Super Foods for Women

Everyone, including women, need to eat nutrient-rich foods to maintain their health. One area in your budget you should probably try to increase is your food budget. We all spend money on our health. It is a toxic, crowded world and there is no escape from that expense. You can choose if you spend less money on food and more on medicine, or more on better food and supplements and less on medicine. With the latter, you'll have a better quality of life, but it does take more time and effort.

The nutrients we need our food to be rich in include:

• Protein for muscle and strength

• Iron for our blood

• Folic acid for the formation of both red and white blood cells

• Chromium for healthy blood sugar

• Calcium for bones and teeth

• Magnesium for many things including healthy organs

• Vitamin D for heart and bone health

• Vitamin C for immunity and antioxidants

• B vitamins for adrenal health and to fight stress

• Enzymes for digestion and nutrient absorption

• Fiber to get the most out of your food and help fight disease

• Essential fatty acids to nourish your brain and vascular system

• Lots of good, clean water

The best way to get all of these nutrients every day is to incorporate super foods foods into your diet that will do double duty. Super foods usually provide more than just a few vitamins and minerals. They nourish your body with essential vitamins and minerals, while also helping to fight disease, providing you with balanced health.

The top 10 super foods for women:

1. Dark green leafy vegetables. This is what humans were designed to eat as the main portion of our diet, and what Americans don't get enough of - things like kale and Swiss chard. The nutrients are too numerous to list, but include lots of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, powerful phytochemicals, and more that will ensure optimum functioning for your body. This is where you'll get your folic acid, hormone support, liver support, disease prevention, proper pH, and even some iron and protein. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts are invaluable as well.

2. Lean meat, beans, and legumes. You must have a clean, healthy source of protein and iron. Grass-fed beef or lamb is good choices, as are many beans and lentils. Low in fat, high in fibre beans are very nutritious and a staple in vegetarian diets.

3. Whole grains. Important for fiber and energy, carbohydrates are downright dangerous to your health when they are over-processed and from GMO sources. Whole wheat does not mean whole grain. Consider some of the less used (and processed) ancient grains such as quinoa, spelt, and amaranth.

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4. Fresh organic fruit. Full of flavonoids, antioxidants, enzymes, fiber (eat the peel!), and vitamins, fruit is the 'sweets' you were designed to eat (not sugar). On the super food list: blueberries, goji berries, cranberries, cherries, kiwis, etc.

5. Nuts and seeds. EFAs, ALAs, fiber, good fats, and these super foods are disease fighters. Chia seeds and flax seeds (and meal) have lignans that fight breast cancer by inhibiting the growth and development of tumors. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and other nuts provide healthy fats necessary for everything from a healthy heart to healthy joints.

6. Avocado. Full of healthy fats, antioxidants, and phytonutrients, avocados will lower triglycerides, nourish your brain, and prevent wrinkles. One of the best anti-aging foods you can consume, avocados is versatile - add to a smoothie, spread on a sandwich, or top a wrap with slices.

7. Fish. The essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in fish such as wild-caught salmon and sardines are essential to your health. They are also a good source of low-fat protein. If you are concerned about the health of our oceans, you can get your EFAs from things like flax and walnuts.

8. Chocolate. That's right. If you stick to this list, you'll need a reward. Why not some antioxidant-rich dark chocolate? A good-for-you treat, a little goes a long way and will help satisfy your sweet tooth.

9. Spice it up. Cooking at home allows you control over the ingredients you consume, and the opportunity to make your food extra nutritious by adding some time-honored flavorings known for their health benefits. Cook with garlic, onion, mushrooms, cinnamon, turmeric, rosemary, and others. All have wonderful flavors and immune-boosting properties.

10. Spirulina and chlorella. Not necessarily easy to eat, these amazing super foods are worth their weight in gold to your health. Add to smoothies or take as a supplement to fight and prevent disease and maintain optimum health. For more information, check out the links below.

Ask yourself before you eat if the food you are looking at is nutrient-rich or nutrient-poor, and eat accordingly. Try to eat at least eight different colored foods each day. Raw foods are the only way to get enzymes, which are the key to good digestion and fewer allergies. You must grow your own food or buy organic food to get enzymes, or take supplements, as all other foods are irradiated which kills them. You also need probiotics for good gut health. Eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut or yogurt, especially after taking pharmaceutical antibiotics. Make and take your food rather than eating out; that's the best way to know what you're getting and to avoid the time crunch that ends up with you at the drive-thru window. Don't forget to address underlying emotional issues because they will affect your health in the long-run. Lastly, do invest some time in top quality whole-food based vitamins and supplements for those days when you don't get enough super foods.

Source: www.naturalnews.com

Fresh or Packaged Food?

Prepared food may be convenient to use, but it is important to balance packaged and fresh foods for a healthy food intake.

Packaged foods are convenient because they are easy to buy and prepare. They are obviously a bonus to anyone who has to cook for the family every day or comes home tired from work. But when we consider our diet, we have to think not only about nutritional value. 

Drawbacks of prepared food

Whenever food is processed in any way, some of the nutrients will be lost or destroyed. The main case of nutritional loss is cooking or dehydration, which is applied to many fresh foods during industrial processing to reduce the enzyme activity, which would cause them to go bad. This is especially the case with tinned foods, which tend to lose vitamin C, folic acid and thiamine, all of which are heat sensitive. Protein also does not stand up well to heat. 

Apart from nutrient losses, many packaged foods are inferior to fresh ones because they contain additives. These include those chemical stabilizers, flavorings, colorings, antioxidants, and preservatives which are intended to improve qualities, color, taste, and texture. Medical opinion differs widely on the effects of these additives. Some doctors argue that many of them can cause allergic reactions. 

Nevertheless, it makes sense to keep to a minimum the amount of unnecessary chemicals we consume. The more food we buy fresh and prepare ourselves the more we can cut out chemicals that have no nutritional value but are added solely to make food more attractive or to preserve it better.

This is even more important when we look at compound foods made up to manufacturer’s recipes. Most packaged sweets, biscuits and cakes, for example, contain not only chemical additives especially artificial flavoring but also white flour and hard margarine rather than wholemeal flour and soft margarine, which are recommended by nutritionists. In addition ‘all in one’ packaged meals tend to include flavorings like mono-sodium glutamate. These flavorings have recently come under suspicion as being the cause of dizziness, migraine and addiction. 

Generally, however packaged foods are not in themselves harmful; the point is simply that they should be eaten in moderation rather than being a major part of your diet. And you should be aware of what you are buying and consuming: make a habit of reading the labels of packaged foods and choosing those, which contain fewest unwanted ingredients. 

Using fresh foods 

Though you might not have the time or the inclination to stop buying packaged foods altogether, you should try to eat some fresh foods every day. Fresh produce not only contains more nutrients, it generally has a more attractive appearance and texture and can provide a wide variety of interesting textures. And it doesn’t necessarily take longer to prepare; for example fresh  fish can be grilled in the same amount of time that it takes to cook fish fingers, potatoes baked in their skin need a minimum of preparation and many other vegetables and most fruits can be eaten raw, either plain or combined in a salad. The key to a good diet is to maximize the convenience of processed foods when you need to use them, but at the same time to include as much fresh foods as and when you can.