Most immune-boosting foods are fruits, vegetables, spices, and herbs, which makes it super easy to put together an immune-boosting smoothie!
Give these recipes a try when you feel a cold coming on to give your immune system some support, or add them into your daily diet to help optimize your immune system function.
Firstly, let’s take a look at some of the staple immune-boosting smoothie ingredients!
Immune-Boosting Ingredients
Citrus Fruits
Fruits are filled with vitamin C which helps to increase white blood cells to fight infections. Vitamin C also can reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms.
Though, our body does not produce it naturally, meaning we need must get it from food sources, like citrus fruits.
A quick tip: Make sure you use fresh lemon juice when the recipe calls for it, so you get all the health benefits!
Honey
Honey is a great natural sweetener to use in smoothies because it is antibacterial and has antioxidant properties. It can assist immune cells in destroying illness-causing cells, kill bacteria that you may come into contact with, and help activate the immune system when needed.1
Ginger
The number of antioxidants that make up ginger is what makes it so good for your immune system. Antioxidants help destroy viruses and bacteria that can lead to an illness.
Ginger can be bought in numerous forms, and any works for smoothie purposes if you aren’t able to find fresh ginger.
Turmeric
Curcumin is the active ingredient of turmeric that acts as an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties.
When we come into contact with a virus, our immune system produces an inflammatory response to fight it off, usually resulting in a fever! With anti-inflammatory foods like turmeric, it can help to decrease this response.
Turmeric comes either as a fresh or ground spice. For the recipes below, you can use either but be mindful that 1 tbsp grated turmeric is equal to 1 tsp ground turmeric.
You might notice the recipes that call for turmeric also contain black pepper; this is because it can help to enhance your body's absorption of the turmeric!
Spinach
The original superfood, spinach is full of vitamins and minerals to help your body fight off viruses and keep you healthy. Folate is the most abundant nutrient found in spinach, which helps your body make new cells, thus strengthening your immunity.
Yogurt
Yogurt is full of probiotics that help keep your gut healthy. Around 70% of your immune cells are found in your gut.1 The live and active cultures in yogurt can help diversify your gut microbiome, helping maintain immune system function.
Smoothie-Making Tips
To start each recipe, make sure you have all the ingredients prepped. Any fresh fruit should have its peels, shells, skin, etc. removed and any seeds you don’t want to include taken out.
Cubing fruit works best in any kind of blender. You can use fresh or frozen fruit, but if you use frozen, make sure you let the fruit thaw at room temperature for 10-15 minutes for easier blending.
If you are using fresh turmeric or ginger, make sure you grate it thoroughly enough so that you don’t end up with chunks of it after blending.
Coconut water, fruit juice, milk, or normal water can be used as the liquid for your smoothies, just make sure you don’t use too much so it's not watered down.
Adding ice isn’t recommended as it turns a smoothie into more of a slushy unless, of course, you like that consistency!
The recipes you can make from these ingredients are endless, but below are some easy ones you can do for breakfast, a snack, or dessert.
If you are running low on time, try prepping all ingredients for a recipe and placing them in a Ziplock bag in the freezer so you can just grab and blend when you want!
4 Easy Immune-Boosting Recipes
1) Citrus Smoothie
The first recipe is a vitamin C-packed citrus smoothie that’ll provide you with hydration, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories; basically, the ultimate immune booster!
Ingredients
1.5 cup pineapple1 banana1 tbsp lemon juice½ tbsp honey½ inch piece of ginger¼ tsp ground turmericPinch black pepper1/3 cup coconut waterMethod
Blend all ingredients until smooth or desired consistency. If it's too thick, add more coconut water, and if it's too thin, add more fruit.
2) Green Smoothie
While spinach will make the color of this smoothie green, the orange and ginger will provide all the flavor. Adding yogurt will provide your gut with a punch of probiotics.
Ingredients
1 cup spinach1 orange1 banana1/2 inch ginger minced1/2 cup yogurt1/2 cup milk of your choiceMethod
Once prepped, add all ingredients to a blender and blend until it's at your desired consistency. You can swap out the milk for water if you want a fruitier smoothie vs. a creamy one.
3) Berry Citrus Smoothie
This smoothie is great for those that love more of a fruit smoothie without the kick of ginger and turmeric, while still providing plenty of immune-boosting properties.
Spinach and berries are considered superfoods, so this smoothie is packed with everything your body needs to fight off a cold.
Ingredients
- 2 cups strawberries
- 1 cups blueberries
- 1 handful spinach
- 1/2 cup coconut water
- Pinch of black pepper
Method
Blend all ingredients to the desired consistency. Coconut water can be flavorful, so if you aren’t a fan of coconut, swap it out for water.
4) Ginger Burst Smoothie
This last smoothie is the perfect combination of all the above smoothies. It has spinach, peaches, mangos, and lemon juice for vitamin C, and ginger for antioxidants to help fight viruses.
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1/2 cup peaches
- 1/2 cup mangos
- 1 inch peeled ginger
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Method
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend till desired consistency!
References
- Samarghandian, Saeed et al. “Honey and Health: A Review of Recent Clinical Research.” Pharmacognosy research vol. 9,2 (2017): 121-127. doi:10.4103/0974-8490.204647
