Berry Powerful: A Simple Smoothie to Lower Inflammation and Disease Risk

This simple and sweet three-ingredient smoothie is a healthy balance of fiber-rich carbohydrates, protein, and beneficial fats.

Consume anti-inflammatory ingredients like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, probiotic-rich strawberry kefir, and ground flax seeds in a tasty smoothie. You can also add protein powder to make it more filling.

Eating moderate amounts of blueberries (⅓ cup), which contains 50 mg of anthocyanins daily, reduces disease risk for heart attacks, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Anthocyanins are a potent plant antioxidant in the flavonoid family.

This low-added sugar berry smoothie provides 245 calories, 13 g of fiber, 9 g of protein, and over 300mg of anthocyanins.

What You’ll Need:

This simple recipe has only three ingredients: frozen berries, ground flax seeds, kefir, and water (I don’t count water as an ingredient).

Frozen berries are as nutritious as fresh berries (click here to read my extensive article detailing the differences between canned, frozen, and fresh produce). At most, frozen berries lose 12% of their anthocyanin content after 10 months of storage.

Blueberries still contain the highest anthocyanin levels among commonly eaten fruits, even with a 12% loss after long-term storage. Here is a quick comparison of the amount of anthocyanin in one cup of different fruits. Other fruits contain anthocyanin in much smaller amounts.

• 529 mg in cultivated blueberries and 705 mg for wild blueberries
• 400 mg in blackberries
• 116 mg in red raspberries
• 50 mg in strawberries
• 192 mg in Concord grapes
• 17 mg in a Red Delicious apple
• 2,147 mg in chokeberries (sharp, astringent taste, so less popular to consume)
• 1,993 mg in elderberries (not safe to consume raw as they are poisonous, must be cooked)

Keeping frozen berries ensures you have anthocyanin-rich food on hand at all times.

Berry Smoothie Instructions

This simple, healthy smoothie can help boost your daily fiber and anti-oxidant intake.

Smoothies are often full of sugar and lack protein, healthy fats, and fiber—but not this one, with 52% of your daily fiber needs. If you want to learn more about making a nutritious and filling smoothie, check out my article on Mediterranean Diet Smoothies.

Add Ingredients to Blender

Add 6 ounces of strawberry kefir (or other preferred liquid like milk or use Greek or regular unsweetened yogurt or kefir) first. This helps the smoothie blend easily. You will need to add more water if using yogurt.

Then, add one cup of frozen berries. I used a berry blend of raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. You can use whatever mix of berries you prefer. Opt for those higher in anthocyanins for the antioxidant boost.

Next, add ground flax seeds and about a half-cup of water. If adding protein powder, add it at this time. Depending on the brand, protein powders add between 10 and 20 g of protein.

Blend Smoothie

Blend for approximately 30 to 60 seconds, depending on your blender’s power.

Smoothie should be smooth. Use ice cubes to thicken and water to thin to your desired consistency.

Enjoy this berry smoothie as a meal or split with another for a snack.

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits of Berries

Reading about the benefits of each ingredient may motivate you to try this smoothie or incorporate berries regularly. Knowing you only need to consume 1/3 cup of berries daily to reap the benefits can give you that extra push to try a new recipe. Writing this article has motivated me to include as many berries as possible for myself and my family.

• Berries are a source of flavonoids (plant antioxidants), including anthocyanins, quercetin, and phenolic acids.
• These flavonoids stop inflammatory production and increase antioxidant levels after eating them. 
• Blueberries contain the highest amount of anthocyanins among popular fruits in the U.S.
• Researchers following over 200,000 U.S. adults found that consuming 2 to 4 servings of blueberries weekly led to a 23% reduction in type 2 diabetes risk. They also saw similar benefits when consuming more than 5 servings of apples and pears, which also contain anthocyanin, but in smaller amounts than berries.
• A study from 2019, including 93,600 women aged 25 to 42, found that consuming more than 3 servings of strawberries and blueberries weekly (or a daily intake of 36 mg of anthocyanin) resulted in a 32% reduced risk of heart attacks.
• In 3 cohort studies, a higher anthocyanin intake was associated with a ~25% reduced risk of coronary artery disease, including heart attacks.
• Higher anthocyanin intake was associated with an ~8–10% reduction in high blood pressure risk in 5 cohort studies.
• In a prospective study of 16,000 women, greater intake of blueberries and strawberries was associated with slower rates of cognitive decline in older adults, with an estimated delay in decline of about 2.5 years. Researchers defined a high intake of blueberries as more than once a week and twice a week for strawberries.
• Blueberries (and anthocyanins) reduce biomarkers and the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and neurological decline. 

Detailed Nutrient Analysis

A nutrition label can only provide a snapshot of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in a food. It does not list antioxidants and other beneficial plant and food compounds.

By law, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and potassium are the only vitamins and minerals (micronutrients) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires to be on the food label. Americans often consume lower amounts of these four micronutrients, so highlighting them helps people make educated choices.

Food companies can voluntarily list other vitamins and minerals, but there is only so much room on a label. I have the complete nutrient analysis below, and 14 vitamins or minerals provide more than 5% of the daily value!

This simple, three-ingredient smoothie contains protein (kefir), healthy fats (ground flax seed), and fiber-rich carbohydrates (berries and ground flaxseed).

It is packed with half of your daily fiber needs, lower added sugar (could be lower with unsweetened kefir), and is a rich source of many key vitamins and minerals.

One large smoothie (12 ounces) made per the recipe ingredients contains 6 g of added sugar (1.5 teaspoons), or 12% of the daily limit of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. You could swap to unsweetened kefir to reduce the added sugar content entirely. I eat the slightly sweetened version, which accounts for some of my daily added sugar intake.

This berry smoothie truly packs an anti-inflammatory punch.

Berry Smoothie (12 ounces)
Nutrients	Amount	% Daily Value
Energy	245 calories	12.3%
Carbohydrates	41 g	15%
Fiber	13 g	52%
Added Sugar	6 g	12%
Fat	6 g	7.7%
Saturated Fat	0.9 g	4.5%
Trans Fat	0 g	0%
Protein	8.3 g	16.6%
Vitamins	Amount	% Daily Value
Riboflavin (B2)	0.36 mg	21%
Cobalamin(B12)	0.53 mcg	8.8%
Pantothenic Acid (B5)	0.65 mg	6.5%
Pyridoxine (B6)	0.1 mg	5.1%
Folate	37.42 mcg	9.4%
Vitamin A	303 mcg	20.2%
Vitamin D	75 IU	18.7%
Minerals	Amount	% Daily Value
Calcium	276 mg	27.6%
Selenium	6.2 mcg	8.7%
Iron	1.49 mg	8.3%
Phosphorus	163.2 mg	16.3%
Potassium	482 mg	13.8%
Magnesium	20 mg	5%
Zinc	0.76 mg	5.1%
Antioxidant (Anthocyanin) Content in 1 cup of frozen berries (red raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry)	310 to 333 mg (berry blend)	There is no recommended value set, but research shows a clear benefit at 50 mg daily.

Takeaways

This berry smoothie is a great anti-inflammatory recipe for your toolkit. It will help you meet your nutrient needs and help satisfy your sweet tooth with minimal added sugar. You will also meet half of your daily fiber needs, which will help with bowel regularity and gut health.

This simple recipe has only three ingredients: frozen berries, kefir, and ground flax seeds. You could add protein powder or frozen vegetables to bolster it further.

Consuming 1/3 cup of blueberries daily or three or more servings per week significantly reduces your risk of many diseases (diabetes, heart disease, heart attacks, high blood pressure, and preserves cognitive function).

You can read more about the health benefits of smoothies and check out my Chocolate Banana Smoothie recipe.

You can also grab my detailed printable anti-inflammatory foods list (PDF) to assess your diet and ideas for new anti-inflammatory foods to try. 

Here is a detailed list of 10 Anti-Inflammatory Foods to Eat Every Week (berries made the list).

Let’s get UNstuck and stay UNstuck!