Are you eating enough red foods? Red foods can boost your health

Boost your health with red foods

Red is the color of love and of good health, too.

Add red to your plate, and you’re adding the phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanin.

Phytochemicals are naturally occurring protective components found in plants, believed to contribute to both plant health and human health.

Lycopene is found in tomatoes, particularly cooked tomatoes.

It is thought to play a role in protecting the body from different forms of cancer, including cancer of the cervix, colon, bladder, stomach and prostate.

Lycopene also promotes heart health, keeping your cardiovascular system running well.

Anthocyanins, found in red foods such as apples and in red wines, might be responsible for improving cardiovascular health as well.

Add splashes of red to your plate and truly take care of those you love.

Red pepper: Blend strips or dices of red pepper into a pasta dish, slice it plain and serve it as an appetizer with a tasty dip, or stuff a pepper with the tomato, rice, corn and cheese mixture offered here.

Radicchio: How about going the route of the exotic with your true love?

Brush some radicchio leaves, or chicory, with olive oil before grilling them, or wrap medallions of goat cheese with the beautiful crimson leaves, and then grill the bundles for a tangy appetizer.

Radicchio, the bitter-tasting, reddish, burgundy cousin of endive, is gaining popularity among nutritionists because of research that shows its high capacity for absorbing oxygen-free radicals, or the substances naturally produced in our bodies that can attack and damage healthy cells.

Radicchio has been shown to have as much punch against free radicals as blueberries and strawberries, two other super foods touted for their healing qualities.

Strawberries: Eat them plain, drop them in champagne, or fold them into this peach and strawberry sauce and spoon its peachy-red splendor over a piece of homemade pound cake.

Add red to your palate, and you’re on your way to improving your health and the health of those you love.

Other red foods

• Red apples
• Beets
• Blood oranges
• Cherries
• Cranberries
• Pomegranates
• Raspberries
• Red grapes
• Red onions
• Red potatoes
• Ruby red grapefruit
• Watermelon
For more about eating healthy colors, go to www.pbhfoundation.org.

Click for more super foods

Splash of red in diet can improve health (Lawrence Journal-World)Red is the color of love and of good health, too. Add red to your plate, and you’re adding the phytochemicals lycopene and anthocyanin. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring protective components found in plants, believed to contribute to both plant health and human health.

technorati tags:, , ,

Super foods are good for your health

Super foods are good for your health
Dietitians are promoting Super Foods — a list of all sorts of food that can be the key to a long and healthy life.

The list even includes chocolate and honey, but as with many things, controlling the amount you eat is key.

Experts say they contain antioxidants, which can have a variety of effects on the body, including decreasing your chances of cancer and other diseases.

Dark chocolate, kiwi, cinnamon and honey are four of the tastier foods on the list.

Experts say dark chocolate lowers blood pressure and it’s good for your heart, while kiwi is good for your eyes and chemicals in both honey and spices like cinnamon help control blood sugar.

It doesn’t take a lot to get the benefits.

You should eat controlled amounts and add these items into a healthy diet.

For the dark chocolate and kiwi, eat about 1 oz.
One teaspoon of honey and cinnamon per day is enough.

For more about Super Foods:

Who Else Wants To Learn What Foods Help Stop The Pollution Of Your Body And Start Healing It?

Click here

Imagine if you could just eat a food and…

  • Lower High Blood Pressure
  • Reduce High Cholesterol
  • Control Your Diabetes
  • Suppress Your Appetite
  • Prevent Blood Clots
  • Reduce Triglycerides
  • Lower Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
  • Ease The Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Relieve Migraine Headaches
  • Fight Inflammation
  • Regulate Your Immune System
  • Soothe Bronchial Asthma
  • Combat Early Kidney Disease, and more..

Click here to learn more.

Super Foods Offer Healthier Life (KAKE)

Dietitians are promoting Super Foods – a list of all sorts of food that can be the key to a long and healthy life. The list even includes chocolate and honey, but as with many things, controlling the amount you eat is key.

technorati tags:, ,

Get radiantly beautiful skin from the inside out, eat these super foods

Get radiantly beautiful skin from the inside out, eat these super foods

Get radiantly beautiful skin from the inside out, eat these super foods

Some vitamins in creams and lotions can help improve your complexion, but if you really want to have beautiful skin, start on the inside, says nutritionist Joy Bauer.

Although acne and wrinkles have different causes, nutrition can help minimize or prevent both these problems and enhance your skin’s natural beauty.

The best defense against the free radical damage of oxidation is a diet rich in antioxidant vitamins and minerals (and plenty of water!).

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is involved in collagen production and protects cells from free radical damage.

Scientific studies found that when lab animals ate vitamin C-fortified food, their skin was better able to fight off oxidative damage.

That said, replenish your skin’s vitamin C stores by eating plenty of vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables on a daily basis.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E helps protect cell membranes and guard against UV radiation damage.

Some research suggests that vitamin E may work in combination with vitamin C to provide an extra boost of anti-aging skin protection.

However, because recent studies have raised some questions about the safety of vitamin E supplements, these nutrients should come from your diet, not from potent pills.

I recommend you stick with food sources like wheat germ, fortified cereals, nuts and seeds (and the small amount found in a multivitamin).

Beta Carotene

Another antioxidant critical for skin health is beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body.

Beta carotene/vitamin A is involved in the growth and repair of body tissues, and may protect against sun damage.

In extremely high doses, straight vitamin A from supplements can be toxic, so always avoid.

However, ample beta carotene from foods like sweet potato, pumpkin, carrots, mangos and apricots is entirely safe and great for your skin.

Selenium

Selenium helps safeguard the skin from sun damage and delays aging by protecting skin quality and elasticity.

Dietary selenium has been shown to reduce sun damage, and even to prevent some skin cancers in animals.

Be sure to get your selenium from food, though, and not from supplements.

Omega-3 Fats

Healthy fats known as omega-3 fatty acids help maintain cell membranes so that they are effective barriers—allowing water and nutrients in, and keeping toxins out.

Omega-3s also seem to be able to protect skin against sun damage.

In a study of skin cancer, people who ate diets rich in fish oils and other omega 3 fats had a 29% lower risk of squamous cell cancer than those who got very little omega 3 fats from food.

Supplements To improve skin health, I strongly recommend getting your nutrients from food sources.

Multivitamin Choose a brand that contains 100% DV for vitamins A (optimally 50-100% coming from beta carotene and/or mixed carotenoids), C, and E, and which provides for about 55 micrograms selenium.

Omega-3 Fish Oils If you find it difficult to get omega-3 fats from food sources, try fish oil supplements.

Eat your way to more beautiful skin (MSNBC)

Nutritionist Joy Bauer has a prescription for a diet rich in vitamins to help your face look younger—plus a recipe for her ”beauty blend” smoothie.

technorati tags:, ,

10 super foods you should be eating

Hello and Happy New Year-

If you put losing weight on your list of New Year’s resolutions you can add super foods to your diet to help you accomplish that. Making a habit of eating these foods will improve your overall health along with making you feel and look better.

» Almonds: The fat in almonds is unsaturated, a healthier choice. Almonds have a cholesterol-lowering effect. They also seem to lower the risk of sudden cardiac death and Type 2 diabetes. But go easy: An ounce – 12 to 15 nuts – is plenty.

Almonds also have plenty of fats that are good for your skin.
» Blueberries: Blueberries are one of nature’s richest sources of antioxidants, which means they fight cell-damaging free radicals. That means they help prevent cancer – and slow the aging process, too.
» Sweet potatoes: Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene, fiber and vitamin C. Beta-carotene helps prevent cancer, and fiber helps fill you up and keep you full. Foods rich in beta-carotene also seem to have protective effects for the eyes.

Sweet potatoes are a great substitute for regular potatoes. And to me, they taste better too. And some light butter and sprinkle some cinnamon on and mmmmm. Enjoy.

» Tomatoes: Lycopene is what gives tomatoes their red coloring. It’s a powerful anti-oxidant related to beta-carotene, and foods rich in lycopene can reduce the risk of macular degeneration and breast and prostate cancer. Lycopene is easier to absorb from cooked tomatoes – spaghetti sauce, for example – but fresh works, too.

10 super foods that you should be eating (Lansing State Journal)

Can you eat your way to good health? Well, there are no guarantees. But here’s what we can guarantee: Make these 10 foods part of your diet, and you’ll be giving your body lots the nutrients it needs. We chose them because they’re the foods mentioned over and over again, in medical studies and on lists of “super foods.” For expert advice on why they’re good picks, we turned to two Wichita, …

technorati tags:, , , ,