Tag: Health Foods

4 Basic Nutrition Meals for Good Health

Vegetables
For those who are not deficient in vitamins, eating healthy foods is one of the best ways to go

If you’ve been reading our diet and health articles, you have seen what good nutrition can do for you, so let’s extend these benefits by discussing some healthy meals for maintaining our natural well-being.  

Here are some meals that cover some of the most nutritional items on the planet. 

Breakfast

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1. Mixed Greens with Tomatoes, Whole Grains, and Turmeric with a Touch of Light Dressing

Granola-Tumeric Chips with Blueberries, Strawberries, and Raisins over Cottage Cheese 
Photo: SS

Many of you are concerned about gaining weight, but this dish is a dieter’s dream. Packed with essential nutrients your body will love but low on calories.

  • Granola: Loaded with fiber which helps to avoid weight gain, but read the labels! Some food items that offer granola may be high in calories, such as cereal.. With that said, this is a nutrient-packed food and contains oats, whole grains, protein, iron, vitamin D, folate, and zinc.
  • Tomatoes: They say eating green vegetables are some of the healthiest veggies you can eat, but red ones are too! Enter Tomatoes, which contain a nice supply of antioxidants through the hydrocarbon lycopene. Hydrocarbon is a chemical element that contains carbon and hydrogen.  Lycopene has been known to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. They are also a great source of vitamin C, potassium, folate, and vitamin K. So instead of just sticking with greens, get colorful!

  • Turmeric – a plant that contains curcumin, which has potent anti-inflammatory effects and a strong supply of antioxidants. Because of its abundance of curcumin, turmeric can fight off indigestion, abdominal bloating, and loss of appetite.

    The end result is that if you want to keep your immune system strong, add this healthy plant to your diet. Recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Nutrient Database, it is suggested to take  400 to 600 milligrams of turmeric three times daily to help with inflammation relief.

2. Bowl of Whole Wheat Cereal with Strawberries, Blueberries, and Garonla Chips

Bowl of Cereal
Photo by SS

Here we keep our granola but substituted the veggies with fruits. Berries to be exact.  We discuss the benefits of berries below in our lunch menu, so we won’t repeat it here.

Just know that you are adding in some great nutrients when you have fruit, any fruit! The more colorful, the more nutritious. That goes for veggies too!

Lunch
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3. Egg Salad, Strawberries, and Blueberries

Plate of eggs, strawberries and blueberries
Photo by SS
  • Eggs: We won’t fool you.  A portion of eggs are high in cholesterol, but in 2000, the American Heart Association made the determination that healthy adults can enjoy them once per day, but they still warn that it shouldn’t surpass the total daily cholesterol limit of 300 mg; however, but there are many healthy ingredients in these chicken delights that can override this negative.

    Packed with protein, lutein, choline, and B vitamins, they are good for your body overall. If eating eggs concerns you or if you have cholesterol or heart issues, talk to your doctor about eggs and if you get the go-ahead, dig in!     
  • Blueberries
Fresh Berries in a bowl
Photo by Brandon Wilson on Unsplash

What can we say about this tasty fruit? Known as a superfood, blueberries are loaded with antioxidants, which fight off those nasty and unhealthy free radicals. 

As a matter of fact, blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity of just about every other fruit and vegetable out there. Studies have shown they may help prevent heart disease, diminish brain diseases and help with anxiety. 

  • Strawberries: These red delights contain two grams of fiber which improves your digestive health and as with blueberries, they fight oxidative stress which reduces our risk of acquiring illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.

Dinner

4. Turmeric Salmon with Beats, Sweet Potatoes, Guacamole, and Kale

Salmon on a plate
Salmon is one of the healthiest foods you can eat! Photo: Graphic Stock
  • Salmon: This superfood is known to be one of the healthiest foods around because of its rich set of Omega-3 fatty acids. This nutritious fish also assists in maintaining eye and brain health. It defends against such illnesses as Alzheimer’s disease and helps drive back depression. Eating salmon three times a week can help you maintain your health, especially if you are in your senior years.
    • Beats come from the beetroot plant and contain essential nutrients such as iron and vitamin C.
    • Sweet potatoes are great for depression and anxiety. This vegetable also helps to regulate blood pressure and contains potassium, a needed macromineral for our body, as well as magnesium, which supports the immune system, among many other health benefits.
    • Guacamole: You can’t go wrong with this fruit! Yes, it’s a fruit and comes from the avocado tree. It is loaded with some essential health ingredients. Here’s the rundown of guac’s benefits: Vitamins K, C, B5, B6, and E. It also contains potassium and folate.
    • Kale: This hearty appetizer contains all the vitamins in guacamole as well as manganese, calcium, copper, potassium, and magnesium. All great nutritional benefits! 

Add some more turmeric and you’ve got one free-radical killing machine!

Summary

The mix and match of healthy food variants are endless. It is up to your imagination how you’d like to use them. One tip is to have an assortment of different fruits and vegetables each day. The more colorful your assortments, the more the variety of nutrients that will be available, so choose our selection or change them around, but whatever food you chose, you know your body will thank you, so jump right in and enjoy!

The Benefits and Risks of a Vegan Diet

Approximately 3.3 percent of adults in the US claim to be a vegan or vegetarian. People become vegans for different reasons such as health concerns, religious beliefs, and distress over the killing of animals or use of hormones or antibiotics in livestock. Some people become vegans as they simply can’t afford to buy meat.

Whatever the reasons for being a vegan, the trend is growing in the US partly due to increased availability of fresh vegetable and fruit products and dining places that offer vegan-only food items. While there are many benefits of a vegan diet, there are also certain risks that you should know about the plant-based diet.

In this article, we will take a close look at both the health benefits and the risks of adopting a vegetarian diet.

Health Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet

Vegetarian diet offers great benefits to the individuals. Vegans are less likely to suffer from obesity as compared to people that eat meat-based diet. Studies have shown that vegans are at a lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases as compared to non-vegans. The unsaturated fats that are present in seeds, soybeans, avocados, olives, nuts, and other plant-based food items reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. They are rich in fiber and contribute to an increase in the good cholesterol levels, also known as high-density lipoproteins (HDLs).

Apart from a lower risk of high blood pressure, Vegans also tend to have a lower risk of developing hypertension (low blood pressure) as compared to people that eat mostly meat. This is because the vegans are able to maintain a healthy body weight that helps them in maintaining healthy blood pressure.

Health Risks of a Vegetarian Diet

The foremost risk of a plant-based diet is that it increases the chance of developing health disorders due to lack of essential nutrients and vitamins. A number of vitamins and minerals including omega-3 fatty acids, protein, calcium, and others can be obtained from eating animal-based food items. Lack of these essential nutrients increases the risk of various health disorders.

In addition, people can’t fulfill the daily calorie intake through a vegan diet alone. Trying to meet the daily calorie intake requirement through a vegetable or plant-based diet can lead to unpleasant health effects.

In the end, a vegan diet can offer various health benefits such as reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other serious health maladies. However, the major risk of a vegan diet is complications due to lack of essential nutrients. That is why it’s extremely important to consult with a dietician before adopting a vegan diet. The dietitian can recommend a healthy diet plan that consists of all the essential vitamins and minerals. In addition, the dietitian may also recommend intake of supplements for vitamins and nutrients that cannot be obtained from a plant-based diet.