Happy “Matcha Monday” All!

I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend and wonderful Valentine’s Day! Here in Ontario the weather was quite cold and we got a LOT of snow. Fortunately I was able to keep warm and got to enjoy some family time over the weekend.We did some baking, and I made us enchiladas for dinner Sunday night.

After dinner we got cozy and put on the new James Bond – “Spectre” film that recently came out. I’m a pretty big James Bond fan, particularly of the Daniel Craig “James Bond” (he just does it so well – and looks great doing it hehe!). I did however, also enjoy a few too many not-so-healthy sweets over the weekend, which I’m feeling the effects of a little bit today. But all-in-all it was a pretty great, relaxing weekend.

You may already be aware of the mounting evidence suggesting that sugar has numerous negative effects on both physical and mental health. However, if you’re just learning about this now and would like a little more information, this article by Authority Nutrition does a nice job of briefly summing it up.

In short, sugar is linked to inflammation (as it tends to increase activity of pro-inflammatory mechanisms in the body), which appears to underlie many disease states, particularly those chronic in nature, enhancing their severity. Inflammation has been implicated in everything from diabetes, to heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and cancer, to name a few.

So sugar enhances inflammation, which fuels chronic disease states, yet sugar is almost everywhere, or so it seems. How can we counteract it’s negative effects? Obviously, a key first step is reducing and limiting ones intake of highly processed, high-sugar food and beverage items.

An optimal approach is to try consuming mainly fresh, local, and organic foods when possible, and to minimize your consumption of processed items. But consuming some processed food can be tough to avoid, thus it’s critical to pay attention to the nutritional information provided on the packaging. Nutritional labels give you a breakdown of what’s in the product and the ingredients that were used to make it. I appreciate how confusing ingredient lists and nutrition labels can be; to better understand them check out this article which walks you through how to read and make sense of all that info.

Another way to minimize the detrimental effects of sugar, but still satisfy your sweet tooth, is by using natural sweeteners such as raw honey or real maple syrup. For instance, raw unpasteurized honey has some scientifically validated beneficial health properties, such as antioxidants and the ability to reduce some pro-inflammatory cytokines. More on this can be found here. However, be mindful of the fact that even these natural sweeteners should be consumed in moderation.

Additionally, there are several spices and other herbal compounds that have shown efficacy for antioxidant properties and reducing inflammation. One of these is of course matcha green tea. I go into more detail about matcha’s health benefits in my Maple Matcha Latte post from a few weeks back.

Another natural anti-inflammatory is the spice Turmeric, from which curcumin is derived. Considerable scientific evidence has demonstrated that curcumin exerts anti-inflammatory effects throughout the body via its ability to regulate a range of inflammatory mechanisms, such as pro-inflammatory cytokines (Borre et al., 2014; Kulkarni et al., 2009; Lopresti, Hood, & Drummond, 2012). For more information on the health benefits of Turmeric (and curcumin) check out this article by Authority Nutrition.

Alright, now that I’ve given you a little background on how sugar and inflammation can threaten your health, and a few ways to counter this with natural compounds, I’d like to share this nutritious, anti-inflammatory smoothie bowl recipe I came up with: the Matcha-Turmeric Anti-inflammatory Smoothie Bowl!

This smoothie has a naturally sweet taste from the pineapple (or mango if you prefer), a creamy texture from the avocado, undertones of matcha, and a touch of spice from the turmeric and cinnamon. Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 3/4 cup pineapple, fresh or frozen (or mango)
• 1 cup coconut or almond milk, unsweetened (add more if needed)
• 1 Tbsp raw, unpasteurized honey or real maple syrup
• 1 tsp matcha
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Optional toppings: shredded unsweetened coconut, One Degree Organics Brown Rice Cacao Crisps, almond, pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, mint.

Method:

• Place the first four ingredients in a single serve mixer (such as a Magic Bullet) or blender. Add in honey, matcha, turmeric, and cinnamon.
• Blend until the mixture is pureed and thoroughly combined.
• Pour into a bowl (or leave in a travel cup if you’re on the go) and top with your favourite healthy toppings.
• Smile, think of one thing you’re thankful for, and enjoy! 🙂

I hope that you’ll enjoy this nutritious, anti-inflammatory smoothie! It’s a great one to start the day with as it will fill you up thanks to the fiber from the avocado and pineapple, and keep your energy levels up too. The anti-inflammatory properties are a wonderful way to help your body re-establish homeostasis (ie. balance), particularly after a night out enjoying some sugary cocktails or after eating a few too many yummy sweet treats.

Wishing you health and happiness,

xo Julie