I'm always reading about superfoods and their benefits. But what do you think of when you see the word superfoods? Blueberries? Broccoli? Bananas? Chia seeds? Acai?
These superfoods are nutritious and crazy beneficial for your health, but by simply consuming a select couple you might not be getting enough of the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. Since my January turn around I have been feeling great and it's all down to the foods I've been eating. I often provide food diaries and recipes but today I thought I would breakdown the foods I consume by the ingredients - and what I'm getting from them.
I've never thought this hard about my entire diet in this way before - of course I have certain foods that I know are good for me and I try and include everyday but the general rule I stick to is try and eat a diet full of variety and different colours.
Superfood Breakfast
Ingredients: almond milk, frozen banana, spinach, flax seeds, homemade muesli (oats, macadamia nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, coconut), honey.Almond milk: Vitamin B2, B12, D, E, low GI
Banana: Potassium, vitamins B6, C, manganese and fibre
Spinach: Vitamin K, A, manganese, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, B12, B2 and many more. High in fibre, flavonoids and an anti inflammatory.
Flax seeds: Omega - 3, alpha linolenic acid (ALA), high fibre, lowers cholesterol & has lignans
Oats: Selenium, high in fibre and much more
Macadamia: Calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc, protein and much more
Almonds: Protein, flavonoids, phosphorus, healthy fats, low GI
Hazelnuts: Vitamin E, B, B12, flavonoids, potassium, calcium, magnesium
Brazil nuts: Vitamin B, E, selenium, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and zinc. Pumpkin seeds: Vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, iron and copper, L-tryptophan
Coconut: Fibre, Omega - 6, folate
Honey: Flavanoids, antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial
3 ginger tea: ginger, galangal and tumeric - all part of the same family. They're anti inflammatory and immune boosters.
Sweet tater skins
Ingredients: sweet potato, chicken, piquantè peppers, black beans, feta with mango, kiwi and pomegranate
Sweet potato: vitamin B6, C & D, iron, magnesium, potassium and low GIChicken: lean protein, vitamin B3, B6
Piquantè peppers: vitamin C
Black beans: vitamin B12, fibre, protein, manganese, magnesium, anti inflammatory
Feta: protein, calcium, vitamin B6, B12, A, K, selenium, zinc and magnesium and iron
Mango: Flavanoids, vitamin A, B6, C, E, copper & potassium
Kiwi: really high in fibre, vitamin A, C & E
Pomegranate: antioxidants equal to those in green tea and red wine, vitamin C and potassium
Tortilla a la egg
Ingredients: Corn tortilla, tomatoes, onion, peppers, eggs, chillies
Corn tortilla: Not much nutritional value but lower in carbohydrates that flour tortillas - important because these aren't the good slow releasing carbohydrates. These also generally have a much shorter ingredients list (depending on the brand)
Tomatoes: antioxidant rich (lycopene), vitamin A, C & E, potassium
Peppers: vitamin A, C, K
Eggs: protein, choline, selenium, vitamin B2 & B12
Chilli: lower blood sugar levels, contains 'capsaicin', speed up metabolism
Variety is the spice of life so mixing it up is important to make sure you're getting a wide spectrum of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. This lifestyle is not about cutting things out of your life but more about introducing the things that will bring you good health. Eventually, the bad things will drop out. Have a think about what your diet is doing for you. Do you feel stressed and anxious? - Does your diet have enough magnesium? Are you always tired after you eat? - Try a day eating low GI carbohydrates. Are you always feeling run down or getting sick? Try upping your vitamin intake.
Humans have been surviving on these foods for thousand and thousand of years, food is fuel and doesn't need to be tampered with to the extent that it sadly is in today's society. If you provide your body with what it needs it will run more efficiently, using up energy rather than storing it and also limit your chances of developing severe illnesses.
The point I'm trying to make is that I feel like losing weight and being skinny is still at the forefront of a lot of people minds rather than eating well to be healthy - as it should be. If you eat real food, your weight will take care of itself and you'll feel great doing it.
Real food is good food so get out there and enjoy it
Minnie
xXx
P.S As the above might seem like jargon, I kept a note of what all the vitamins etc. do for our body in a code below. Take a look and see what you might want to include more of in your diet.
Vitamin A: strengthens immunity against infections, aids vision and keeps skin and the linings of some parts of the body, such as the nose, healthy*
Vitamin B2: keeps skin, eyes and the nervous system healthy, helps the body release energy from carbohydrate*
Vitamin B3: helps produce energy from the foods we eat, helps keep the nervous and digestive systems healthy*
Vitamin B6: allows the body to use and store energy from protein and carbohydrates in food
helping form haemoglobin, the substance that carries oxygen around the body* 1. Vitamin B6 helps reduce the chemical homocysteine in our bodies. Homocysteine has been linked with degenerative diseases, including the prevention of heart attacks.
Vitamin B12: makes red blood cells and keeps the nervous system healthy, releases energy from the food we eat*
Vitamin C: helps protect cells and keeps them healthy, is necessary for the maintenance of healthy connective tissue, which gives support and structure for other tissue and organs &
helps wound healing* This vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. It helps accelerate wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s youthful elasticity, and is essential to helping us cope with stress
Vitamin D: Helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body. These nutrients are needed to keep bones and teeth healthy*
Vitamin E: helps maintain cell structure by protecting cell membranes* Vitamin E is important in maintaining healthy skin, hair and nails.
Vitamin K: has several important functions. It is needed for blood clotting, which means it helps wounds heal properly. There is increasing evidence that vitamin K is also needed to help build strong bones*
Copper: helps prevent anemia and bone weakness (osteoporosis)
Choline: serves various functions in our bodies - in the structure of cell membranes, protecting our livers from accumulating fat, as the precursor molecule for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and more
Fibre: Fibre is an important part of a healthy diet. A diet high in fibre has many health benefits. It can help prevent heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, some cancers, and it can also improve digestive health*
Flavanoids: a phytonutrient with anti-cancer properties - have been shown to slow down cell division in human cancer cells.
Iron: is an essential mineral that has several important roles in the body. It helps make red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body* aids resistance to stress, proper immune functioning, and the metabolising of protein.
L-tryptophan: helps with good sleep and lowering depression. Tryptophan is converted into serotonin and niacin. Serotonin is also very helpful in helping us to have a good night’s sleep.
Lignans: are capable of binding to estrogen receptors and interfering with the cancer-promoting effects of estrogen on breast tissue. Lignans such as podophyllotoxin are therefore being studied for their possible effects on breast, prostate and colon cancer. Lignans are also good antioxidants scavenging free radicals that may play a role in some diseases
Low GI: low GI foods are those which do not promote any insulin spikes. Today we're tricked by a lot of packaged products to believe that we're eating something healthy, but next time you pick up a cereal bar or something fat free, take a look at how many grams of carbohydrates there are and then how much of those are from sugars. I guarantee you'll be surprised. When our body intakes these products, our pancreas has to produce a lot of insulin to break down the sugar and turn it into carbohydrates which our body can then use as energy - if you're not using up this energy, guess what happens to those unused carbohydrates? They get stored as fat. Most 'fat free' or 'low cal' products are not your friend in the long run. Keep an eye on it.
Magnesium: A mineral that helps turn the food we eat into energy, helps make sure the parathyroid glands, which produce hormones important for bone health, work normally* it's commonly recognised that a lack of magnesium can disrupt sleep.
Manganese: Manganese is a trace element that helps make and activate some of the enzymes in the body*
Omega 3: Decrease risk of irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias), which can lead to sudden cardiac death, Decrease levels of triglyceride - a type of fat found in the blood which has been linked to heart disease, Reduce the clumping together of small particles in the blood called platelets which can cause potentially harmful clots, Decrease growth rate of the fatty plaques that can fur up the arteries, Lower blood pressure - BBC
Omega 3 (ALA): Alpha-linolenic acid is popular for preventing and treating diseases of the heart and blood vessels. It is used to prevent heart attacks, lower high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and reverse “hardening of the blood vessels” (atherosclerosis).
Omega 6: Plays a crucial role in brain function, as well as normal growth and development. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), they help stimulate skin and hair growth, maintain bone health, regulate metabolism, and maintain the reproductive system.
Potassium: The health benefits of potassium include relief from stroke, blood pressure, heart and kidney disorders, anxiety and stress, enhanced muscular strength, metabolism, water balance, electrolytic functions, and nervous system
Selenium: aids in many of the metabolic pathways and may help treat prostate cancer, Selenium also benefits the skin during healing following burn injuries. Shampoo with selenium may alleviate dandruff problems. For skin care, selenium’s antioxidant properties regenerate vitamins E and C, thereby decreasing the ageing of skin. Major benefits of selenium have been found to improve the immune system against bacterial and viral infections, against cancer cells and herpes virus, cold sores, and shingles. One of the major nutritional benefits of selenium is increasing the HDL cholesterol to LDL cholesterol for a healthy heart
*Taken from the NHS website
