One of the things you worry about most when trying to start a healthy living lifestyle or lose weight is what food to eat. It can certainly be hard to make those decisions — there’s a lot of options after all! We’re listing our top ten healthiest foods to give you a head start.
Don’t worry — you don’t have to eat them plain. Start including these foods in your regular recipes (or look up new ones!).
1. Salmon
Chock-full of omega-3, amino acids, and healthy fats, salmon can do a lot for your body. Linked to decreased risk of heart problems (including heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure!), salmon also is found to improve mood and memory. If that wasn’t enough, it can help prevent inflammation in your body, and helps your joint cartilage.
2. Pomegranate
Not only is this a delicious juice, but it’s full of antioxidants. Why do we care? Antioxidants sweep your body of free radicals, which can age you faster AND contribute to serious conditions, like heart disease or cancer. There’s also lots of fiber and extra vitamins!
3. Quinoa
Quin-who? Quinoa is a whole grain that you can use similar to rice or couscous. Full of fiber and protein, quinoa fills you up while providing lots of amino acids and vitamins. It’s good for your heart and wards off inflammation! Not so sure about quinoa? It’s great to mix with goat cheese and spinach before rolling that mixture up in a chicken breast!
4. Avocado
Studies show that avocado can actually lower cholesterol by 22%! (If that alone doesn’t put it on the list of healthiest foods, we don’t know what would.) Avocados are also rich in fiber and folate. Avocado is great for helping to regulate blood sugar, strengthening your heart, and helping your body get vitamins from other sources. So by adding a little avocado to your salads, salsa or other meals, you’re bound to get extra benefits from that meal!
5. Spinach
Popeye wasn’t lying – spinach is full of vitamins and antioxidants that can strengthen your body! It’s also a great source for iron and folate. If you’re wrorried about your thyroid, this is what you should be munching. Even if you don’t like spinach, there’s no reason to avoid it – just add it to a fruit smoothie and you won’t even be able to taste it.
6. Oatmeal
We know, we keep talking about oatmeal. But it’s for good reason! All that fiber really does wonderful things for you – like help you with your weight loss goals, and help lower your cholesterol levels. And as long as you aren’t doing the super sugary stuff, oatmeal can help keep your blood sugar steady for hours.
7. Kiwis
You wouldn’t know it to look at it, but this little fruit packs away a lot of vitamins. When we say a lot, we mean more vitamin C than an orange (nearly double), and almost as much potassium as a banana. Health benefits it’s been linked to include: helping asthma children, protecting against vision loss, lowering cholesterol, and supporting your immune system.
8. Collard Greens
Collard greens may sound like something that’s best eaten in the deep South, but they’re good for everyone. This anti-inflammatory food is proven effective to lower cholesterol levels, support the immune system, and protect against cancer. It’s also great for your digestive tract and full antioxidants!
9. Beans
Sorry, it’s just too hard to pick one sole type of bean. (Although the darker the bean, the likely it is to have more antioxidants!) Nearly all beans are high in both protein and fiber (this is why they fill you up). They’re also good for your heart, cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and many are linked to extra energy.
10. Kefir
Chances are if you like yogurt, you’ll like kefir. Sure the thought of fermented milk sounds really gross, but we promise it’s good to drink and good for you. Like yogurt, it’s great for your digestive tract, and for protecting your bones. Some traits it has all to itself include increasing your immune system, fighting cavities, and maybe even helping you digest lactose better.
How many from our healthiest foods lists do you eat regularly? Let’s start adding these into our regular diets and get healthy together!
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