“Superfoods” have been celebrated by nutritionists as being beneficial for health and well-being for years. These nutrient-dense ingredients offer a bundle of essential vitamins, minerals, protein, complex carbohydrates, and good monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. A balanced intake of these nutrients is crucial for energy, growth, repair, immunity, and essential metabolic processes. The good news doesn’t stop there though—superfoods are also rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals, which can help protect us against cancers, coronary heart disease, strokes, type-2 diabetes, and obesity. No wonder we so often hear that superfoods should be top of our shopping list!
Superfoods can be bought easily from supermarkets, farmers’ markets, and health-food stores and are often inexpensive. Thanks to their health-boosting qualities, they could almost be called “natural medicines,” but no prescription is required and there are no negative side effects as long as they are eaten as part of a balanced diet.
The brighter the color of a fruit or vegetable, the more beneficial to health it will probably be. Choose from deep-purple blueberries; ruby-red strawberries and raspberries; bright-orange pumpkins, carrots, and mangoes; and deep-green broccoli and kale. Plant foods are packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals (biologically active plant chemicals). These help to reduce the activity of free radicals—harmful compounds produced by the body, which damage DNA and body tissues—and so they are believed to help protect the body against cancer.
Wash or scrub fruits and vegetables and eat them with the skins on where possible to boost your fiber, vitamin, and mineral intake. This is an easy way to add natural soluble fiber to your diet, which will help stave off midmorning or midafternoon munchies, and to lower cholesterol and protect against bowel cancer.
Plants aren’t the only superfoods. Nuts, seeds, whole grains, oily fish, and plain yogurt with active cultures are other examples of nutrient-dense, power-packed ingredients.
When altering your diet, take small steps that you can build on instead of making major dietary changes you may struggle to maintain. There’s a lot of truth in the expression “we are what we eat,” and eating a range of superfoods should help you to feel fitter, lighter, and more energized, and to cope with the hustle and bustle of modern living, while improving your long-term health.