Noses are running, you hear the guy two cubicles down coughing, and just yesterday in the local town Facebook group someone asked ""is there a virus going around? Sally has been sick all night."" It's that time of year.
It's no secret that winter brings about germs, especially when you're stuck in confined spaces more than you were in summer. Don't get discouraged, though.
We've got 4 ways that drinking a smoothie can aid your immune system, so you can save your PTO days for something better than visiting a doctor.
Add immune boosting ingredients to your shopping list
To boost your immune system, fitnessvolt.com recommends adding antioxidant-packed fruits and leafy greens to your daily diet. Blueberries, strawberries, kale, and spinach are easy to find, taste great in a smoothie and they are rich with antioxidants. That's why SmoothieBox includes them in our smoothies! Blueberries and strawberries are the main ingredients in SmoothieBox's Berry Super Smoothie; Spinach is a key ingredient in the Green Super Smoothie, and kale is in the Cacao Super Smoothie. You can also customize your SmoothieBox Super Smoothies for your own dietary needs. Do you like to sweeten your smoothie? Add one ounce of guava nectar to your smoothie to get 107% of your recommended daily value of Vitamin C.
Take your daily recommended vitamin quota.
This one might be a no-brainer, but if you aren't in the habit of taking daily vitamins we've got the perfect solution for you. Rootine Vitamins are the perfect enhancement to your smoothie routine. These microbead vitamins are personalized to your DNA to ensure you're getting the most of the nutrients your body needs, and less of the ones you don't in the perfect dosage tailored to your DNA makeup. They make the perfect topping to a smoothie bowl or mix nicely into a blended smoothie. Right now, Rootine is offering SmoothieBox blog readers 20% off the first month of vitamins so you can start a new daily vitamin regimen.
Have one smoothie a day
Replace one meal a day with a SmoothieBox smoothie. This easy change will give you at least one full serving of organic, whole fruits and vegetables. Most people are busy and making a smoothie for breakfast means you don't get slowed down and you don't end up being hungry by 11am. Your body depends on nutrient rich foods to stay healthy, so get in the habit of having one smoothie each day and you'll start to feel the benefits in no time.
Blend your smoothie with a probiotic
Maintaining your gut health is just as important as loading up on fruits and veggies or vitamins. We added it to our grocery list above, but we thought yogurt deserved an extra mention. Find a yogurt with live and active cultures, like Activia, or use Greek yogurt. Check out our Vitamin C Boost Green Smoothie recipe for a quick and easy way to boost your immune system.