This month Seed's launching "Inputs and Outputs", an educational experiment collaborating with their partners like myself to amplify educational content around the importance of what we eat and its impact on the health of our gut microbiome. As we already know, you are what you eat and everything ingested impacts the gut.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation put together this handy Periodic Table of Microbiome-Friendly Foods that can be used to build more fiber-rich and gut-friendly meals.
The Seed team asked us to use this table to create a Science Smoothie, using 5 ingredients or less, sending them the list of ingredients. In turn, they'd "science-ify" the recipe, name it and provide the references to explain why it's a healthy mix. Coming up with my Science Smoothie was easy; I used one of the formulas that I found on Pinterest a few years ago.
Fruit
Base
Thicken
Flavor
Boost
Nerdy Name: Oat-standing Beta(β)-glucan Blast
1 cup Blueberries
1 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1/4 cup Oats
1 Date
1 tbsp Ground Flaxseed
Place all ingredients in the blender, blend, and enjoy!
I tried to drink it but this smoothie was a little thick. So it's more suited as a smoothie bowl.
Why did Seed name my Science Smoothie what they did?
Beta(β)-glucans are plant-derived polysaccharides found in grains like oat and barley. β-glucans have demonstrated a significant impact on the gut microbiota—via the growth of beneficial microbes and the production of bioactive metabolites, namely short-chain fatty acids. (SCFAs). Some beta-glucans exhibit immune-modulating properties—influencing gut-immune function through interactions with resident immune cells.
References:
Vetvicka V, Thornton BP, Ross GD. Soluble beta-glucan polysaccharide binding to the lectin site of neutrophil or natural killer cell complement receptor type 3 (CD11b/CD18) generates a primed state of the receptor capable of mediating cytotoxicity of iC3b-opsonized target cells. J Clin Invest. 1996 Jul 1;98(1):50-61. doi: 10.1172/JCI118777. PMID: 8690804; PMCID: PMC507400.
Jayachandran M, Chen J, Chung SSM, Xu B. A critical review on the impacts of β-glucans on gut microbiota and human health. J Nutr Biochem. 2018 Nov;61:101-110. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2018.06.010. Epub 2018 Aug 10. PMID: 30196242.
Please comment when you've tried this Science Smoothie, letting me know what you think of it.