Part I of II

Did you know that many foods are powerful enough to stoke your metabolism, improve your mood, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure(hypertension) and reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer?

When we think of the food, we normally think of what its going to taste like and what it’s impact is going to be to our waistline.  We spend so much time worrying about this that we often overlook many other benefits that certain very rich, powerful foods possess.

The one thing these foods all have in commom is that they are all natural, unprocessed foods, or as I like to tell my clients, hunted, plucked, or picked.

Here are the top 10 foods that I feel need to be a part of your diet…

1. Bananas - Bananas are one of the most popular fruits in the world. They are one of the easiest snacks to take with you for where ever your day may lead you, and is also available year round. They are a great source of instant energy whether you are watching your diet(since they only have roughly 100 calories) or just trying to eat healthy(contain no fat, sodium, or cholesterol.  All qualities that reduce the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer

Bananas are rich in vitamin B6 and they are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium. Lack of B6 in a diet can cause fatigue, weakness, and irritability. The potassium found in bananas helps to regulate blood pressure and may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Potassium is also essential for helping prevent muscle cramps during exercise.  They also pack 4 grams of fiber making it an easily digestable food and one that improves overall digestion.

They also help improve your mood.  Research shows that the serotonin and norepinephrine in bananas may naturally help sufferers overcome depression.

2. Omega 3 Rich Fish – The Omega-3 fatty acid found in fatty, cold waterfish like salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel lower heart disease risk, reduces depression, help arthritis sufferers, and help with memory loss and Alzheimer’s.  Look for wild caught vs farmed.  Aim for 2 -3 servings per week of these type of fish.  If you don’t like fish, other sources of Omega 3′s are flax seeds and walnuts.  They are also high in monounsaturated fats, which can lower cholesterol

3. Berries – Berries are packed with antioxidants, they are are also high in potassium and vitamin C. One of the things not often mentioned about berries is their Anti-inflammatory properties.  Inflammation is at the root of pain and chronic disease for many people.  Adding about 1/2 cup a day to your diet can give you all
the benefits you need.  As a general rule of thumb, the darker the berry, the more antioxidant rich it will be.  Blueberries, Blackberries and Acai are all excellent sources.

4. Oatmeal – Oatmeal is a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.  Insoluble fiber is indigestible by your body.  Therefore, making stools heavier and speeds their passage through your intestinal tract and
relieving constipation. Soluble fiber CAN be broken down by your body as it passes through the digestive tract, forming a gel that traps some substances related to high cholesterol, thus reducing the absorption of
cholesterol into the bloodstream.

According to the American Cancer Society, Insoluble fiber has cancer fighting properties due to the fact that it attacks certain bile acids, reducing their toxicity.  Soluble fiber may reduce LDL cholesterol without
lowering HDL cholesterol. LDL is bad; HDL is good.  Soluble fiber also slows down the digestion of starch which is beneficial to diabetics because, when you slow down the digestion of starch, you avoid the sharp rises in your blood sugar level that usually occur following a meal.

Oats are also a good source of many nutrients including vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium.

5. Garlic – Garlic contains nearly 100 powerful nutrients.  It is very rich in sulfur containing compounds.  The amino acid Allicin is the most prevalent and potent among many other compounds like, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, selenium, polyphenols, and arginine. In addition, garlic is a good source of vitamin B6 and also of vitamin C. As with most whole foods, garlic’s antioxidant, disease preventing and anti-inflammatory properties are probably due to the combined effect of all the compounds working together rather than any single agent.  Garlic has also been linked to slowing down cerebral aging, and cataract formation.  Taking an oral garlic supplement does not have nearly the same punch though. It needs to be chewed fresh or cooked to deliver all of its nutrients.  Many of which can not be had from the oral capsule version.   Just careful on the quantity since you won’t find anyone to talk to if you over do it .

If these 5 foods are not in your diet, be sure to add them.  Stay tuned for part II next week when I uncover the 5 other superfoods that can have the biggest impact on the way you feel and overall health.

To Be Continued…

To Your Health and Wellness,

Dennys Passeto
Achieve Fitness Personal Training, LLC
www.achieve-fitness.com
1-888-872-7961

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Tags: acai, diet, eating right, fitness, Health, Nutrition, superfoods, weightloss

This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 7:39 pm and is filed under General News, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.