A Happy Healthy You in 2010: Tip 4

A Happy Healthy You in 2010: Add Superfoods to your daily diet.

Acquire new healthy habits.

Dark Green Leafy Veggies
Eat dark green leafy vegetables - red and green leaf lettuce, spinach, kale, Swiss chard etc. Be creative, look up recipes and get these in your diet on a daily basis. If you don’t like them the first time around – keep trying new recipes – after 10 times of trying it, you may acquire a taste for it. The amount of nutrients you get in dark green leafy vegetables is outstanding. This is probably my number one! I eat a large dark green salad almost every day.

Stinky Veggies
Onions have powerful heart protection properties and anticancer properties. The compound - quercetin - accounts for their protective effect. Quercetin is also found in – apples. So, an onion and an apple a day, keeps the doctor away.

Garlic has strong antibacterial properties; and, the organosulfur compounds protect against DNA damage. There is a long list of historical medicinal uses for garlic including preventing heart disease, but the stronger research shows garlic to aid in preventing and fighting the common cold. Using garlic for medicinal purposes dates back to our American heritage when the Cherokee used it as an expectorant and for coughs and croup.

Add onions raw on a dark green leafy salad and press a garlic clove in salad dressing for a powerhouse salad. I eat onions and garlic mostly every day.

Cruciferous Veggies
Also, other powerhouse anticancer veggies Cruciferous veggies – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages all have cancer protective compounds called glucosinolates. Make it part of your weekly intake of veggies. Again, go online, find some recipes and make it interesting.

Berries
They are probably my number one powerhouse fruit. I buy tons and eat almost every day when in season. In the winter, I buy frozen. I always buy organic b/c otherwise they are loaded, I mean loaded, with pesticides. Different types of berries have different nutritional benefits. But one thing is for sure, they all have amazing antioxidant compounds to fight free radical damage in your body. Remember, you need these beneficial fruits in your diet on a regular basis in order to benefit from them.

Add berries to: oatmeal, cereal, plain yogurt, blend them in a yogurt smoothie, or just snack on them alone. My boys and I love blueberry, whole grain pancakes.

Phytochemical compounds – also called phytonutritents - are chemicals naturally found in fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes and have an extremely powerful effect on health. The more color you add on your plate, the more phytonutrients you are eating.

Take charge of your health. Do it this year!

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