatoes, white rice, etc. Imagine your typical dinner consisting of a plate of chicken breast, and a side of white rice and mashed potatoes. BORING!

The more colorful the food, the healthier it is due to antioxidant pigments. Carrots and sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene that make them orange, lycopene pigments make tomatoes red, and anthocyanin pigments make blueberries blue. In short, the more colorful the food is, the healthier it is for you!

Antioxidants can protect against the cell damage that free radicals cause, known as oxidative stress. These antioxidants have been shown to slow cell growth or cause cell death in cells from several different human cancer types. They also have properties that inhibit the blood supply to tumors, preventing them from receiving the nutrients they need to grow. Berries contain 10 times more antioxidants than any other fruit or vegetable, and 50 times more than animal based foods. Who knew that just a tiny, delicious berry could do so much for us?!

But wait, what about all the sugar in fruit? Isn't sugar BAD?! Yes, added sugars are associated with declining liver function, high blood pressure, and weight gain. The thing is, sugar from fruit and added sugar is not the same. The natural sugar found in fruit is prepackaged with fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients that cancel the adverse affects of sugar. Seriously, berries are just amazing.

Consuming sugar from fruit is not only harmless, but actually beneficial. Eating berries can reduce the insulin spike caused by high-glycemic foods, like white bread. Eating a piece of fruit with each meal lowers the blood sugar response to the rest of the meal. How amazing is that? Just a piece of fruit can do all of this for our bodies?! Yup.

Berries just scratch the surface on health promoting foods...stay tuned for more foods to improve your health!

Berries have become a huge staple in our house. One of our favorite ways to incorporate berries into the day is to have a berry smoothie for a snack!

Check out my delicious berry smoothie recipe to add more berries to your day!

Makes 2 smoothies:

1 banana

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen blackberries

1 cup frozen raspberries

1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (more or less depending on thickness desired)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

*Throw in a handful of spinach or kale, if you have it on hand, for even more health promoting benefits! (you won't even taste it, promise!)

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency! Enjoy!