"So what we have here is a gut friendly disease fighting smoothie," that's what breast cancer survivor and Sentara Health registered dietitian Shaye Arluk told me I was going to be trying.
I wanted to try it myself as part of my ongoing prostate cancer journey.
The smoothie, which Arluk calls her "ancient gut healing smoothie," is built around ingredients she says have been used in Eastern medicine for thousands of years.
The connection between gut health and cancer prevention is at the center of her approach.
"When we're talking about preventing heart disease and cancer, the healthier our gut is, the better chances we have of prevention," she said.
She is a big fan of kefir, a fermented yogurt-based beverage.
"And one of the best sources in the world of that is kefir. It's been around for thousands of years. Kefir has been used as I said, for thousands of years in Eastern medicine. Where it was originally discovered they call it the drink of the living because people live so long from it. It really is a great product," she said.
Wild blueberries — frozen — are another ingredient she recommends. "Having a cup of berries a day is also an amazing cancer fighter. I'm a big believer in frozen fruit. I use them because I have found that frozen organic is cheaper than fresh, conventional berries are one of those foods that we know really absorb pesticides and unfortunately in this country when you don't buy organic, there's a lot of pesticides.," she said.
Cooked beets are also part of the recipe. "I tend in my smoothies to like to cook the beets before adding them to my smoothie. It just brings out some of their natural sweetness. OK, so when we cook them, a lot more of their natural sugar develops and therefore it's sweeter in your smoothie," she said.
She said the color of beets is a signal of their power. "Bright colors in nature tell us how powerful they are as antioxidants as fighters in our cells to fight things called free radicals," she said.
Free radicals, she explained, are a key part of understanding why these foods matter. "Free radicals are in our body. They come from the environment. They come from pesticides. They come from plastics. They come from exposure to asbestos, cigarette smoke, alcohol makes free radicals. Processed food makes free radicals. So yes, we constantly have free radicals in our body," she said.
The link between free radicals and cancer is direct, she said. "Free radicals mutate cells. Mutated cells cause cancer, but our body's a fighter. Our body is meant to fight. We are just now teaching how do we make it fight stronger because of everything that's out there," she said.
Another key ingredient, old-fashioned oats, added to the smoothie for fiber. "We gotta have some more fiber, but it also helps give it some taste. So this is just old fashioned oats straight out of the bag," she said.
Fiber plays a dual role in cancer prevention, she said. "Fiber does two things to help us fight cancer. So fiber keeps us regular — when we move things from one end to the other," she said. "Because fiber attracts water when fiber attracts water while it's moving from one end to the other, it also attracts free radicals," she said.
Ginger and turmeric round out the recipe, both of their health benefits. "I like also adding one of the superfoods that has been around as medicine for thousands and thousands of years in Eastern culture," she said. "And one of those is ginger, which is what we're gonna add today. You can also use turmeric," she said.
And if you're looking for potency between the spice or raw, Arluk says,"There's more of a benefit to going with the root and raw. Yes, just like my ginger.".
After blending all the ingredients together, the taste test. And I must admit it was actually pretty good. The kefir, which I had been skeptical about, was undetectable in the final blend. "So that's why the blueberries are in there. That's why the ginger's in there," she said.
And Arluk is a strong believer, that her diet change played a role in her remaining cancer-free after her treatment and double mastectomy. She admits her journey did cause her to make changes to her diet, "Even though I was a dietitian before, I really just, you know——the older way of thinking about it 23 years ago, it was the four food groups, and I was like, oh, I eat fruits and vegetables. But I didn't understand what I call the superfoods: the kefir, the beets, the garlic, ginger, turmeric, all of those things.
Also didn't read my ingredient labels and now I really read my ingredient labels so I take things back to basics."
So here's the recipe for what Arluk calls her "ancient gut-healing berry smoothie:"
- 1 cup plain kefir
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 small cooked beet
- 1-inch fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- OPTIONAL: Honey
- OPTIONAL: Ice for a thicker smoothie
If you're looking for more on the connection between fighting cancer and diet, Arluk has an event at the Sentara Brock Cancer Center September 8th. For more info click here:
