I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had to deal with pain and inflammation in their body at one time or another. I have experienced numerous injuries over the years to my back, shoulders, and neck from years spent cooking professionally and I know from personal experience that the pain from these injuries has been very uncomfortable and at times almost unbearable!
Whether you have pain and inflammation from strenuous exercise, working on your job, arthritis pain, joint pain, migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, or pain from unexpected injuries, you want to get relief so you can start feeling better. Dealing with pain has a major impact on your entire life and can lead to depression and anxiety if the pain is long term and chronic.
Many people reach for pain pills like aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or prescription pain pills to relieve these symptoms temporarily but doing so can come with significant risks to your good health. Frequent use of pain pills can become addicting especially if used on a daily basis. Pain medication may also cause serious problems with your stomach, kidneys and liver.
Instead of reaching for that pain pill to get relief, why not try food to help you heal instead? Healing foods offer significant benefits and can be a very effective way to deal with your pain and inflammation in a holistic way. Many of these powerful foods have properties that have been widely studied and proven effective against both pain and inflammation.
If you’ve never thought about using foods to help the body heal, you’re in for a surprise! Not only do these foods help, they have the added bonus of tasting amazing! Today I’m sharing one of my favorite recipes for helping your body fight pain and inflammation. This smoothie really helps me when I exercise too strenuously or have injured myself. My recipe combines some of the most powerful pain and inflammation fighting foods into one yummy drink.
Pineapple, organic tart cherry juice concentrate, turmeric, ginger, spinach, vanilla, avocado, and hemp protein combine for a creamy drink that is good to have for breakfast or a snack during the day. Once you start drinking this delicious, creamy smoothie on a weekly basis and seeing how great you feel, you will never want to go back to just depending on pain medication ever again.
Pineapple
Pineapple is one of those tropical fruits that I like eating on a weekly basis. It’s sweet flavor and juicy texture is wonderful for enjoying on its own or in variety of different recipes. Pineapple has a special enzyme called bromelain which is a potent anti-inflammatory, pain reliever, and aid for better circulation. Bromelain also helps promote healthy digestion by breaking down protein. Pineapple is high in manganese and vitamin C which are two important nutrients that help protect the body from free radical damage and inflammation.
Hemp Protein and Spinach
Hemp protein and spinach provide important essential omega-3 fatty acids which are very important for reducing inflammation. These two foods are rich in many essential nutrients for helping with pain reduction and vibrant health including amino acids, antioxidants, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, enzymes, and fiber.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizome that is a member of the ginger family. Turmeric contains the active ingredient curcumin, which is a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, liver detoxifier, and pain reliever. The active ingredient curcumin’s absorption is greatly increased when combined with piperine a compound found in black pepper. That’s why I included a small amount of black pepper to this smoothie. You won’t detect the taste of the black pepper because of the fruit used in the smoothie.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart cherries are a powerful food for reducing pain and inflammation naturally. Researchers have shown using tart cherry juice is ten times more effective then taking aspirin to reduce pain caused by inflammation, arthritis and gout without the side effects aspirin use can have on the stomach and kidneys. Tart cherries are rich in antioxidants and two important flavonoids- isoqueritrin and queritrin.
According to leading researchers, queritrin is one of the most potent flavonoids available today. These flavonoids and antioxidants work to neutralize free radicals and toxins in the body. In this smoothie I used organic tart cherry juice in the concentrated form which is an extremely powerful source of these important nutrients. Here’s a brand that tastes great!
Ginger
Ginger is a potassium-rich rhizome which is excellent for stimulating digestion and bile flow, relieving nausea, and protecting our bodies from inflammation.
I hope if you’re suffering with pain and chronic inflammation, you will get the ingredients and make this smoothie on a weekly basis so you can start to heal and feel better! If you decide to make this smoothie on a daily basis please make sure you rotate your leafy greens daily and switch up the fruit occasionally. You can try oranges, berries, kale, romaine, watercress, red oak and green oak leaf, and bibb lettuce to add some variety to the smoothie. Just make sure to always include the turmeric, tart cherry juice, black pepper, hemp protein, and ginger in the smoothie for the best results.
Be sure to also try some of my other smoothie blends that help fight inflammation, pain and aging!
Anti-Inflammatory Orange Avocado Chia Smoothie
Gut Healing Cherry Coconut Water Kefir Smoothie
Anti-Aging Pineapple Banana Green Smoothie
Anti-Aging Strawberry Energy Smoothie
What do you use to relieve pain? Please contribute to the conversation by leaving a comment below.
Share this recipe with family and friends and let’s all get healthy and radiant together!
If you enjoyed my recipe, check out my new cookbook that’s packed with 154 tasty healing foods recipes and over 50 pages of holistic lifestyle tips for more energy and better immunity! Deliciously Holistic is on sale on Amazon right now!
Join our holistic community by signing up for our email updates, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and pin with us on Pinterest to get all the latest healthy recipes, health tips, event notifications, and information on increasing your energy, strength, and immunity with healing whole foods and holistic lifestyle solutions.
Pain Relief & Inflammation Fighting Pineapple Cherry Turmeric Smoothie
Vegan, Paleo, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Nut-Free, Gluten-Free
Makes 2 servings
2 cups frozen pineapple cubes
2 cups organic spinach—washed well
1 teaspoon organic turmeric powder (my favorite brand)
2 tablespoons organic tart cherry juice concentrate (my favorite brand)
⅛ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
4 tablespoons organic hemp protein powder (my favorite brand)
3 cups spring or purified water
1 small avocado—peeled and seeded
Organic stevia powder—optional add to taste
1. Place all ingredients except stevia in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add stevia if you want the smoothie sweeter. Enjoy immediately.
This post was shared on Smoothie OTW and Wellness Weekend.
The post Pain Relief & Inflammation Fighting Pineapple Cherry Turmeric Smoothie appeared first on A Harmony Healing.