You walk through the produce isle every time you go to the supermarket, yet how many times have you passed by the following superfoods without a second glance? Here’s some diet tips for some different foots that you might not have thought about, but should be a part of your overall diet plan.
Cabbage – You don’t find this veggie in many American diets, but you do find it in many Asian and European ones. One cup has only 22 calories, and it’s loaded with sulforaphane. Sulforaphane is thought to reduce your risk of cancer, by increasing your body’s production of enzymes that get rid of free radicals that cause cell damage. And sulforaphane has been found to boost your levels of cancer-fighting enzymes better than any other plant chemical!
Cinnamon – OK…this doesn’t mean go and grab a Cinnabon! But the USDA has found that people with type-2 diabetes (the type most often associated with obesity) – if they consumed 1g of cinnamon per day for 6 weeks, they drop both their blood sugar, as well as their triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. That ¼ of teaspoon of cinnamon each day actually helps your body’s cells metabolize sugar by a factor of 20! Just sprinkle a little in morning coffee at Starbucks each day – and help decrease your risk of heart disease!
Pumpkin Seeds – So…come Halloween, all those seed you pull out and throw away – bet you didn’t know that roasting them in the oven gives you 150mg of magnesium per ounce! French researchers have found that men with the highest levels of magnesium in their blood had a 40 percent lower risk of early death than those with the lowest levels. The USDA recommends that you get about 420mg of magnesium in your diet daily – so the next time you’re in the snack or health food section of your grocery store, look for them!
Pomegranate Juice – Have high blood pressure? Well, Israeli scientists have found that drinking just 2 ounces of pomegranate juice a day decreased blood pressure by over 20% (systolic pressure – the top number in your blood pressure reading). And, it also improves blood flow to your heart! And, that 2 oz. also gives you 25% of your daily vitamin C requirement. Look for Pom Wonderful juice – no added sugars, either!
Beets – Sweeter than any other veggie (beet juice makes a great substitute sweetner in recipes), beets contain both folate and betaine. These nutrients do a wonderful job of lowering homocysteine – a compound that damages your arteries and increases your risk of heart disease. On top of that, the pigments in beets that give it that natural red color – well, they are a great cancer fighter as well! If you had beets as a kid (those picked ones in a jar) – well, avoid them, as cooked beets loose much of their antioxidant power. Instead, just wash and peel a beet, then grate it with the widest blade of a box grater. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil combined with the juice of one half a lemon! The leaves and stems are also loaded with vitamins, antioxidants and minerals – just cut the stems below the point where the leaves start, and wash!
