Everyone loves a nice, cold smoothie on a warm summer day, and they’re a great way to start off what would normally be a really slow morning.
However, there’s more to smoothies than you’d think, and people have found numerous creative ways to enjoy theirs, including adding herbs and spices to their drinks, which is a great way of adding nutrition early in the morning.
Essentially, it’s an easy and simple way to infuse your morning with some herbs and make use of the many relaxation and anti-inflammatory benefits they offer.
With stress being such a common issue so many people face on a day-to-day basis, it’s important to keep finding creative ways to deal with it, and herb smoothies might just be the solution you were looking for.
Just a small addition to your standard fruit mix can help soften the blow from common stressors while also improving the smoothie’s taste.
Your nervous system
All the cells in your body come together to form your nervous system, and it’s the one thing you use to communicate with the outside world, as well as the thing that controls a number of different mechanisms inside your body.
Your nervous system is split between the central and the peripheral nervous systems, with the former being comprised of your brain and spinal cord whereas the latter is made up of all the other nerves in your body.
On top of this, the Peripheral Nervous System is divided into the autonomous and somatic nervous systems.
Involuntary actions like your heart rate, digestion, and breathing are all controlled by your autonomous nervous system.
Inflammation is your body’s way of dealing with stress, and by finding remedies that can deal with it, you’re indirectly countering the fight-or-flight response your body makes.
Ashwagandha
While you may have heard of ashwagandha from the dozens of fitness instructors promoting supplements containing the plant’s extract, it’s actually far more effective at helping your body deal with stress.
Commonly known as the winter cherry or Indian Ginseng, ashwagandha is an adaptogen that can fend off both physical and biological stressors, which is why Ayurvedic medicine has been using it as a medicine for thousands of years.
Due to the plant’s root having a somewhat starchy texture, you can easily blend it up into your favorite smoothies, although you could start with the dried powder to get used to the taste.
A good idea for an ashwagandha smoothie would be one with bananas, oat milk, cinnamon, and ashwagandha powder, and you can choose to sweeten it either with honey or some other natural sweetener like Stevia.
The prep is just as easy as the recipe too, and all you’ve got to do is blend it all together and consume it immediately.
Chamomille
Also known as a Nervine Herb, chamomille belongs to a family of plants that offer support to the human nervous system, as they can help treat mild and moderate cases of anxiety.
On top of this, they’re non-addictive and can help reduce stress and allow you to deal with panic.
Chamomille is also anti-inflammatory and can even help relieve pain in higher dosages, although you should ensure that you’re consuming it in moderation.
Pat Crocker’s Smoothie Bible sheds a lot of praise on this plant, and it’s commonly used in a number of remedies meant to deal with inflammation, anxiety, and other stress-related issues.
A tasty chamomille smoothie can be made with just a cup of coconut milk, a few cherries, and half a cup of cold chamomille tea, sweetened with Stevia and garnished with some fresh vanilla.
Much like the previous recipe, all you’ve got to do is blend all the ingredients together and consume them immediately after.
Lavender
Finally, we’ve got lavender, a herb you may already be familiar with due to its recognizable smell and it’s been found to be extremely helpful when it comes to dealing with insomnia and anxiety.
It’s got a number of different therapeutic and curative properties, as it can help induce relaxation while also preventing and treating parasitic infections, burns, and insect bites.
Additional studies on the effects of lavender have also discovered that it can produce a soothing and calming effect when inhaled.
A lavender smoothie can be made with some blueberries, half a banana, half a cup of cold lavender tea, and some vanilla extract to really improve the smoothie’s aroma.
Much like any smoothie, you’ll blend the ingredients until smooth and consume them right away.
Final word
Of course, you’re not limited to just these herbs, and you can explore the many different ways you can make your smoothies.
It’s up to you to explore what other herbs you could make use of, and you might even find better solutions for the issues you’re dealing with.
Several other herbs can be just as helpful when dealing with stress, so make sure you’ve done your homework on herbs and their benefits.