Recent dietary research has uncovered 14 different nutrient-dense foods that time and again promote good overall health. Coined “superfoods,” they tend to have fewer calories, higher levels of vitamins and minerals, and many disease-fighting antioxidants.
The 14 main superfoods
- Beans (legumes)
- berries (especially blueberries)
- broccoli
- green tea
- nuts (especially walnuts)
- oranges
- pumpkin
- salmon
- soy
- spinach
- tomatoes
- turkey
- whole grains and oats
- yoghurt
Making swaps to eat more superfoods
There are so many simple swaps you can make to your diet so that you eat more superfoods. Here are a few simple ideas:
- Swapping chicken for turkey at least once a week
- Adding nuts to your cereals
- Swap tea for green tea once a day
- Add a handful of spinach to a stir fry, curry or bolognese
- Choose berries or oranges instead of bananas or apples, perhaps even having them instead of chocolate cake!
- Add spinach or broccoli to omelettes and frittatas like this spinach and mushroom frittata.
What can superfoods do?
These can all help stop and even reverse diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and some forms of cancer according to a number of pieces of research. Of course, no foods, whether considered superfoods or not, can improve a terrible diet so do bear that in mind!
And where one might have an effect on a certain part of the body, it can also affect the health of other body functions and performance, since the whole body is connected. With these 14 foods as the base of a balanced, solid diet, weight loss gimmicks and other fly-by-night programs can become a thing of the past in your life.
A poor diet
Conversely, the ill effects of an unbalanced diet are several and varied. Having low energy levels, mood swings, being tired all the time, weight changes and being generally uncomfortable with your body are just a few signs that your diet is unbalanced.
An unbalanced diet can cause problems with the maintenance of body tissues, growth and development, brain and nervous system function, as well as problems with bone and muscle systems.
Symptoms of malnutrition include lack of energy, irritability, a weakened immune system leading to frequent colds or allergies, and mineral depletion that can trigger a variety of health concerns including anaemia.
And since the body is connected, realising that an unhealthy body will result in an unhealthy spirit only makes sense.
Why have superfoods?
When we nourish our body with these superfoods and complement them with other nutrient-dense and healthy fresh foods, our spirit will be vitalised and healthy as a direct result.
Many modern diets are based on prepackaged convenience foods. These diets are sorely lacking in many vitamins and minerals, which can affect our mental capacities as well, and cause irritability, confusion, and the feeling of ‘being in a fog’ all the time.
Superfoods can be the basis of a sound, healthy, nutritious solution to curing many of these ailments and more.
Will you add more superfoods to your diet? Could you get the kids making smoothies and call them mocktails with some of these ingredients?
