Learn How to Make the Official Medical Medium® "Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie" which is made with clean, real food ingredients and is part of the Medical Medium® healing protocol. I also share step-by-step instructions and helpful tips!
Table of Contents
Why You'll Love the Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie!
My top 3 favorite reasons:
- Quick + Healthy Breakfast Option: just throw everything into a blender and it's ready to enjoy in about 5 minutes!
- Enjoy as a Smoothie or Smoothie Bowl: use frozen bananas to give it a thicker texture and enjoy it as a smoothie bowl!
- Made with Clean, Real Food Ingredients: all of the ingredients are nutrient-dense and help with detoxification - 100% plant-based with no dairy or yogurt!
Karielyn
Jump to RecipeYou can feel good about making the Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie because it's made with real, nutrient dense ingredients and is plant-based, gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, tofu-free, no refined sugar and Medical Medium® Compliant.
"Feel good about what you eat..."
- Karielyn Tillman
Ingredients
Here are the healthy, real food ingredients needed to make this detox smoothie recipe. Try to use organic if possible.
- Bananas (creaminess + energy)
- Wild Blueberries (antioxidants)
- Cilantro (fresh flavor + detox properties)
- Fresh Orange Juice (natural sweetness + Vitamin C)
- Barley Grass Juice
- Spirulina (nutrient-dense algae)
- Atlantic Dulse
That's it! The Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie is super easy to make!
Here's How to Make the Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie
Here is how to make this detox smoothie recipe and I'll show you with step-by-step instructions below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Add all ingredients into a Vitamix, or high-speed blender with liquids first and powders last. If you want to use frozen bananas, make sure they are prepped a day in advance. Simply slice (2) bananas into bite-sized pieces and place them in the freezer overnight.
- Step 2: Blend all the ingredients together. If you are using frozen bananas and frozen blueberries, you will need to use the tamper. If it's too thick, add just enough water to help it blend, but without making it too watery.
- Step 3: Serve in a glass Mason jar with a glass straw (no plastic!)
Frequently Asked Questions
You probably haven't given much thought to how much exposure you've had to heavy metals over the course of your life.
But if you stop and think back as far as you can remember, it might just surprise you.
Have you had any of the following at any point in your life:
- Mercury Fillings - (me - yes!)
- Mercury Filling Removal - (me - yes!)
- Mercury - handling batteries (me - yes!)
- X-Rays - (me - yes, numerous times!)
- CT scans - (me - yes, several times!)
- Radiation - plane flights (me - yes!), cell phone (me - yes!)
- Lead - lead paint (me - possibly from a 1940's home?)
- Flu Shots - (me - no)
- Aluminum - mainstream deodorant (me - yes!), soda cans (me - no)
- Aluminum foil/baking pans (me - yes!), take-out containers (me - yes!)
Some other sources of heavy metal exposure are metal cookware, old lead-based paint, batteries, and even pesticides and herbicides.
In the book, "Liver Rescue", author Anthony William goes into great detail about the effects of heavy metals
Yes, you can. If you're ok with not being strict about following the original recipe exactly, there are some other Medical Medium® approved and recommended ingredients that I sometimes like to add to my Heavy Metal Detox smoothie for extra healing benefits. For example:
- Fresh Aloe Vera Gel
- Organic Pitaya Powder
- Liquid Zinc
However, if you feel it's best for you and your situation to follow the original protocol, just use the Medical Medium® ingredients: banana, wild blueberries, fresh orange juice, cilantro, barley grass juice, spirulina, Atlantic dulse.
Yes, to get all the detoxification benefits the recipe would need to make it as is, per the Medical Medium® healing protocol because they all work together.
Just like the recipes you will find on my website, this smoothie recipe is made with only 7 clean, real food ingredients that are all nutrient dense.
Some of them you may have never heard of and may not have on hand.
One option that I've found, but have not personally used, it this Numani Organic Smoothie Mix. It is a European brand (no GMO's), and it has organic blueberry juice powder, organic barley grass juice powder, organic spirulina, organic Atlantic dulse in one pack which is very convenient!
But not to worry, you can also find the ingredients individually on Amazon and I will share links with you of where I purchase my ingredients below in the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
Some of the ingredients needed to get the full healing benefits from the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie may not be found at your local grocery store or even Target.
I've put together a list for you to make it easy to shop the ingredients:
1. Organic Wild Blueberries - Vimergy Organic Wild Blueberry Powder (if you can't find fresh or frozen organic wild blueberries)
2. Organic Barley Grass Juice - Vimergy Organic Barley Grass Juice Powder
3. Spirulina - Vimergy Spirulina Powder
4. Atlantic Dulse - Vimergy Atlantic Dulse (liquid) or Vitamin Sea Dulse (flakes)
I absolutely love to make smoothies because they are quick and easy.
In fact, I created an entire ebook with just smoothie recipes called Real Food Vegan™ Fruit Smoothies which contains 24 smoothie recipes made with clean, real food ingredients and all are 100% vegan, 100% gluten-free, 100% dairy-free, 100% soy-free, and 100% tofu-free.
You can also go to the search bar and type in "Smoothies" to find a complete listing of all the plant-based vegan smoothies and smoothie bowls on my website.
Yes! Ideally, the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie should be enjoyed 15-30 minutes after drinking 100% celery juice on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
To learn how to make celery juice, visit my Medical Medium® Celery Juice Protocol post.
Yes! I do this all the time and all you need to do is use frozen bananas instead of fresh bananas to get the thicker, smoothie bowl texture.
Prep the frozen bananas ahead of time so they will be ready to use at a moments notice.
You may need to use a tamper if it gets too thick but add just enough water to help it blend without making it too watery.
try this reader favorite !
Medical Medium® Celery Juice Protocol
The Official Medical Medium® Celery Juice Protocol is another healthy recipe made with clean, real food ingredients!
Karielyn's Expert Tips
Here are some of my best tips to help you make this heavy metal detox smoothie recipe perfectly every time. These small adjustments can make a big difference in the flavor and texture.
Top 5 Expert Tips
- Use frozen wild blueberries instead of conventional blueberries for maximum antioxidant benefits.
- Add the liquids to the blender first, the cilantro second, and the powders last to avoid grittiness.
- Prep ingredients together in advance for busy mornings.
- Start with a smaller amount of spirulina if you are new to it.
- Use a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, for the smoothest texture.
Ingredient Substitutions
Here are some of my expert tips to make this recipe perfectly:
Before I begin, I will share some helpful tips regarding the ingredients needed to make the "Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie".
However, if you want to learn about the healing benefits of each ingredient and what role they play in the smoothie, please grab a copy of his "Liver Rescue" book for more information.
Bananas. The original recipe calls for (2) bananas. I change the type of bananas I use depending on what mood I'm in each morning. For example, sometimes I want a quick smoothie and sometimes I want to sit down and enjoy a thick smoothie bowl.
Here's what you'll need to do for each:
- Fresh Bananas - use these if you want a thinner, drinkable smoothie consistency.
- Frozen Bananas - use these if you want a thicker, smoothie bowl consistency - as shown in the photo below. Simply cut two bananas into bite-sized pieces and freeze overnight. Another helpful tip is to meal-prep the bananas. For example, I buy 4-6 bunches of bananas at a time. Once they become "spotty", my son and I "prep" the bananas. We cut them into bite-size pieces and freeze them all at once. I love to do this because not only will I have frozen bananas ready for my Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie, but also for "nice" cream at a moment's notice. I actually panic when I don't have a freezer full of frozen bananas!
Wild Blueberries. It's very important to make sure you are using tiny "wild blueberries" and not the larger "cultivated" blueberries. Wild blueberries are a critical ingredient in this recipe so they shouldn't be substituted. I buy bags of organic wild blueberries from Whole Foods and use an entire bag per smoothie, as they come to right at (2) cups.
Another alternative, when you don't have access to frozen wild blueberries, is to use wild blueberry powder. I keep a bag at home as a back-up for when I'm not able to use frozen wild blueberries. I use the Medical Medium® recommended brand which you can buy online.
Cilantro. You will want to make sure the cilantro is fresh and organic, if possible. I know it sounds odd to add cilantro to a smoothie, but the taste is very subtle. My two boys will even drink the smoothie with cilantro added.
Orange Juice. It's best to use fresh-squeezed orange juice. Using store-bought pasteurized orange juice will not have the same nutritional value as fresh-squeezed. I cut the orange in half and squeeze the juice right into my Vitamix.
Barley Grass Juice Powder. Make sure you purchase barley grass juice powder and not barley grass powder. I use the Medical Medium® recommended brand which you can purchase online.
Spirulina. There are so many different brands to choose from so I just stick with the Medical Medium® recommended brand which you can purchase online.
Atlantic Dulse. This ingredient has become harder and harder to find as more and more people are discovering Medical Medium® (which is a good thing!). Medical Medium® recommends eating (2) tablespoons of flakes per day. There are several different varieties to choose from.
For example:
I used to buy the whole leaf and put a few leaves in at a time. When the whole leaves are sold out, I use organic dulse powder and add (1) teaspoon to my smoothie.
Water. If you add water to your smoothie to give it a thinner consistency, make sure you are using the purest water possible. I use a Berkey water filter system for all my water needs. Since the purpose of consuming a "heavy metal detox smoothie" is to assist the body of removing heavy metals from the body, it is counterproductive to use tap water with a host of impurities.
Vitamix. I exclusively use a Vitamix high-speed blender for all my blender recipes (you can also make celery juice with it too!). However, don't feel like you can't make this recipe if you don't have one. You should be able to make this in a regular blender since it doesn't have any hard or difficult ingredients to blend. You may want to skip the frozen bananas and just use fresh as that takes extra work to blend those in addition to the frozen blueberries.
Karielyn's Optional Add-Ins
The following ingredients are not part of the original "Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie" recipe. However, they are ingredients that Medical Medium® recommends adding to your diet.
Therefore, I add the following ingredients to my smoothie for extra nutritional benefits.
Fresh Aloe Vera. I add a large section of fresh aloe vera to my smoothie every day. Simply cut off a section, slice off the outer layer (as you would filet a fish, although I've never actually done that before!), and use only the inner clear gel part. I buy my aloe vera from Whole Foods, but I've seen it online on Amazon too.
Pitaya. I try to add this to my smoothies every day. There are two ways to add pitaya to your diet:
- Frozen Pitaya - If I have frozen pitaya on hand, I will use this. Keep in mind that it will make your smoothie extra frosty, especially if you use frozen bananas too. I buy my organic frozen pitaya from Whole Foods and Target.
- Pitaya Powder - I use the organic pitaya powder when I'm out of frozen pitaya. I add (1) tablespoon to my smoothies each morning. You can buy organic pitaya powder here.
Liquid Zinc. Since liquid zinc doesn't really have a distinct flavor, I add (1) dropper to my smoothies each day. I use the Medical Medium® recommended Liquid Zinc which you can buy online.
Order Recipe Ingredients
Shop for ingredients to make this recipe and my favorite kitchen tools all in one place!
How To Make The Medical Medium® "Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie"
Equipment
- Vitamix or high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 2 organic bananas
- 2 cups organic wild blueberries
- 1 cup organic fresh cilantro
- 1 cup organic orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 teaspoon organic barley grass juice powder
- 1 teaspoon spirulina
- 1 handful Atlantic dulse* (approximately 2 tablespoons)
Karielyn's Optional Add-Ins:
- 1 cup water (filtered/purified)
- 1 tablespoon fresh aloe vera gel
- 1 tablespoon organic pitaya powder
- 1 dropper Liquid Zinc
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a Vitamix, or high-speed blender, and blend until well combined.
- For a thick, smoothie bowl texture: use (2) frozen bananas
- For a thinner, smoothie texture: add (1) cup filtered/purified water
- Serve in a glass cup with glass straw
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Copyright Notice
The instructions, notes, and photographs for this recipe by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home™ website are copyrighted material. This copyrighted work is protected and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License and the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and cannot be legally used without my written permission.
Healthy Vegan Smoothie Recipes
- Cherry Banana Smoothie
- Raspberry Acai Smoothie Bowl
- Mixed Berry Protein Smoothie Bowl
- or my Real Food Vegan™ 14-Day Meal Plan Program with 42 plant-based vegan + gluten-free recipes made with clean, real food ingredients just like this one that you will love!
Denise says
Hi,
Can I use liquid atlantic dulse drops from vimergy in smoothie and how much?
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Denise! I see you are as excited to use the newly released Vimergy Liquid Organic Atlantic Dulse Extract as I am!
Per Medical Medium's® Instagram post on 8-11-21, he states "based on the extraction strength listed on the bottle, it would be equivalent to 1-2 dropperfuls in the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie".
Thanks for the question and I hope that helps! 🙂
Tai says
Is the sugar content safe for diabetics? It's 81 grams. With all the natural ingredients why are the sugars so high?
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi Tai! That is actually a really good question. Even though the Medical Medium® Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie is made with clean, real food ingredients, it does contain 3 sources of fruit: 2 bananas, 2 cups of wild blueberries, and 1 cup of orange juice (straight juice which is worse sugar-wise than eating the fruit whole). Blueberries are usually a safe fruit for diabetics but the banana and orange juice not so much.
His original recipe doesn't state how many servings it makes, but I know from making it that it will make approximately 1 large smoothie or 2 regular-size smoothies. Surprisingly, if you made and consumed the entire recipe (which I have done many, many times) it contains approximately 126 carbs in total, which of course is not good for diabetics. When I began drinking them, I never looked at the nutritional/caloric/carb content of the smoothie but rather focused on the healing benefits from it and was surprised at how many carbs it actually had.
One thing to keep in mind when following the Medical Medium® protocol is that it's not a one-size-fits-all approach. You may need to make adjustments or substitutions to the foods/ingredients/recipes he suggests. Just because the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie is highly promoted and does contain healing benefits, it may not be for everyone - such as diabetics.
My personal opinion is that the detox smoothie would not be ideal for a diabetic, however, always check with your doctor because everyone and every health situation is different.
Thanks again for your question and I wish you the best! Karielyn 🙂
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi Tai, I also wanted to mention that I've recently come across a source for diabetics that encourages and supports eating fruits and explains really well why the two can go hand in hand. It's the Mastering Diabetes account on Instagram at @masteringdiabetes or the website at Mastering Diabetes.
Hope that helps! Karielyn 🙂
Sarah says
Hi! Can this be taken while pregnant/nursing? Also, Anyone have kids that love to drink this? Excited to try this.
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Sarah! I, personally, would not recommend consuming Medical Medium's Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie while pregnant or nursing. Since it is a "detox" smoothie, it's primary purpose is to detox heavy metals and release toxins from the body - both of which you wouldn't want to do while pregnant or nursing. Additionally, any type of detox is generally not recommended during this time for the same reasons.
However, maybe you could try a healthy non-detoxifying smoothie. One of my favorite Medical Medium complaint smoothies is my Banana Cherry Smoothie (https://thehealthyfamilyandhome.com/vegan-cherry-banana-smoothie/) which is made with only 5 ingredients and is kid-friendly too!
Now, is the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie kid-friendly? From my experience, yes! I make smaller portions of the smoothie for my two sons who are very picky and skeptical of some of the healthy things I make and they love it. The cilantro has a very faint taste and it's quite a sweet smoothie with the bananas and blueberries which is why I think they like it.
If you don't think your children will like it, you could always just make a banana + wild blueberry smoothie and leave out the detoxifying ingredients (cilantro, dulse, spirulina and barley grass juice).
Hope that helps and thanks for your question! 🙂
Laura McKenzie says
Be sure to always buy certified organic wild blueberries. I have grown up in downeast Maine, the wild blueberry center of the universe. Yes, wild blueberries do grow wild and are vastly superior in taste and health benefits compared to cultivated highbush blueberries. Still, the term "wild" is a bit misleading. Commercial Wild Blueberries are heavily managed and sprayed with pesticides and herbicides. Labeling can be very deceptive, with terms like "no pesticide residue detected," or "certified bee friendly," etc. The only truly safe bet is buying wild blueberries with the USDA certified organic or Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners, MOFGA logo. There are certified organic Maine Wild Blueberry Powders available online that are definitely a better choice than Vimergy, which claims to be "pure" but is not certified-organic.
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi Laura! Thank you SO much for sharing this information! It's extremely important, especially when wild blueberries are one of the main ingredients in this healing detox smoothie.
I only use frozen organic wild blueberries from Whole Foods (I use an entire bag for my HMDS) and as a substitute, the Vimergy wild blueberry powder.
I've seen bigger bags of frozen wild blueberries that cost a good bit less at the grocery store but they aren't organic so I won't buy them.
Thanks again for sharing 🙂
Katy says
Hi, what do you recommend to use instead of bananas? (Latex allergy) please?
Thank you.
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Katy! Although this is an official Medical Medium recipe, if I were to make a substitution for the bananas, this is what I would try:
Mangos - This is a Medical Medium healing food and would give you a similar sweetness as a banana
Pitaya - This is also a Medical Medium healing food and would provide sweetness
Medjool Dates - Another Medical Medium healing food that would provide sweetness in lieu of the bananas
However, please keep in mind that substituting any ingredients from the original recipe may not provide the same healing benefits.
Bananas are not part of the "5 Key Ingredients" in the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie (which are Spirulina, Barley Grass Juice Powder, Cilantro, Wild Blueberries, and Atlantic Dulse) so it's my opinion that they are added to the smoothie for sweetness and not primarily for the healing benefits.
Thanks for your question and I hope that helps 🙂
Dana Chalamet says
Hi Karielyn ~ We LOVE Andrew William (the Mecical Medium) and are planning on getting all of his books just to have to educate ourselves further (we can never stop learning!). Even though we live a pretty clean, non-toxic, organic life, we KNOW we can learn a lot from him. He is an amazing soul and being able to benefit from his gift is just a true gift in itself—leading us to OUR higher selves (emotionally, spirituallly, and physically) as we believe the health journey IS all encompassing. 🙂
We are already utilizing the concept of drinking 16 oz. of organic celery juice every day AND starting to do the Heavy Metal Detox Smoothie this week coming (as soon as we get our Vimergy Barley Grass Juice Powder). Very excited as we wholeheatedly feel that these two things are part of the missing link to our wellness. LOVE it! But I also wanted to reiterate his name as you have it posted incorrectly on your blog here. You have it as Williams when it is William (no "s". An easy mistake). 😉
Glad you're aware of him and his gift ... and that you're sharing it with your tribe. The more people that truly understand the root cause of illness, the more we can heal as a nation/world.
Keep up the awesome work ... I always love getting your recipes! 🙂
Karielyn Tillman says
Hi there Dana! I'm so glad to connect with another Medical Medium lifestyle follower!
I agree with you 110% - I, too, live a clean, non-toxic + organic life but there were missing pieces to the puzzle that were preventing me from healing several health issues. I feel that since I've found the Medical Medium books, they have connected all the dots, filled in the missing puzzle pieces and helped me discover a few things I should and should not be doing to help with my healing journey. In my opinion, the information contained in his books is invaluable.
And thank you for pointing out the spelling error I missed - I have updated it to be correct (thank you!!).
I appreciate your support and for taking the time to share your feedback...it's sincerely appreciated 🙂
Lou says
Hi Dana, just to let you know it’s Anthony (not Andrew) William. And it’s Medical (not mecical) Medium. Just thought I’d politely let you know as many people make the mistake of calling him “Andrew”. Here’s to all our good health! ?