We’re told by the health community to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables each day to reduce not only our weight, but also our risk factors for certain diseases. Good advice. However, not all fresh fruits and vegetables are created equal, some provide more health benefits than others. To get the biggest bang for your daily nutritional value (or just to get a little of the best fruits and vegetables into a picky eater), try some of these top 7 super foods to eat for improved health.
Berries
Berries are a superfood not only for health reasons, but also for versatility and cost. Frozen berries pack as big of a nutritional punch as fresh berries do, plus the frozen variety is available year around and usually costs less. All berry varieties are good for your health because they all contain pigments called anthocyanins that help reduce the risk of cancer and heart disease.
Broccoli
Fresh or frozen, broccoli florets help to lower cholesterol, boost the immune system and protect the body against certain types of cancer cells. When buying fresh bunches of broccoli, look for florets tinged with purple for even more nutritional value.
Onions
Raw or cooked, red, yellow or white, onions are a rich source of quartering that protects against heart disease. Onions also contain a sulfur compound that helps to lower cholesterol and keep the immune system strong.
Tomatoes
The brilliant red color of tomatoes comes from a compound call lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the risk of cancer. Fresh tomatoes are great, but for this vegetable, canned is best and concentrated tomato paste is the best of best when it comes to cancer protection from lycopene.
Spinach
Spinach contains folic acid, a crucial nutrient for women in their childbearing years. A little folic acid goes a long way in the prevention of several types of birth defects. Spinach also helps maintain healthy vision with its lutein content.
Peppers
Peppers get their heat from a compound called capsaicinoids, it’s the ingredient in topical pain relief creams too. When eaten, the capsaicinoids in peppers causes the body to release the body’s natural pain killers, endorphins, to naturally relieve pain and boost mood.
Watermelon
Watermelon is a favorite of most children and loved by many adults, so no one has to know that the juicy fruit makes the list of best 7 superfoods to eat for improved health. Watermelon detoxifies the liver and is a natural diuretic with its high content of citrulline.
Sources:
National Institute of Health
World’s Healthiest Foods
American Cancer Society
Ilovespinach
WebMD
