Beetroot Smoothie Recipe to Clear Acne

If you are like me, you probably have never thought of adding beetroot to your smoothies. I mean, I have juiced beetroot in many of my juicing concoctions before. But imagining my little blender blending beetroot to a smooth and creamy beverage, was not one of them. This beetroot smoothie recipe, in its hot pink deliciousness is my new favorite thing at the moment. (Now go one step further and freeze your bananas before you use them. Oh man, are you in for a treat!)

Besides it looking absolutely gorgeous, it is a great iron booster.

My story

I never struggled with bad skin. In high school I might have gotten the odd pimple here and there, but acne was never a problem.

Three months ago, I started getting severe acne on my chin and face. It is raised and really unsightly. I have been under a lot of stress lately and as a result eaten really poorly. I have constant pins and needles in my arms and legs, extremely tired all the time, sore muscles, bleeding gums, thinning hair, anxiety and a sore chest with heart palpitations.

I discovered that my liver is in need of some serious love. As well as gut-health (the little ‘bugs’ that allows you to absorb the goodness from food). Being iron deficient is the result of that. The two goes hand in hand and here is why.

What is the link between iron and our liver?

Iron creates hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the red blood cells in our blood. The function of our red blood cells is to transport oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our body. Our liver, however stores the iron and releases it into our blood as our body needs it.

Our cells need oxygen. Without iron, our cells and tissues are not receiving the oxygen it needs and we become prone to infections and other ailments.

10 signs that you might be iron deficient (anaemic)

1. You are pale
2. You are extremely exhausted
3. Pins and needles in your legs or arms (or restless leg syndrome)
4. Heart palpitations / chest pain
5. You feel anxious for no reason
6. Shortness in breath / weak
7. Your head hurts (headaches and dizziness)
8. Losing your hair
9. Brittle nails
10. Always feeling cold

Increasing our iron is not difficult to do. But making sure our liver is working optimally is key. Another very important component we overlook is our gut-health! This is so very important. We can increase all the nutrients in our diet as we desire, but if our gut health is not good, then our body won’t absorb the needed nutrients successfully.

To learn more about gut-health, read this amazing article on ‘Trauma, the Gut and Healing: Building Deep Resiliency with Herbs’ .

To increase our absorption of iron, we need to include vitamin C like orange juice, chili, broccoli or strawberries when consuming iron-rich foods.

Luckily beets are high in vitamin C as well as calcium. Perfect food.

20 iron rich foods (plant based)

1. 2 tablespoons of seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, hemp)
2. 1 medium baked potato
3. 1 cup chickpeas
4. 1 cup beans (kidney, lima, soya etc)
5. 2 tablespoons of peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, roasted almonds or roasted cashews
6. Half cup of dried seedless raisins, peaches, figs or prunes
7. 1 cup broccoli
8. 1 cup spinach
9. 1 cup kale
10. 1 cup artichokes
11. 1 cup beets
12. Blackstrap molasses
13. Fenugreek
14. Red lentils
15. 2 teaspoons of curry powder
16. 2 teaspoons of dried oregano or parsley
17. 1 cup quinoa
18. 1 cup peas
19. Amaranth
20. Brussel sprouts

Whether you suffer from acne due to liver damage or other, this beetroot smoothie recipe is really simple, cheap and so easy to make. And tastes fantastic!

Do you suffer from acne? If so, what worked for you? Let me know in the comments below.

Banana and Beets