Smoothie Sabotage: Are you drinking a mistake? AND 5 must haves for a REAL power shake.

Click here for the kick-ass Smoothie Sabotage Infographic.

You’ll find me backstage, stepping over groupies on the tour bus to whip up our gangsta juice (what we call our power smoothies) before my clients go on stage in sold-out stadiums around the world. Trust me, when touring the globe you need extra special nutrients to stay on top.

But truthfully, don’t we all just want to stay on top of our game?

So It breaks my heart when good people, trying their best to up their health, get duped. I’ve seen it happen to my friends and co-workers again and again - I call it smoothie sabotage!

We’ve been told to eat more fruit and veggies, so many of us whip up a smoothie because it’s easy and tastes great - thinking we are helping ourselves out - when really, we are secretly sabotaging not just our health but our moods.

The 2 most common Smoothie Screw Overs:

Fruit Juice Base - Here’s the deal - fruit is good for ya. But it is also very high in natural sugars. Some natural sugars in your day is fine - in fact your body needs them - but in order to process sugar properly it also needs the fiber and other nutrients that come with that fruit.

When we pour juices like OJ or apple juice into the blender it lacks fiber, causing our blood sugar to spike when we drink this smoothie.

When our blood sugar spikes our body works hard to make insulin to regulate it, and when the insulin kicks in the sugar drops fast - making us tired, moody AND CRAVING MORE SUGAR to get our energy back to normal.

Yep - this juice smoothie will make you want to eat more sugar and caffeine in the day, setting you up for a roller coaster of energy and emotions all day - EXHAUSTING!

Milk or Whey Powder Base - This one was a hot button in nutrition school - is milk good for you or bad for you? There’s scientific evidence on both sides, so let me clear things up for you.

A milk based smoothie defeats the purpose. Milk from any animal other than “yo momma” (sorry had to say it) is foreign to your body. So when we drink it your immune system recognizes it as foreign - just like it would a germ or virus - and launches an attack.

Your white blood cells organize like a army, ready to pounce on this alien invader. And this means 2 things for you:

1. Your immune system is focused on destroying milky invaders rather than actual germs and viruses, making it more likely you get sick

2. Your body, especially lymph glands, become inflamed, swollen from working hard - this leads to all sorts of problems, everything from headaches, to IBS and muscle pain etc. Some Dr’s even believe that chronic inflammation is the root cause of all illness, including big ones like cancer. The exact opposite of what you’re trying to do (especially for you work out types!! You want to help your muscles heal, not be more sore!)

So now that we’ve pulled the wool from our eyes, what goes into a real power shake or smoothie? It’s actually pretty simple.

5 things that take your sipping to super power status:

1. Liquid to Blend With - Keep it simple - use water, nut or seed milk. For example almond or cashew milk are good bases. There are tons of choices these days, just get an unsweetened one.

2. Protein - Protein powders are the easiest way to go on this one - these 2 are my favorite because they are plant based, super high in protein, have no junk, taste better than most and have tons of nutrients. - Vega Sport and Vibrant Health Pure Green Protein.* You could also use raw seeds like hemp or sunflower seeds if your blender can blend them smooth.

3. Nutrients - Vitamins and Minerals - these are mandatory to prevent/heal injury and illness and give us all-day energy, plus are skin actually starts to glow when eat them. If you’re not using a protein powder with nutrients throw in a handful of spinach or kale or a yummy nutrient powder like Green Super Food by Amazing Grass Green (the Orange Dreamsicle is amazing!).*

4. Fiber - Fiber is just the outside wall of plant cells - that’s it. It keeps you full, regular, and balances blood sugar levels. These fruits add sweet, tangy and high fiber: raspberries, blackberries or pear.

5. Fat - Yeah, this health coach just told you to eat fat. Healthy fats are essential for great skin, hair, brain function and are part of every cell we have. Because we need fat to survive, if we don’t eat healthy fats we crave junky fats - so eat the good ones to curb the bad. This could be avocado, coconut butter or ground flax seeds which are all high in healthy oils we need.

If you pick one item from each of the 5 super categories your shake becomes a full-on meal, gangsta juice if you will, and the fastest most delicious way to set yourself up for success. Sabotage averted.

*I don’t work with any of the companies I recommend in this article or get any money from them - I just use their products myself because they’re awesome and like to give you shortcuts. Let me know if you have your own favorites, I’d love to hear about them.

Written by Karlee Fain, Celebrity Health Coach, Author

In addition to founding Every Body Thrive, Karlee is an international celebrity Health Coach, helping the high profile folks that lead our country and culture stay balanced and healthy. But she has a secret mission - showing everyday folks the secrets to living your best life too! She's also the author of The Grocery Store Adventure Guide, featured in the Every Body Yoga DVD and the most likely to be caught dancing around her office. Click here to apply for a Private Breakthrough Coaching Session with Karlee.

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