What our bodies need extra support for changes often (sometimes even daily). Energy, Digestion & Bloating, Immunity & Skin + Hair Health are some of your big asks. That's why we stock the health rainbow: blends that support what you need, when you need it. Here are some of the boosters we use for extra health support in these four key areas.
Struggling to keep your health strong during hectic & stressful times?
Double down (or up?) on your nutrition game.
The 6 must-haves below are foods that hit the health support trifecta:
inflammation-fighting, digestion & gut health, and energy.
Check out the what, why and how to get them in....
Turmeric comes from the turmeric plant. Curcumin, the main active ingredient in turmeric, has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant.
Health Benefits
1. Anti-Inflammatory that helps keep your cells healthy (proven disease-fighter)
2. Assist in healthy weight maintenance: curcumin has proven to suppress inflammatory markers that contribute to weight gain
3. Encourages brain health, helping to improve mood and memory.
How-To Tips
*Blend into in salad dressings
*Use the spice in teas or lattes (eg. chai)
*Add to stir-fry and curry dishes
*Blend the root or extract into smoothies
(packed into our green and athlete blends)
Ginger is the root of the plant Zingiber Ufficante (say it with us).
Health Benefits
1. Treats nausea naturally by keeping blood pressure consistent and digestive function stable. Side tip: can help reduce morning sickness
2. Inflammation fighter that's also proven to help reduce menstrual & bloating pain
3. Reduces the levels of stomach acid through the intestinal track & can help with chronic indigestion.
How-To Tips
*Add pureed or slices into teas. Here's a recipe for fresh ginger tea
*Blend in smoothies (find it in our greens blends). Dice the root so your blender blade doesn't thread it.
*Add pureed ginger to and soups eg. root veggie soups (yam, sweet potato) with coconut milk bases are a fave. Have you tried our Sweet Potato Coconut Soup yet?
Dandelion
Dandelions are part of the daisy family and considered a flower. The entire dandelion (root, stems, pedals) is edible.
Health Benefits
1. Detoxifying support: helping the liver to flush out toxins and support digestion
2. Improves cholesterol by raising HDL (High-Density Lipoprotein) “good cholesterol”
3. Bone health: dandelion greens are a good source of Calcium and Vitamin K
How-To Tips
* Dandelion root tea (steep dry dandelion in hot water)
* Add to salads or lightly sautéed the greens
* Boost your smoothies (concentrated extracts are our fave format - find dandelion in our Greens D-tox, The Remedy & Pumpkin Patch Soup blends)
Cayenne
Cayenne is a type of chili pepper, related to jalapeno pepper...
a little goes a long way.
Health Benefits
1. Assists in boosting metabolism and reduce hunger due to the active ingredient capsaicin (thermogenic).
2. Proven to help lower blood pressure
3. Supports digestion by aiding the delivery of enzymes to the stomach.
How-to Tips
*Spice up any batch dish with a dash or two
*Make homemade hot sauce. Here's the Martha Stewart recipe
*Add to your smoothies (find them both in our Greens D-tox, The Remedy)
Spirulina
Spirulina is an ingredient made from blue green algae.
Health Benefits
1. High in antioxidants, has anti-inflammatory properties and helps regulate the immune system
2. Contains chlorophyll, which supports detoxification
3. Contains protein and amino acids that your body needs to maintain cellular & bone health as well as key organ function (excellent vegan diet support ingredient)
4. Good for eye health thanks to a nutrient it contains called Zeaxanthin
How-To Tips
*Mix/blend into smoothies or juices. Found in most of our deep green blends
*Add to soups (green/veggie pureed ones are best)
Lion's Mane (turkey tail)
Lion’s mane, a mushroom extract, is an adaptogen, which means is helps you body manage its stress response (and negative impacts on your health), reduce inflammation & helps keep your cells healthy.
Health Benefits:
1. Mental function: memory, concentration/focus, cognition
2. High in antioxidant properties & a superstar for cellular health support/disease-fighting
3. Energy-boosting (body & mind)
4. Fosters the production of the bioprotein nerve growth factor
How-To Tips
*Mix/blend into smoothies or juices. Get a full dose in our Shroom Energy & Daily Chai smoothies.
Shroom Energy
The Inflammation Fighter Package
One of the ways we pack in a bunch of the above ingredients all at once is this salad:
Serves 2
Ingredients
Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon maple syrup or raw honey
1 tablespoon tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tsp fresh ginger, small-chopped
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
1 tsp lions mane extract
1/4 cup olive oil extra virgin
Salad
1 bunch kale (organic dino kale is best)
½ cup dandelion greens
1 cup purple cabbage shredded
1 cup carrot, shredded
1/2 cup chickpeas (roast for extra crunch)
1 avocado diced
1/4 cup hemp seeds shelled
1 tbsp slivered almonds
1 lemon wedge
Instructions
Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a bowl OR place them in a blender for 30 seconds & blend until smooth. Add a few tablespoons of filtered water to thin it out if needed, but slightly thicker is best.
In a large bowl, place kale greens and add dressing. Massage dressing into kale leaves for about 2 minutes (until volume reduces by about 1/3). Then add purple cabbage and toss to coat. Let the mixture sit for 15-30 minutes, so the dressing can continue breaking down the kale and cabbage.
Portion the salad into two bowls and divide up the toppings (shredded carrot, pumpkin seeds, avocado, hemp seeds or almond slivers). Squeeze lemon over top.
Dig in!
(you'll feel your body & mind thank you)
I'm writing about Blended For Health Care today. It's a huge piece of our 'why'; we know that going through personal health hurdles, and caregiving for those that are, is really damn hard.
For those of you that don't know our story, The Blended concept was born from the experiences of developing highly nutritious smoothie blends for people close to me who were going through critical health hurdles, along with my own need to nourish a busy, demanding life.
Here at Blended, we're committed to helping people keep healthy and support recovery during health-challenging & demanding times. In addition to our health-focused blend categories, please we have focused blends for these key areas: Oncology Nutrition, Nutrition For Seniors, Postpartum Nutrition & Post-Surgery Recovery.
Next month, we'll be announcing an exciting new addition to our Health Care category.
We'd love your feedback on health-care needs and experiences where complete nutrition blends can help/have helped. Please email me your thoughts.
xo
Deanna, Blended Founder & CEO
We've teamed up on a support program with the nutrition team at BC Cancer Oncology to help nourish people going through a Cancer journey.
The following blends have been identified as top-pick options for those that are currently in-treatment (selected for their high nutrition value, caloric density, protein levels, exclusion of boosters that may interact with chemo, digestibility and ease on stomach).
Depending on the type of Cancer and treatment program, more blends may be appropriate. Please reach out to us with questions and talk to your dietician about other factors that should be considered with your particular diagnosis. Once a treatment program is completed, additional blends should be explored.
Read more on the program here: Blended For Oncology Nutrition
Our blends and overall recommendations for seniors are the same as for everyone else: a-blend-a-day is an amazingly easy way to getting energizing, high quality essential vitamins & minerals, protein and fibre every day. Over the last years, I've been big on my parents having a daily smoothie (if I can get my Dad to drink a daily smoothie, even the green ones, so can you).
As your elderly loved one moves into needing more critical health care nutrition and other factors come into play: stomach and digestive sensitivity, viscosity (blend with more liquid for a thinner texture), and pallet changes, the go to blends are:
Please email me if you have with questions on which blends are best for your elder person's taste buds and health needs. I am also here to offer some additional tips on nutrition and ways to navigate this challenging health-care time.
Some of the hormones that play a role in increased or decreased levels of anxiety are estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, oxytocin, cortisol and adrenaline. The drop in estrogen and progesterone that occurs with a women’s menstrual cycle can cause anxiety and other mood symptoms (similarly experienced during peri-menopause and menopause). Low levels of testosterone have also been linked to anxiety because it partially controls the release of cortisol (lower levels can set off a rise in cortisol production).
Symptoms of hormonal anxiety:
Symptoms of hormonal anxiety:
Three Nutrients for Hormonal Anxiety Support
What you eat plays a huge role in your body's ability to regulate and balance hormone levels. Nutrient-dense foods are going to give hormone regulation support while refined sugar, processed foods, alcohol and high levels for caffeine are going to throw them out of whack.
Three vitamins & minerals that can help reduce hormonal anxiety:
ZINC
Zinc is an essential nutrient, meaning that your body can’t produce or store it and you need a constant supply through your diet. It’s critical to brain health and the regulation of neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout the brain and body, and hormones (namely our “happiness” hormones: serotonin, and dopamine).
Bonus: it also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Blends High in Zinc:
Shroom Energy, Maca Energy, The Daily Chai, Nutty Chocolate Lover, Choco Banana Hero, Chia Energy Bowl, Greens Immunity Soup
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium, like Zinc, also plays an important role in regulating neurotransmitters. It is believed to affect the hypothalamus (part of your brain), which helps regulate the pituitary and adrenal glands. These glands are responsible for your response to stress.
Blends High in Magnesium:
The Lime Mojito, The Remedy, The Athlete, The Nutty Athlete, Greens Immunity Soup, The Cherry Bomb
VITAMIN B6
Vitamin B6, also an essential nutrient that we get from our diet, can increase GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) production, which decreases nervous system activity by blocking and inhibiting certain brain signals, and is known for producing a calming effect that can help with processing stress and anxiety.
Blends High in Vitamin B6:
Green Beginnings, The Green Mo, The Daily Chai, The Remedy, Greens Daily Dose, The Cherry Bomb, The Pumpkin Patch Soup, Greens Immunity Soup, Sweet Potato Coconut Soup
Three blends picks that are high in all of zinc, magnesium, and Vitamin B6:
The Daily Chai, Greens Immunity Soup, Shroom Energy
Connect with us by email if you'd like recommendations on which blends are right for your taste buds & health goals.
Please talk to your health care provider and/or nutrition expert if you suspect a hormonal imbalance or before taking high dose levels of any supplement.
May is Mental Health Month. We've put together a 2-part series to support both the education and how-to of nourishing a healthy mind.
Today, we're sharing some of our top nutrient picks for your healthy mind and setting you up with one of our top blend picks for mental function support. On Wednesday, we're getting into recipes & other easy tips on showing your mental big nutrition love.
Let's dive in......
Mental health is having a huge impact on Canadians: 1 in 5 people are living with a mental health condition and/or struggle. We love that the conversation around this is now louder, but we've got a long way to go.
Increasingly, research is showing that nutrition plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of depression and other mental disorders. We will continue to learn and develop products that support your mental, not just physical, health.
Here's a high level on some of our learnings:
1. Diet quality plays a part in the presence and severity of depressive symptoms across population groups. Higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fish may reduce the risk of depression in adults.
2. Studies have associated depression with levels of specific nutrients. For example, zinc deficiency has been associated with increased depressive symptoms. Folate deficiency has been observed in individuals with poor response to anti-depressant treatment. Vitamin D deficiency and low levels of antioxidants have also been linked to depression risk.
3. The important sharing of knowledge on how dietary patterns can influence mental health and the inclusion of nutrition as a part of a full treatment program is not happening at the rate it should be.
sources: Dieticians of Canada, CMHA
Below are some of our favourite foods, vitamins and minerals for supporting mood and mind:
Maca: a natural mood elevator, hormone balancer and energy-booster. Find it in: Daily Chai, Maca Energy and Shroom Energy.
Zinc: activates hormonal, neurotransmitter and signaling pathways in the gut which modulate brain functions like appetite, sleep, neurogenesis, cognitive function and mood. Find packed into our Nutty-Chocolate blends.
B12: this essential nutrient can be easy to miss (especially on a plant-based diet), but it's a mood-booster and can help ease the symptoms of depression. Find it boosted in our The Remedy blend.
Vitamin B6: important for normal brain development and keeping the nervous system healthy. Top B6 blends: our Sweet Potato Coconut Soup, Green Beginnings, The Nutty Athlete, The Athlete.
Vitamin D3 (the "sunshine vitamin") is fat soluble, so we recommend combining with healthy fats to get your max absorption. Take a supplement with any of our blends (they contain the nutrients for supporting absorption).
Folate: a B-vitamin that's needed to convert carbs into energy, which your brain uses to function. Top folate blends: Greens Daily Dose, Daily Greens Keto, The Remedy The Green Mo, The Athlete.
Lions Mane: research has found that this mushroom extract may protect against dementia, reduce mild symptoms of anxiety and depression, and help repair nerve damage. Find it in our Daily Chai and Shroom Energy.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids: essential for healthy brain function; a good source is chia seeds, which can be found in our: Lime Mojito, Daily Chai, Green Mo, The Cherry Bomb, Sweet Sleep, Blue Coconut Keto, Vita-C Immunity Chia Energy & Acai Bowl blends. Our Superseed Mix is a great brain booster for all your fave blends.
For a big health boost, mega-nourish your mind and body with one of our 3-Day Cleanse Plans, which have shown to help clear brain fog, reduce inflammation & energy-boost.
