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7 Healthy Foods You Should Try

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foods to tryA healthy diet doesn’t just consist of the standard variety of vegetables, grains, beans, fruit and lean meats. One of the most important aspects of eating well is to eat a variety of food! Humans are naturally creatures of habit and it can be easy to fall into a routine of eating the same foods. Break this habit and you will notice better health and improved vitality. It may even help you push through a weight loss plateau you’ve hit.

Here are 7 foods that are not only delicious but also healthy.

Seaweed

seaweedThe average person is likely familiar with seaweed in two ways: the green stuff in the ocean and the nori sheets used for sushi. Seaweed may not be very popular in traditional Western cuisine but it would be very much worth it to pick up a bag at your local Asian market or health food store. Some major grocery stores also sell the dried, roasted kind as a snack in sheets.  Very tasty…kinda like potato chips.

Seaweed is packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals but one particular mineral is the reason why you need to try this food: Iodine! Seaweed is a natural source of iodine, something majority of foods do not have. By eating seaweed, the iodine you consume will help you maintain proper thyroid health.

 

5 Superfoods That You Should Be Eating

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Superfoods have been in the news lately and can be found listed in many diet plans. The obvious conclusion from their nickname is that these foods can somehow provide more nutritional benefits than the average fruit or vegetable. What makes something a “superfood” isn’t that it contains an unusually high level of any one beneficial nutrient, but that is contains a combination of vitamins, minerals, nutrients, proteins or fibers that allow it to work independently of other foods to provide the body with nutrition. Many foods that may contain one of more beneficial elements require an additional food of a different type to be consumed at the same time in order for the body to be able to use what is eaten.

superfoodsHere are 5 top superfoods that can fit into most ways of eating (except some low carb plans), including vegan or vegetarian. Each of them offers a high powered source of balanced nutrition that can help your body repair and sustain its health.

Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are not only rich in fiber, nutrients, vitamins and minerals but they are versatile. You can make them into fries, bake them, make dessert with them and serve them boiled. Their distinctive and slight sweet flavor tends to discourage the usual assault of salt, butter and creams that undo many a healthy foods potential.

Blueberries

Blueberries typically are usually on the superfood list, not because they are better than other types of berries, but because they are generally easier to find in a store. Like all berries, blueberries are rich in phytochemicals, vitamins and soluble fiber. Soluble fiber is what gives you that full feeling and is also the type of fiber the body needs to promote healthy digestive functioning. There have been many studies done that suggest a strong link between phytochemicals and cognitive functioning. Blueberries are easy to add to the diet to replace sugars and sweeteners on morning cereals and as a treat at the end of the day instead of a caloric and sugary dessert.

5 Benefits of Eating Avocados

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The poor avocado would have motion sickness from the way it gets thrown high up on the “must eat” list and then kicked back down the ladder to the bottom with a bunch of foods to avoid. It’s back again, this time being touted as a “superfood” and it may just have found a niche to settle in and call home. There are numerous benefits that come from making avocado a part of your daily diet, including promoting weight loss. That is something pretty spectacular for a high calorie and high fat fruit. The reality is that many people who have dismissed the avocado for its calorie and fat content haven’t understood the nutritional nature of that content at all. Here are 5 benefits of eating avocado that will convince you to add it to your diet.

avocadoBenefit #1 – It is loaded with healthy fats

The average medium size avocado contains about 14.4 grams of fat. These are all the healthy fats that your body needs to function at its best. The avocado contains oleic acids and Omega-3 fats that are necessary to promoting good heart health. The other fat varieties contained in the fruit benefit the collagen and elasticin production of the skin and provide the right kind of fuel to assist your brain in maintaining cognitive functioning.

Benefit #2 – It is a rich source of protein

While many fruits and vegetables offer high protein levels, the avocado is considered a rich source because it contains something else that is necessary for your body to be able to use the protein – fiber. Along with that fiber, the avocado contains all of the amino acid building blocks that the body requires to synthesize protein. Without the fiber and amino acids, you can’t do anything with the protein you consume. This is why adding avocado to your diet if you are a vegan or vegetarian is essential, it is one of the best non-animal sources of protein around.

Benefit #3 – All that Vitamin E

Avocado is loaded with vitamin E. This is the essential vitamin for protecting the skin. It helps the skin’s cells to resist damage from the sun and helps to maintain firmness and elasticity which leads to a more youthful appearance. The vitamin E can be obtained from the avocado by consuming it or by applying the pulped fruit to your skin. It is most effective when consumed as the surface of the skin is only moisturized, but not repaired by the avocado pulp.

Benefit #4 – A good source of potassium

When we think of potassium we tend to think of foot cramps and bananas. Potassium is one of the most essential minerals in the body. A deficiency in potassium will not only lead to muscle cramps, but it can also trigger a cardiac incident, kidney failure and other dysfunctions of the major organs. By adding avocado to your regular diet, you will consume more potassium then you would get from bananas. Considering all the other benefits that the avocado offers as well, it is a better choice too.

Benefit #5 – Lutein

Avocados provide an important source of lutein for your body that is easily used. Lutein is most often associated with promoting eye health and it is also being investigated as a supplement that may help protect against certain cancers of the colon and breast. While the studies concerning cancer prevention are inconclusive, the studies concerning how lutein protects the eye are conclusive. Maintaining sufficient lutein levels helps to prevent age-related macular degeneration. This is most often caused from simple sun damage to the eye and consuming avocados can boost your lutein levels.

The Avocado Tricks

There are two tricks to adding avocado to your diet successfully. The first is to keep it on your counter or in a paper bag in the pantry after your purchase it for a few days before using it. Avocado ripens once it is picked and placing it in the refrigerator will slow down the ripening process. The second trick is to be mindful of what you eat the avocado with. It is a high calorie food that can hit as much as 340 quality calories per fruit, make sure you are eating it with low calorie foods so you don’t overwhelm the benefits of the avocado with too many calories or chemicals in the meal.

The Health Benefits of Bee Pollen

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bee pollenI love bee pollen.  I use it in my green smoothies all the time.  Bee pollen has one of the most complex nutritional profiles around, making it one of the strongest of the so-called “Superfoods.” Bee pollen has a unique combination of high powered vitamins, minerals and proteins that make it an excellent supplement to your diet to boost your immune system and support your body’s natural rejuvenation process. It also has several other properties that make the health benefits of bee pollen a worthwhile consideration for adding to your skin care routine.

There is one caution though; people who are allergic to bee stings should not take bee pollen without first consulting their allergist. “A rare but serious allergic reaction to bee pollen can cause drastic blood pressure changes, along with life-threatening complications.” Consult your doctor before using bee pollen. (more info on risks)

Is it honey?

Bee pollen is not honey. It is formed by the pollen of the flowers becoming granulated in the sticky coating on a bee’s leg. As they fly from flower to flower, they accumulate this coating of pollen before returning to the hive. The pollen is then used to feed the young in the hive. Bee pollen is how bees collect the raw ingredients that are then converted into honey.

Is it the same as Royal Jelly?

Bee pollen is not the same as Royal Jelly, another bee product that has amazing health benefits. There is a bit of controversy over the use of Royal Jelly because of the way it is gathered. With bee pollen, the substance is on the outside of the bee’s legs, and gathering it from the bee causes the bee no harm or stress. Royal Jelly is secreted by the bee as a special, high powered nutrient for their young. In order to harvest Royal Jelly, the bee is subjected to intense physical stress. For many people, this makes Royal Jelly an unethical product to use for health and beauty needs. It is also why there is such a large price difference between the pollen and the jelly.

How is Bee Pollen used?

Bee pollen is most often found in an oral supplement form. Taken daily, it provides you with a high dose of vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K, folic acid, calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, magnesium, selenium, protein and several amino acids. It can also be used as an ingredient in a topical gel or balm. It can appear in many different colors, being influenced by the season and type of flowers the bees have gathered the pollen from.

Why should I take it?

There is enough anecdotal evidence to suggest that taking a regular bee pollen supplement can help reduce cholesterol levels, increase your energy and promote good blood sugar stabilization. It is also being seen as a stress reducing supplement and mood enhancer as the vitamins B, D and E all help with mood stabilization. The high protein, amino acid and potassium in the bee pollen help the body’s cells to naturally repair themselves as well.

As a topical salve, the same unique vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids can also help to rejuvenate the skin, hair and nails as well. People swear by bee pollen to return shine to hair and to reduce brittle nails.

Bee Pollen and Allergies

As mentioned at the beginning, people who are allergic to bee stings shouldn’t take bee pollen without consulting their allergist. If you are not sure if you are allergic to bees, ask your doctor or take a very small does while having an Epi pen or allergy medicine on hand to handle any potential reactions.

With the warnings out of the way, what may surprise you is that the allergist may prescribe small doses of bee pollen to you if you are allergic to bee stings. Over the course of treatment, the dosage will increase. In some cases, this exposure to bee pollen can help to reduce the severity of an allergic reaction to a bee sting because the body gets the time it needs to build the immune systems resistance to the substance.

For people with seasonal allergies, the same reasoning applies. When we say that the “pollen count is high” it would be more accurate to say that the “bee pollen count is too high.” Consistent exposure to small doses of bee pollen can often reduce the effect of seasonal allergies.

Free Raw Foods Guide from IIN

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Do you want to know more about raw foods?  There are a lot of questions out there about this form of going vegan.  I’ve done it in the past and it’s where I’m striving to get to in terms of my eating.  I hope to be about 70% raw, with the rest of my food coming from lean protein sources.  Going raw vegan is clean eating to the max.  I even suggested raw foods to my fiance.  He fell in love with eating this way because he lost weight and it cleared up a congestion issue he had in his ears.  Turns out, he has an allergy to dairy products and would have never known without going raw.

RawFoodGuide_coverInstitute for Integrative Nutrition, the school I attended for my health coach certification, has a great, FREE raw food guide you should check out.  It includes:

  • “The ultimate list of raw superfoods and their nutritional benefits
  • Tips on how to preserve raw foods for long-lasting freshness
  • Quick and delicious raw recipes”

Download it today.

Turning to raw foods is not only good for eating healthy, but it can help you to see how much better your body can function on REAL, Living foods.  It’s not for everyone because we all have different nutrition needs, levels of health (I don’t recommend it to chronically ill people without discussing with a doctor) and many just won’t give up meat.  That’s fine. 🙂  We all have to find out what works for us!