Cherry Smoothie That Helps Balance Your Blood Sugar

Cherry Smoothie That Helps Balance Your Blood Sugar

This cherry smoothie is the perfect simple summer shake. You can enjoy it all year long by using frozen cherries or put your in-season fresh picks to good use with this sweet and creamy treat. You’ll start your morning with enough healthy fats to sustain you through lunch, plus get a dose of nutrients from the cherries.

Cherries are chock-full of benefits

Cherries are incredibly rich in antioxidants. You hear us talk a lot about antioxidant-rich foods here at Clean , and for a good reason. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants is one of the best ways to increase longevity by reducing your risk for chronic illness.

We also love cherries for their positive impact on sleep. Cherries are one of the few foods that contain melatonin, a hormone naturally produced by the body to help regulate our sleep cycle. Ideally, our bodies produce enough melatonin to regulate our sleep and wake cycles effectively. Thanks to modern-day lifestyles, and in particular blue light exposure from technology and inadequate sunlight exposure, our melatonin production can get interrupted. Consuming foods like cherries can assist our bodies in regulating these cycles more effectively.

Balancing blood sugar with smoothies

We also love that cherries fall low on the glycemic index compared to other fruits, meaning they have a less harsh impact on your blood sugar. Any time our blood sugar rises too quickly, our body releases insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by our pancreas that helps excess glucose (sugar) enter cells where it can be stored for use later on. Insulin response is a normal, healthy bodily reaction to blood sugar rising and needs to happen.

A problem only arises when we consistently spike our blood sugar above healthy levels and develop a chronic reliance on this (otherwise healthy) insulin response. When this happens, our body slowly stops responding to insulin, and we refer to this as insulin resistance. When left untreated, this can eventually lead to Type 2 Diabetes. You can help prevent this by choosing foods lower on the glycemic index (like leafy greens and fruits like cherries) and pairing them with high-quality protein and fats (which slow the release of sugar into the bloodstream).

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen cherries

1/3 cup raw walnuts

1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger

1/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

3/4 cup coconut milk

Optional: 1 cup ice, if using fresh cherries

2 scoops Vanilla Daily Shake (or one Vanilla Cleanse packet)

Directions:

Peel and chop fresh ginger. Remove pits of cherries if using fresh.

Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until creamy and smooth.

Enjoy this cherry smoothie immediately!