Healthy Food That Taste Better Than Junk Food
For a super food treat, splash raw grass-fed Cream over a bowl of fresh Organic Strawberries.
Eat the food listed below when snacking, it is good and good for us, as opposed to processed and junk food that is not good for us, as follows;
1. Organic Strawberries
Unless you overeat them, it is hard to go wrong with Organic Strawberries, as they contain powerful phytochemicals, such as ellagic acid that provide antioxidant protection, as well as directly inhibit the DNA binding of certain carcinogens.
Strawberries are also an excellent source of Vitamin C, carotenes, zinc, potassium, iron, calcium, and magnesium, and they are high in fiber. Women who ate more than three servings per week of blueberries and strawberries even had a 32% lower risk of having a heart attack.
The benefit was due to flavonoids in the berries known as anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that give these fruits their characteristic red and purple hues. Strawberries are among the most pesticide-contaminated produce on the planet, so you should strive to always buy these Organic.
2. Organic Blueberries
Berries like blueberries are among the healthiest food we can eat, again assuming you do not overdo it. They are relatively low in sugar while being high in fiber and heart-healthy antioxidants. Again, Organic is best.
3. Dark Chocolate
Chocolate, specifically the dark unprocessed raw cacao kinds reduces the risk of cardiometabolic disorders, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome along with related problems like hypertension, elevated fasting glucose and triglycerides, high cholesterol, and abdominal obesity.
In a recent study, the highest levels of Chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels. Research shows that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds in chocolate can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke considerably.
A wide range of scientific research has linked high-quality dark Chocolate, cacao, and cocoa powder consumption to over 40 distinct health benefits. I like 88% cacao content.
Antioxidant polyphenols in Chocolate are so valuable because they have the ability to stop free-radical-mediated oxidation. This helps to decrease your risk of those and other diseases by directly interfering with one of the major preventable causes of chronic degenerative diseases.
If flavor is what you are after, choosing chocolate with a cocoa/cacao percentage of 70% or higher is best for this delicious food.
4. Raw Almonds
Like most nuts, Almonds are an excellent source of high-quality protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can boost your health and even help with weight control.
One of the healthiest aspects of almonds appears to be their skins, as they are rich in antioxidants including phenols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, which are typically associated with vegetables and fruits.
A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry even revealed that a 1-oz serving of Almonds has a similar amount of total polyphenols as a cup of steamed broccoli or green tea.
Do not to overeat Almonds, as they are high in protein with nearly 1 gram per Almond. Most Americans consume 3-5X more protein food than they need, which can lead to elevated blood sugar, weight gain, kidney stress, leaching of bone minerals, and stimulation of cancer cells.
5. Pistachios
Nutritionally, over 50% the fat in Pistachios is from oleic acid, the same healthy fat that is in olive oil. One study found eating 2 servings of Pistachio a day lowered vascular constriction during stress, which means the load on your heart is reduced since your arteries are more dilated.
Those eating Pistachios also had significantly lower blood pressure. Past research shows that diets containing Pistachios reduce systolic blood pressure and vascular responses to stress in adults with high cholesterol.
Pistachios are high in lutein, beta-carotene, and gamma-tocopherol (Vitamin E) compared to other nuts. Eating 1-2 servings of Pistachios a day has been shown to increase blood levels of antioxidants and, in turn, lower oxidized LDL cholesterol in people with elevated levels.
People who ate Pistachios, in particular, for 24 wks even lost an average of 0.7 ins from their waists, reduced cholesterol by 15 pts, improved their blood sugar, and lowered inflammation.
Pistachios are a healthy snack food, but, like Almonds, be careful not to overdo it due to their high protein content.
6. Cherries
Cherries contain powerful antioxidants including quercetin, which is among the most potent in terms of antioxidant activity. Sweet Cherries also contain fiber, Vitamin C, carotenoids, and anthocyanins, each of which may help play a role in cancer prevention.
Cherries contain many anti-inflammatory compounds, and contain melatonin, which is a powerful antioxidant and free radical scavenger that helps “cool down” excess inflammation. It also plays an important role in sleep.
If you’re insulin/leptin resistant, have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, or are overweight, be wise to limit your total sugar/fructose intake to 15 grams per day, including from fruit, until your insulin/leptin resistance has resolved, Cherries have a high level of fructose.
7. Mangoe
One Mango will give you about 50% of your recommended daily allowance of both Vitamins A and C, as well as some B Vitamins, polyphenols and beta-carotene. Mangoes contain calcium, iron, and potassium, are a good source of phosphorus, selenium, folate, and zinc, and even contain 17 of the 20 amino acids that make up the human body. One mango contains about 30 grams of fructose, so they should be eaten in moderation. If you’re looking for the best-tasting mangoes, choose those that come from a local grower or orchard. Factoid, Mangos are from the same genius as Poison Ivy.
8. Cheese
Cheese (not cheese food), contains the powerful nutritional triad of calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K2, which together channel calcium into your bones and teeth while keeping it out of your arteries. This, combined with its Omega-3 fats, make cheese a very heart-healthy food. Cheese also contains high-quality protein and amino acids, Vitamins and Minerals (including zinc, phosphorus, vitamin A, and B vitamins), along with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a powerful cancer fighter and metabolism booster.
Be sure you choose natural Cheese, which is a simple fermented dairy product, made with nothing more than a few basic ingredients: milk, starter culture, salt, and an enzyme called rennet. Processed Cheese (Cheese food) is another product entirely. Ideally, the cheese you consume should be made from the raw milk of grass-fed animals raised on pasture, rather than grain-fed or soy-fed animals confined to feedlot stalls.
9. Avocado
Avocados are low in fructose and rich in healthy monounsaturated fat, which is easily burned for energy, and research has confirmed the Avocado’s ability to benefit vascular function and heart health.
Avocados are also very high in potassium, more than 2X the amount found in a banana and will help balance your vitally important potassium-to-sodium ratio. Avocados provide close to 20 essential health-boosting nutrients, including fiber, Vitamin E, B-Vitamins, and folic acid. Besides eating them raw, you can use Avocado as a fat substitute in recipes calling for butter or other oils. I eat a small Haas Avocado daily, great food.
Research finds that Avocados are helpful for regulating your blood sugar levels, and they might help improve lipid profiles, both in healthy individuals and in those with mild hypercholesterolemia (elevated cholesterol levels). Plus, due to Avocados’ beneficial raw fat content, Avocado is a food that enables our body to more efficiently absorb fat-soluble nutrients such as alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein in other food we eat in conjunction.
A Y 2005 study found that adding Avocado to salad allowed the volunteers to absorb three to five times more carotenoid antioxidant molecules. Another benefit of avocados, they are one of the safest fruits you can buy conventionally grown, so you do not need to spend more for Organic ones. Their thick skin protects the inner fruit from pesticides.
10. Popcorn
Popcorn is not the healthiest food, but if you are going to eat it avoid microwave varieties.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is often used in microwave popcorn bags, and it has been linked to infertility and a number of other health problems.
For example, these “gender-bending” chemicals can disrupt your endocrine system and affect your sex hormones, but they’ve also been linked to thyroid disease, cancer, immune system problems, and increased LDL cholesterol levels.
Popcorn popped on your stove is a better food alternative and gives you the option to salt and season to taste. Try using tasty and nutritious Himalayan pink salt instead of processed table salt. Use Organic popping corn and a healthy oil like coconut oil, and smoother it with raw grass-fed Organic butter. You cannot get it at the movies, so avoid it there.
11. Sweet Potatoes
Orange-colored sweet Potatoes owe their appearance to the carotenoid beta-carotene. As an antioxidant, beta-carotene can help ward off free radicals that damage cells through oxidation, which can speed up aging and make you vulnerable against chronic diseases. This antioxidant can help support your immune system, as well as lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
Research shows sweet Potatoes can help regulate blood sugar because of their ability to raise blood levels of adiponectin, a protein hormone created by your fat cells, to help regulate how our body metabolizes insulin.
The phytonutrients within sweet Potatoes also influence fibrinogen, an important glycoprotein required for blood clotting. Together with thrombin and fibrin, balanced amounts of fibrinogen are important for wound healing and blood loss prevention.
12. Full-Fat Cream
Full-fat Cream, particularly raw, Organic, and grass-fed varieties, is a super food for overall health and weight loss. In a study, women who consumed at least one serving of full-fat dairy a day gained 30% less weight over a nine-year period than women who ate only low-fat (or no) dairy products. Further, consuming 30 ml of Cream daily reduced the risk of diabetes by 15 to 20% respectively, compared to those who ate none.
In Y 2010, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine proposed that it’s the palmitoleic acid, which occurs naturally in full-fat dairy products, that protects against insulin resistance and diabetes. People who consumed full-fat dairy had higher levels of trans-palmitoleate in their blood, and this translated to a 67% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to people with lower levels. For a super food treat, splash raw grass-fed Cream over a bowl of fresh Organic berries.
13. Watermelon
Lycopene is a powerful carotenoid antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables like a pink or red color. It’s most often associated with Tomatoes, but Watermelon is actually a more concentrated source. Lycopene’s antioxidant activity has long been suggested to be more powerful than that of other carotenoids, such as beta-carotene.
In a study, after controlling for other stroke risk factors, such as older age and diabetes, they found that men with the highest blood levels of lycopene were 55% less likely to have a stroke than those with the lowest.
A Y 2014 meta-analysis also revealed that lycopene decreased stroke risk by more than 19%. In addition to lowering your risk of stroke, lycopene has been shown to have potential anti-cancer activity, likely due to its antioxidant properties.
A meta-analysis of 10 studies also showed that dietary lycopene may protect against the risk of ovarian cancer among postmenopausal women. There is also some evidence from animal studies that lycopene may help with cancer treatment too.
Watermelon contains anti-inflammatory cucurbitacin E, or triterpenoid, which blocks the activity of the pain and inflammation-causing enzyme cyclooxygenase – the same enzyme blocked by COX-2 inhibitors, which include most NSAID drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen.
While being very low in calories Watermelon contains an impressive variety of other important nutrients in which many Americans are lacking, including: Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Vitamin A, and Magnesium
Watermelon should be enjoyed in moderation due to its fructose content, 1/16th of a medium watermelon contains 11.3 grams of fructose. In addition, eating melon, including watermelon alone is best to avoid stomach upset.
Eat healthy, Be healthy.
HeffX-LTN
Paul Ebeling
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