How to Make Banana & Apple Smoothie with Ginger

SERVINGS: 1

PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 0 MINUTES

MEAL: DRINK

STYLE: WESTERN

PREPARATION: SMOOTHIE, PUREE, RAW

EAT IN: SUMMER

How Does This Ayurvedic Recipe Improve Wellness?

CLINICAL AYURVEDIC REVIEW

Summer Circulation

Dramatic changes in circulation by late spring help your body adapt to the brutal summer sun. A red, flushed face on a hot mid-summer afternoon reveals how your body keeps cool - by circulating more blood close to your skin. More blood in your skin means you radiate more heat away and encourage evaporation of sweat.

Heat also increases your heart rate, bringing with it courage, boldness, and a sense of summer adventure. It also relaxes your muscles, which feel heavy during the dog days of summer. Dilation of blood vessels lowers blood pressure and causes swelling in the hands and feet on warm days.

Sweat: Water or Blood?

Although sweat cools the body, it depletes vital fluids, making dehydration a serious concern this time of year. But sweat is more than mere water. It also contains electrolytes and oils, and is more like blood plasma. That's why Ayurveda equates sweating to bleeding. While summer sweat is inevitable, it shouldn't be encouraged.

As it depletes electrolytes, the summer sun withers your strength. Electrolyte loss causes fatigue and eventually muscle spasms. Leg cramps, often called "charlie horses" is a common sign of low electrolyte/potassium levels. A pounding headache may accompany your fatigue and the feeling that you've been cooked beneath the summer sun.

You can prevent dehydration by paying attention to your tongue: a dry tongue or palate is one of the first signs of dehydration. When fluid loss is sufficient to dry up saliva, stomach glands are also too dry to produce the 2/3's of a liter of hydrochloric acid necessary for digestion.

Refresh, Replenish & Keep Cool

Apples, bananas and limes are juicy. They replenish electrolytes and restore energy after sweating or whenever muscles are tired in the afternoon. Bananas are especially high in potassium and also contain Tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known as the "happy and relaxed" hormone.

Apples, bananas, and limes are also refreshing. They cool the blood. The sourness of apples and limes gently releases bile from the liver. Since bile is a hot and oily substance, its release reduces general irritation and inflammation in the body. Apples are crunchy and leave a rough feeling on the roof of the mouth, both signs of astringency. Astringency tightens and tones tissues that are loose and lax from hot summer dayheat excess.

Light for Summer Digestion

When too much blood moves into the skin, there is less blood in the chest and abdominal organs. Reduced blood supply to digestive organs causes appetite to wane by summer. You might also have acid reflux, or other signs of indigestion. Lime and ginger coax blood back to GI tract, stimulating appetite and digestion. Whereas oatmeal may be too heavy for breakfast this time of year, an apple and banana smoothie in the morning provides fiber without heaviness.

WHAT IS BANANA & APPLE SMOOTHIE WITH GINGER?

On hot & lazy summer mornings, start your day with a refreshing, thirst quenching breakfast that replenishes your strength and vitality.

This delicious smoothie is loved by kids and adults alike, and it's easy enough to blend up when friends and neighbors drop by. It's ideal for breakfast or to replenish electrolytes during an afternoon lull. Best of all, it's dairy and ice-free.

AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT

Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances. With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you. Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature. By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health. See How it Works.

See a complete list of all biocharacteristics.

INCREASES Increases These Biocharacteristics (Gunas) Functional Ayurveda helps you assess imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics (gunas). Aggravating these characteristics weakens your body and causes imbalance. By knowing which characteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct imbalances before you get sick. Every characteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold). You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite characteristic. Learn More	EASY ABOUT EASY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Easy refers to anything easy to digest, or digests quickly. LEARN MORE ABOUT EASY MOBILE ABOUT MOBILE BIOCHARACTERISTIC Mobile refers to anything that stimulates the nervous system, muscles, or activity. LEARN MORE ABOUT MOBILE COLD ABOUT COLD BIOCHARACTERISTIC Cold refers to anything that reduces body temperature, metabolism, and blood flow. LEARN MORE ABOUT COLD CLEAR ABOUT CLEAR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Clear refers to anything that cleanses or flushes out wastes, or that digests ama. LEARN MORE ABOUT CLEAR GOOEY ABOUT GOOEY BIOCHARACTERISTIC Gooey is identified by anything gelatinous (such as oatmeal), or by mucus congestion. LEARN MORE ABOUT GOOEY
TASTES The 6 Tastes Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food. Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body. Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food. Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods. Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion. Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste. One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes. The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below? Learn More	SWEET ABOUT SWEET BIOCHARACTERISTIC Sweet refers to anything builds tissue, including macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. LEARN MORE ABOUT SWEET SOUR ABOUT SOUR BIOCHARACTERISTIC Sour refers to anything fermented or acidic. LEARN MORE ABOUT SOUR
DOSHAS The Three Doshas / Body Types According to the biocharacteristic theory of medicine, people tend to get sick, over and over again, due to habitual causes and imbalances that are unique to the person. Your body type summarizes this tendency, showing you the 'type' of conditions and imbalances that frequently challenge your health & wellness. Using body type, you can also identify remedies likely to improve your strength and resiliency. Your body type identifies physical and mental characteristics as well as your personal strengths and weaknesses. The calculation of your body type is based on your medical history. The 3 functional body types (doshas), are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha). Catabolic individuals tend to break down body mass into energy. They are easily stimulated, hyperactive, underweight and dry. Metabolic individuals tend to burn or use energy. They tend to be rosy-cheeked, easily irritated, focused, driven, and easily inflamed. Anabolic individuals tend to store energy as body mass. If they store too much energy, they could gain weight easily and have congestion. Anabolic people tend to be stable and grounded. Learn More	PACIFIES
HAS THE FOLLOWING	Subtaste: Aromatic AROMATIC Herbs or spices with volatile essential oils that present strong aromas. Aromatic oils shock, refresh and numb tissue, with the end result of relaxing, opening and clearing stagnant fluids in tissues. SEE ALL 'AROMATIC' FOODS / HERBS
HERBAL ACTIONS (see all)	Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Banana & Apple Smoothie with Ginger Experiences are Personal Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary. The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition. Digestion: Quenches Thirst QUENCHES-THIRST An herb or substance that relieves thirst. SEE ALL 'QUENCHES-THIRST' FOODS / HERBS , Stimulates Peristalsis STIMULATES-PERISTALSIS An herb that promotes involuntary smooth muscle contractions to facilitate the movement of food and waste through the digestive tract. SEE ALL 'STIMULATES-PERISTALSIS' FOODS / HERBS , Sialogogue SIALOGOGUE A sialogogue increases saliva. Sour foods are often great sialogogues, and increase output of all exocrine glands. Salty taste is very moistening as well. Bitter, pungent and sweettastes also increase salivary output but to a lesser degree. Astringents. SEE ALL 'SIALOGOGUE' FOODS / HERBS , Stomachic STOMACHIC An herb that increases appetite or settles a nauseas or nervous stomach. These generally increase the digestive fire, therefore relieving symptoms of sluggish or difficult digestion. SEE ALL 'STOMACHIC' FOODS / HERBS , Carminative CARMINATIVE Stimulates the release of gas. Helpful for bloating or cramping abdominal pain. Propels food downward. Carminatives typically expel gas by relaxing the muscles of the intestines. SEE ALL 'CARMINATIVE' FOODS / HERBS , Antacid ANTACID Herbs that neutralize acidity in the gastrointestinal tract, the stomach in particular. SEE ALL 'ANTACID' FOODS / HERBS Cleanse & Detox: Burns Toxins BURNS-TOXINS An herb that detoxifies by helping your body metabolize toxins, as opposed to eliminating them. SEE ALL 'BURNS-TOXINS' FOODS / HERBS Mind, Stress & Sleep: Nerve Relaxant Grounding NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING Encourages feelings of stability and heaviness. Makes you feel settled, mentally relaxed. Mildly sedates the nervous system to ease stress. Can bring a spacey or anxious person back to earth. Reduces agitation, irritation, stress and racing thoughts. SEE ALL 'NERVE-RELAXANT-GROUNDING' FOODS / HERBS , Wakes You Up WAKES-YOU-UP Invigorates the body and nervous system, increases energy. SEE ALL 'WAKES-YOU-UP' FOODS / HERBS Energy Vitality: Stimulates Energy STIMULATES-ENERGY This category groups thyroid and adrenal stimulating herbs. SEE ALL 'STIMULATES-ENERGY' FOODS / HERBS , Satisfies Stomach SATISFIES-STOMACH Provides a sense of gratification and fullness in the stomach. SEE ALL 'SATISFIES-STOMACH' FOODS / HERBS , Nutritive NUTRITIVE An herb that is strengthening and nourishing. SEE ALL 'NUTRITIVE' FOODS / HERBS Skin Care & Beauty: Antipruritic ANTIPRURITIC Antipruritics are herbs that inhibit itching that is often associated with itching skin conditions such as sunburns, allergic reactions, eczema, psoriasis, chickenpox, fungal infections, insect bites, or contact dermatitis (as in poison ivy exposure.) SEE ALL 'ANTIPRURITIC' FOODS / HERBS , Demulcent DEMULCENT Herbs that coat or form a soothing film over a mucous membrane, relieving minor pain and inflammation of the membrane. SEE ALL 'DEMULCENT' FOODS / HERBS Immune System: Anti Inflammatory ANTI-INFLAMMATORY Reduces inflammation in the body. Different herbs and carriers target different body systems. SEE ALL 'ANTI-INFLAMMATORY' FOODS / HERBS Heart & Circulation: Rebuild Electrolytes REBUILD-ELECTROLYTES Substances that increase your electrolyte balance. Electrolytes help you retain water, keep your palate moist, and truly quench your thirst. SEE ALL 'REBUILD-ELECTROLYTES' FOODS / HERBS Strength, Muscle Health: Antispasmodic ANTISPASMODIC Herbs that reduce or inhibit muscle spasms or cramping, such as in asthma, menstruation, hear palpitations, migraine, or IBS. SEE ALL 'ANTISPASMODIC' FOODS / HERBS Constituents: Soluble Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium, Carbohydrate, Aromatase Inhibitor AROMATASE-INHIBITOR Blocks estrogen synthesis by inhibiting conversion of progesterone and testosterone into estrogen. SEE ALL 'AROMATASE-INHIBITOR' FOODS / HERBS , Flavonoids FLAVONOIDS Flavonoids are a colorful type of polyphenol. As all polyphenols, they have a strong antioxidant effect. Many flavonoids have an anti-inflammatory, and/or antiallergen effect. SEE ALL 'FLAVONOIDS' FOODS / HERBS

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Joyful Belly is a recognized school of biocharacteristics medicine.