Healthy Skin & Body Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:
(makes about 1 pint)

2 pears
1 banana
2 kiwi fruit
2 cups (or small handfulls) of spinach
1 cup of water
1/2 to 1 cup of apple juice 

Method:

Chop pears and banana, and add to blender with spinach.  
Slice kiwi in half and remove flesh from skin using a tea spoon.  remove the white centre and add green flesh/black seeds to blender.
Add 1 cup of water and 1/2 to 1 cup of apple juice.
Put in glass.  Drink!


It is bright green, has a strange fluffy texture you'd expect from a milkshake, not a fruit smoothie, and it has spinach in it??  It tastes amazing and it is ridiculously good for you - a few of the health benefits listed below:


Pear:

Vitamin C and Copper - Antioxidants which boost the immune system

Boron - Helps the body retain Calcium, protecting you against illnesses such as osteoporosis.

Glucose - Boosts energy levels

Fiber - 1 pear contains 20-25% of your RDA of fiber, which aids digestion.

Folic Acid - Pears contain 5% RDA Folic Acid, which not only makes for a healthy pregnancy, but also helps to prevent against certain cancers, strokes and loss of sight.


Banana:

Fiber - One banana has 11% of your RDA of Fiber

Potassium - The high amounts of Potassium in bananas (13% RDA) helps to lower your blood pressure, lowering chances of heart attacks or a stroke.  Potassium also neutralises Sodium, helping your body retain Calcium.

Fructooligosaccharide - Helps Calcium absorption and nourishes healthy bacteria in colon.

Protease Inhibators - Break down bacteria which cause stomach ulcers, along with obstructing the  replication of cells and viruses such as HIV.

B6 - One banana contains 36% of your RDA of B6 - an anti-inflammatory which acts against heart disease and obestiy, maintains the lymphoid gland (reponsible for white blood cell production for fighting infection) and is important for cell formation and nervous system function.


Kiwi:

Potassium - Kiwis contain just as much Potassium as bananas, see above for the benefits!

Anti-oxidants - Kiwis contain Vitamin A, C and E, which protect the body from free radicals, dramatically improving your health over time and protecting against cardiovascular disease, cancer and obseity.

Fiber - Keeps the colon healthy and lowers cholesterol levels, protecting against cardiovascular disease.



Spinach:

Fibre - One cup of spinach contains 36% of your RDA of Fibre, which keeps the colon healthy, aids digestion and keeps you fuller for longer.

Flavonoids - a phytonutrient with anti-cancer properties abundant in spinach -- have been shown to slow down cell division in human stomach and skin cancer cells. Furthermore, spinach has shown significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer. 

Neoxanthin and violaxanthin - Anti-inflammatory and present in unusually high amounts in spinach.

Vitamin C - Anti-oxidant
Vitamin E - Anti-oxidant
Beta-Carotene - Anti-oxidant
Manganese - Anti-oxidant
Zinc - Anti-oxidant
Selenium - Anti-oxidant
All serve as powerful antioxidants that combat the onset of osteoporosis, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.

Peptides - By inhibiting the angiotensin I-converting enzyme, peptides within spinach have been shown to effectively lower blood pressure. 

Lutein and Zeaxanthin - Protect the eye from cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. 

Vitamin A - One cup of spinach has over 337% of your RDA of Vitamin A - which not only protects and strengthens "entry points" into the human body, such as mucous membranes, respiratory, urinary and intestinal tracts, but is also a key component of lymphocytes (or white blood cells) that fight infection. 

The high amount of vitamin A in spinach also promotes healthy skin by allowing for proper moisture retention in the epidermis, thus fighting psoriasis, keratinization, acne and even wrinkles

Vitamin K - One cup of spinach has over 1000% of your RDA of Vitamin K, which prevents the breakdown of bones, cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as maintaining a healthy nervous system by helping in the process of building the sheath around nerves.


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