Chances are excellent you have a blender sitting on the corner of a countertop. It’s lonely and forgotten, like an old boyfriend or a Backstreet Boys CD.
Well dust that baby off, because it’s got a pile of health benefits that should make it your most-used kitchen implement.
1. Avoid Cancer
You probably know hot dogs are full of nitrates that put them in the same cancer-causing category as cigarettes. But did you know most veggies are just as bad?
That’s right. Most vegetables are grown in nitrate-heavy fertilizers. When we cook them, they produce cancer causing compounds that we then ingest. Eating veggies raw, in healthy smoothies, keeps the nitrates from metamorphosing into the Mr. Hyde of foods. Get that blender whirring.
2. Have a Better Sex Life
Who doesn’t want a better sex life? Better all-around nutrition helps, but several smoothie ingredients can ramp up the amour. The short list of natural aphrodisiac blender buddies includes:
- Almonds
- Blueberries
- Coconut water
- Spinach
Mix them all at once in this recipe, then stand back. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
3. Lose Weight
When you make a smoothie, you’ll tend to add more high-fiber foods like kale or spinach. Those provide a lot of hunger-curbing bulk without amping up the calories.
Use your blender to feel full without the fat-gain. Need some ideas to get you going? Try this post on ten weight loss smoothie ideas to get the creative juices flowing.
4. Get More Healthy Veggies
It’s not easy eating green. We all know we ought to eat more veggies but it takes a lot of time between the shopping and the food prep.
Using a blender is a great way to pack more healthy veggies into your day. Just drop the healthy foods like broccoli, spinach, kale and zucchini in the hopper with a little fruit and milk and bang.
5. Get More Nutrients
Anyone can get all the nutrients they need by popping a multivitamin, right? Wrong.
Researchers uncover more beneficial compounds in plants almost every day. Their best advice so far is: “Eat the rainbow,” because you never know what unique nutrient hides in a cranberry or kiwi fruit.
Using a blender every day is a great way to work in more exotic fruits and veggies. That way we get the benefit of things science doesn’t even know about yet.
6. They’re Fun
Kids love smoothies. You love smoothies. Everyone loves smoothies. There you are, sitting on your couch and you don’t even notice you’re doing something healthy.
You hardly miss the time it takes to make a healthy smoothie. You have so much fun drinking that yummy, richly colored shake it almost feels like cheating.
A blender is a great way to add a little joy into a dull routine.
7. They’re Fast
You come home from work, your husband’s acting like he just got trampled by a bison, your kids are swinging off the chandelier, and you don’t even own a chandelier. Who the heck has time to cook a five course meal with seven vegetables?
On the flip side, everyone’s got time to make a smoothie. Reheat last night’s grilled chicken, bang the blender on, and boom, you’re eating healthy in ten minutes.
8. Get Better Quality Veggies
Broccoli is easy, right? Just chop it up and toss it in to blanch. Frozen peas, zucchini, carrots and a couple other run-of-the mill veggies aren’t too hard to cook.
Getting in a rut with vegetables is a real problem though. The best plan is to eat a ton of different veggies. But who can actually choke down the really healthy ones like kale?
This is where a blender comes to the rescue like a nutrition-focused superman. Veggies we don’t traditionally like go in, they blend, they’re yummy. Now we’ve got a lot more nutrients and fiber and it wasn’t even hard to do.
9. Fight Colds & Flu
No matter which side of the flu vaccine debate you stand on, nobody likes getting sick. Why not use your blender to give your immune system a real shot in the arm?
Colds and flu are caused by viruses. Your immune system can fight those ten times better when you’re eating lots of foods like turmeric, dark, leafy greens and deeply colored fruits and veggies.
In the winter months, stack the deck in your favor with your blender and a healthy daily smoothie.
10. Make All Kinds of Healthy, Yummy Foods
Think blenders are just for smoothies? Think again. A blender is a great way to make healthy, yummy nut butters, grind your own flours from nutrient-packed grains, and even make hot soups.
There are even some blenders that heat the soups up for you while they blend.
What are you waiting for? Pull that blender out of its corner and get it in your corner again. For these and lots of other reasons, you’ll be really glad you did.
References:
- https://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf
- http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/diet/elements_phytochemicals.html
- https://www.nutritionmagic.com/foods/heres-hot-dogs-killing-speak/
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/
Dennis Ahlgren is one of the writers on the Nutrition Magic Blog, a site that shares the best in health and wellness on the web. Dennis is a father and a longtime fitness nut. He’s passionate about nutrition and healthy living. “To me living is about really living. Being as active as possible for as long as possible.”
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