Smoothie with Flax (Anti-Aging)

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The Anti-Aging Smoothie with Flax is packed with science-backed ingredients to support longevity and healthy aging. Naturally sweetened with dates, barberries, frozen blueberries, and mango, it offers a delicious blend without bananas, which can reduce the health benefits of blueberry flavanols. This smoothie is a tasty way to boost your healthspan!

Blueberry chia smoothie with hemp hearts, chia seeds, barberries, and a date.

Made with nutrient-dense ingredients rich in protein and heart-healthy fats, this quick and easy smoothie is the perfect choice for a healthy breakfast or snack. It includes ground flaxseeds, which are high in anti-cancer lignans, making it both delicious and beneficial for your health. Pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and chia seeds offer a protein boost but feel free to add protein powder as desired.

This flax smoothie recipe was inspired by my no-banana Blueberry Mango Smoothie with Chia Seeds, as well as my Longevity Powder, and Homemade Protein Powder recipes. If you are looking for a delicious longevity green smoothie recipe, try this Spinach & Mango Green Smoothie on my site.

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👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients & Health Benefits
🍓 Substitutions
📖 How to Make Anti-Aging Smoothie with Flax
🛒 Shop This Recipe
✔️ Expert Tips
🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs
🥣 Related Recipes
🍧 Pairing
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients & Health Benefits

Nondairy milk, spices, frozen mango, frozen blueberries, barberries, date, flaxseed meal, walnuts, chia seeds, wheat germ, pumpkin seeds, and spices.

Nondairy milk: Cow's milk has been shown to impair the antioxidant absorption of blueberries. I recommend using soy or pea milk for the highest protein content.
Frozen mango is a good source of spermidine, a polyamine, that plays a crucial role in the body’s natural autophagy process, which helps clear out damaged cells and recycle essential components, supporting cellular health and longevity.
Blueberries: Contrary to what you might expect, including fruit like blueberries with a meal can actually lower the blood glucose response. They act as natural starch blockers, inhibiting the enzyme responsible for starch absorption. This is why people with type 2 diabetes are no longer advised to limit their fruit intake.
Flaxseed meal: The natural fats in flaxseeds enhance the absorption of fat-soluble nutrients, making them even more beneficial. Additionally, flaxseeds are rich in anticancer lignans.
Chia seeds may support weight loss due to their high fiber content, which helps increase the feeling of fullness after meals. They become ground in the blender and therefore do not require soaking. Additionally, grinding chia seeds enhances omega-3 absorption.
Hemp hearts and pumpkin seeds add more protein and heart-healthy fats.
Dates: Some research indicates that dates can help lower blood glucose levels, reduce cholesterol and triglycerides, and increase beneficial HDL cholesterol. They also appear supportive of a healthy gut microbiome.
Cinnamon and cloves have been shown to lower levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation in the body, further supporting overall health and longevity.

Optional Ingredients:

Wheat germ is a good source of spermidine, a polyamine, that plays a crucial role in the body’s natural autophagy process. (Omit for gluten-free.)
Walnuts are packed with some of the highest levels of antioxidants and omega-3s among nuts, and they appear highly effective at slowing down cancer cell growth in lab studies. In the PREDIMED study, walnuts stood out, offering the most health benefits, especially in reducing the risk of cancer death.
Dried barberries may help improve cholesterol levels and blood sugar control, as well as increase antioxidant levels in people with Type 2 diabetes. These changes suggest that barberries could help manage diabetes by reducing heart disease risk and improving overall blood sugar control.
Green cardamom plays a role in supporting healthy aging by boosting sirtuin-1 levels, a protein linked to longevity. Sirtuin-1 levels naturally decrease with age, and this decline is often connected to age-related issues like frailty. By potentially enhancing sirtuin-1 levels, green cardamom could help mitigate these effects and promote healthier aging.
Strawberry powder: Cellular senescence, where cells stop dividing but don’t die, contributes to aging. Fisetin-rich strawberries can help clear these aged cells, promoting healthier aging.

SHOP LONGEVITY INGREDIENTS BELOW. See the recipe card for quantities.

🍓 Substitutions

Walnuts - substitute with ¼ cup chopped nuts, or your choice of seeds for nut-free
Mango - use frozen pineapple instead
Blueberries - substitute with frozen berries of your choice
Strawberry powder - add 1 tablespoon per serving as desired
Dried barberries - use unsweetened dried cranberries instead
Nondairy milk - I recommend soy milk (or pea milk) for the most protein, but use your choice of unsweetened nondairy milk
Wheat germ - omit for gluten-free
Protein powder - Add a scoop as desired. You can find my preferred brand here.

For more healthy breakfast recipes, visit my Vegan Breakfast Recipes page.

📖 How to Make Anti-Aging Smoothie with Flax

For the full recipe with quantities, scroll down to the bottom of the post. This is an overview.

Nondairy milk, ice cubes, barberries, chia seeds, mango, blueberries, and flaxseed meal in a blender.

Add to the canister of a blender: milk, mango, blueberries, amla powder, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, hemp hearts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, cloves, cinnamon, barberries, date, strawberry powder (if using), and ice. (See recipe card below.)

Blueberry chia smoothie (anti-aging) blended in a blender.

Blend on high until smooth. Don’t blend for too long, or the texture will become too watery. Add more ice cubes as desired.

Blueberry chia smoothie (anti-aging) in a mug with hemp hearts, barberries, and a date.

For serving: Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate for up to one day. Or transfer the flax smoothie to a large ice cube tray and freeze it for up to 3 months.

🛒 Shop This Recipe

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✔️ Expert Tips

Avoid using bananas in this smoothie because they contain the enzyme polyphenol oxidase, which can block the absorption of key phytonutrients in cocoa and blueberries. Although heating the banana to 70ºC and adding lemon juice can deactivate the enzyme, it’s not the best option for a smoothie flavor! This also applies to avocados and apples, which contain the same enzyme.
A high-speed blender works best for making this flax smoothie recipe. Otherwise, consider grinding the chia seeds beforehand.
The smoothie’s texture varies based on the type of milk used. Adjust the consistency by adding more milk or water until the desired thickness is reached.
Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

🙋🏽‍♀️ Recipe FAQs

Should chia seeds be ground before eating?

Grinding chia seeds enhances omega-3 absorption while consuming them whole does not yield the same effect. A study found that individuals who consumed two tablespoons of ground chia seeds daily experienced significantly greater weight loss and a reduction in waist circumference compared to those in a control group. This effect was not found with whole seeds.

Should flax seeds be ground before eating?

It’s best to consume ground flaxseeds. Their hard natural shell keeps them fresh for up to a year, but it’s so tough that if you eat flaxseeds whole, they may pass through your system without being absorbed. Grinding them allows your body to get the full benefits.

Which is healthier: ground chia seeds or ground flaxseeds?

I prefer flax seeds over chia seeds primarily because of their high lignan content. Flax seeds contain about 15 times more lignans than other seeds, including sesame and chia. Lignans are believed to play a key role in the anticancer properties of flax seeds, supporting both cancer prevention and survival.