Before every practice, Alex Ovechkin is handed a “Tropical Creamsicle” smoothie, loaded with mango, pineapple, orange and coconut milk to make it tasty. But the most important ingredients are the ones Ovechkin doesn’t taste.
The Capitals’ team chef Robert Wood also adds ginger and turmeric, both anti-inflammatories that are good for digestion and keep swelling down in joints. He makes sure to mix in Brazil nuts, a good source of selenium, which has antioxidant properties.
Ovechkin’s smoothie is tailored just for him based on the results of a blood analysis he and his teammates did before the season.