This Therapeutic Pineapple Ginger Turmeric Smoothie Fights Inflammation At The Cellular Level

I never get tired of turmeric smoothies. The whole-body healing effects of turmeric make it something you definitely want to be including in your day-to-day routine.

Inflammation is something we all experience in our bodies. In fact, inflammation is incredibly important. It helps the body fight foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses and has a role in repairing damage. However, when inflammation becomes chronic (not short-term), it can get problematic.

Chronic inflammation happens when the body starts to attack its own tissues – clearly something we don’t want happening. In fact, it is now believed that chronic, low-level inflammation is responsible for almost every chronic Western disease (like heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative conditions (1, 2).

Utilizing natural herbs like turmeric to reduce these levels of inflammation are important if you’re wanting to fight disease at the root cause. In fact, curcumin (the active component of turmeric), is such a strong anti-inflammatory, that it has even matched the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs (3).

Curcumin actually targets multiple steps in the inflammatory pathway, at the molecular level. It has been shown to regulate numerous transcription factors, cytokines, protein kinases, adhesion molecules, redox status and enzymes that have been linked to the inflammatory process (4).

The inflammatory effects of curcumin also extend to our cardiovascular system, however, when it comes to heart disease, curcumin actually improves the function of the endothelium, which is the lining of the blood vessels (5). Endothelial dysfunction is a major cause of heart disease, as it messes with blood pressure regulation, blood clotting and other factors (6).

Drink this turmeric smoothie every day, or a couple times a week to reap the amazing benefits of turmeric.

Pineapple Ginger Turmeric Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

– 2 cups pineapple
– 1 ripe banana
– 1 tsp. turmeric powder (or 1-2 inches fresh turmeric root)
– 1 knob fresh ginger root
– pinch freshly ground black pepper (to increase absorption of curcumin in the body)
– 1 cup coconut milk
– optional: 1 cup packed greens of your choice