Cancer-Busting Anti-Oxidant DNA Repairing Smoothie Recipe

Anti-Cancer Power Lineup
Photo © John Corney

After watching the videos at the bottom of this post at NutritionFacts.org YouTube channel about the power of various berries and spices to boost anti-oxidant and anti-cancer action in the cells, I played around with things and came up with this smoothie recipe that includes many of the things that have been shown to reduce cancer risk and lower inflammation. The combination of ingredients sounds kind of weird, but actually it's very tasty.

Although I vary the ingredients somewhat on a day-to-day basis depending on what's in the fridge, I always include the following ingredients:

• leafy greens
• banana
• bell pepper
• celery
• ground flax seeds
• turmeric
• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds
• carrots
• berries

So here's my recipe that I'm sure you will find is a delicious and healthy way to start your day. Consider my recipe as a starting point that you for your own smoothies.

By the way, green + red = brown, so don't be put off by the color of the smoothie.

The seeds make the smoothy rich and creamy, and provide healthy fat for any fat-soluble vitamins in the mix. And of course flax seeds in particular contain high amounts of lignans which are potent anti-cancer compounds.



All Set to Go!
Photo © John Corney

John's Anti-Oxidant, Anti-Cancer, DNA-repairing smoothie recipe - enough for 2 people

• 1 1/2 cups water
• A good heaping-helping of leafy greens. I buy bulk bags of leafy greens at Costco and stuff 1qt ziploc bags and put them in the freezer for easy use when needed without the risk of the leaves spoiling. Kale, spinach, or combinations are all fine. 
• 1/2 bell pepper 
• 1 cup fresh or frozen berries (I use Costco's Three Berry Mix which has blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
• 1 banana (I peel and freeze them a couple of bunches at a time)
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds (omega-3, anti-cancer lignin, and healthy plant-based fat)
• 1 Tbsp sunflower seeds (healthy plant-based fat)
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds (healthy plant-based fat and zinc)
• 1 tsp turmeric (antioxidant/cancer killer cell booster)
• a couple of grinds black pepper (turmeric has been shown to be more powerful in its anti-inflammation and anti-cancer effects when combined with black 

Again, you can add whatever you like or is in season. For example, when cranberries are in the stores around the holidays, I freeze bags of them while I can, and add 1/2 cup to the mix).

Whiz it all in your blender and enjoy not only the wonderful taste, but the power of plants and spices to ward off cell damage, fight cancer cells, and lower inflammation in your body. Remember this is anti-cancer, so do not add any animal proteins at all. No whey protein powder or milk, etc. If you want extra richness, add some of your favorite nut or seed milk such as almond or soy milk.

Please treat my recipe as a guideline. Basically you are after leafy cruciferous greens, turmeric, cardamom, black pepper, and berries. Cranberries if you can get them at a reasonable price. Get creative - for example when I cook up my dry beans, I save off the liquid and add about 1/2 cup of that until it's all gone. Why waste all that goodness! Sometimes I even add 1/2 of beans!

Note: You will do best with a high-powered blender such as a Vitamix. I started out with a cheaper blend and it was hard work getting everything blended well and also I was not big enough. Then I got an Oster high-powered blender which I won in a raffle actually! It was so much easier! But every 6 months or so the bearings in the base of the pitcher would break. After replacing the pitcher twice at $80 a pop, I finally got a Vitamix 7500. It has given me two years of trouble-free blending 5-days a week for two years now, so that's definitely my recommendation for a blender. Unfortnately they aren't cheap. You can get a Vitamix 7500 here at Amazon, or keep an eye for them at Costco. I got mine at Costco and it was a bit cheaper than what I see at Amazon.