Move-It Monday:Eat your way to health

I’ve been reading a fantastic book called “The Healing Power of Nature Foods – 50 revitalising superfoods and lifestyle choices to promote vibrant health” by Susan Smith Jones.

Get your Move-It Monday off to a great start with these age-defying, cancer-busting, heart strengthening superfoods that I’ve read about in the book.

Parsnips

Parsnips have nutritional components that help strengthen hair and nails and improve skin quality. Low in calories, parsnips are a good alternative to potatoes and other starchy side dishes and can also be juiced, grated and added to salads. Their chlorine and phosphorus levels improve lung and bronchial function and these versatile veg have also been used as a diuretic, an anti-arthritic agent and for detoxifying.

Bananas

Bananas are amongst the most nutritious of tropical fruits. Fibre from green, unripe bananas reduces bad cholesterol and increases the good by as much as 30 per cent, while a ripe banana is one of the best ways to soothe an upset stomach. Bananas are a wonderful source of energy, can relieve heartburn and will also help decrease the risk of stroke. With the possible exception of strawberries, no other fresh fruit is higher in minerals.

Avocados

Avocados have more protein than any other fruit. Sometimes known as ‘nature’s butter’, they have only about a quarter of the fat calories contained in the same weight of dairy butter. Ounce for ounce, they also provide more heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, folate, potassium and fibre than other fruits. You can mash avocado on wholemeal bread, into baked potatoes and even use it as a hydrating face mask. They also exceed other fruits as a source of the powerful antioxidant lutein, which appears to protect arteries from hardening and the eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration.

Pomegranates

Pomegranates are packed full of disease-fighting antioxidants. Some studies suggest that they offer almost three times more than established antioxidant sources such as green tea, red wine, blueberry juice and cranberry juice. They also contain potassium, fibre, vitamin C and niacin, all of which contribute to increased energy and good health and have been shown to reduce plaque build up in arteries by up to 44 per cent.

Apples

Eating an apple a day could keep the cardiologist away. Current studies suggest that eating apples regularly reduces the risk of stroke and your chances of dying from a heart attack. They lower cholesterol and also appear to decrease the risk of lung cancer. Eating them whole, with skin on, provides the highest level of nutritional value.

Parsley

This common herb is a powerhouse of the nutrients that rejuvenate and detoxify. Include it when you make fresh juices. Nibble a few leaves when you want your breath to be sweeter. Chop it into salads, soups, sandwiches and pasta dishes. Parsley is also a stress buster and studies have shown it to be effective in reducing depression, lowering cholesterol and strengthening kidneys. Many herbalists recommend parsley to relieve the symptoms of rheumatism and PMS.

 

Almonds

Two ounces of almonds give you more than 50 per cent of your daily magnesium requirement – a mineral that’s important for heart health. Eating almonds every day for at least a month has been shown to reduce cholesterol and lower other risk factors for heart disease. A study also suggest that they may reduce the risk of colon cancer. Sprinkle them in salads or grind into pastry.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are low-calorie and jam-packed with nutrients and phytochemicals, which boost the body’s immune defences. Whether in soups, sauces or salads, tomatoes are rich in vitamins C and B and also contain lots of lycopene, which appears to act as a protective factor against cancer (and may also benefit the heart). Cooked tomatoes contain more lycopene than raw, and most of the nutritional value is contained in the skin, so, ounce for ounce, cherry tomatoes are more nutritious than large ones.

Oats

Inexpensive, readily available and increadibly easy to incorporate into your life, oats contain twice as much protein as brown rice and are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates to maintain your energy levels throughout the day. They improve your resistance to stress, help to regulate the thyroid, soothe the nervous and digestive systems, reduce cigarette cravings and stablilise blood sugar levels.

Cinnamon

This ancient spice (obtained from the bark of Asian evergreens) and highly versatile flavouring helps to relieve bloating and stabilise blood sugar. Cinnamon contains methylhdroxy chalcone polymer (MHCP), which speeds up the processing of sugar in your body. So putting cinnamon sticks in your tea, or sprinkling just a tiny amount on desserts, fruits, cereal and into smoothies will make your insulin release much more efficient, which may slow ageing and help ward off diabetes and obesity.

Broccoli

Broccoli has almost twice as much protein as steak – 11.2g per 100 calories compared with only 5.4g. (Most of the calories in meat come from fat, but the calories in green veg come from protein). Broccoli is one of nature’s most potent superfoods. It has been proved effective against cancer, heart disease and a host of other serious conditions. Its powerful sulforaphane content delivers a double punch to cancer-causing chemicals – destroying any carcinogenic compounds that you have ingested, then creating enzymes that eat up any carcinogens left over from that reaction – and it also contains indole-3-carbinol, which helps your body to metabolise oestrogen, potentially warding off breast cancer.

Garlic

Herbalists have used garlic to treat all sorts of diseases for thousands of years. It is a rich source of the sulphur compounds that keep your body chemistry in balance – fighting infections, slowing down the production of cholesterol and lowering blood pressure. There is even evidence that garlic helps to fight cancer and improves the action of the liver and the gall bladder. Add garlic to your cooking and salad dressings or roast unpeeled cloves for 40-45 minutes, then peel and mash them into purees and sauces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you all enjoy a good week and happy healthy cooking! : )

For lots more ideas see previous Move It Mondays below:

Move More

Your workout

Obsesity

Bikini Body

Move your booty

Have Fun

Magic Number

Charts

Exotic Fruit

Complementary Medicine

10 Tips

Lifestyle

5k

Visit Your Park

Yoga

Eat your way to health