Home » Healthy Living » Diet & Nutrition » Healthy Eating

Eating More Superfoods

Ranked #50,894 in Healthy Living, #587,831 overall

So What Are Superfoods?

Well, the latest healthy eating buzzword is "superfood". This term is being applied to a number of different foods that are packed with more nutrients and anti-oxidants than most. Basically, these are the best of the best in terms of good healthy eating.

So why not make a few adjustments to your regular diet and add in a few extra superfoods? Here are the top 5 of them, with some links to recipes and ways to eat more.

Some of these foods are going to be kind of obvious because we all know they are pretty healthy. But a few are less commonly known, and even less commonly part of the every day diet.

Tofu and Soy
Red Wine
Your Own Diet

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the fruit that everyone thinks is a vegetable, and it has a lot of good nutrition in it too.

For vitamins, you'll get big doses of C, K and A and there is an anti-oxidant called lycopene that can help prevent against cancer and heart disease.

If you need a few more ideas on how to cook with tomatoes, here is a good page of fresh tomato recipes to try. Lots of ways to eat more tomatoes.

Salmon

Fish sometimes gets a bad rep because it can be high in fats, but salmon is one fish you probably should try to eat more of because of the high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. These are good for protection against heart disease and several kinds of cancer. These acids will also help improve your mental agility and memory, and ease joint pains.

Aside from the omega-3s, you will also get tryptophan, vitamin D, and several trace elements like selenium and phosphorus. If you're not familiar with tryptophan, it helps with anxiety, sleep and mood disorders as well as being necessary for your body's production of several B vitamins.

You can cook with salmon in so many ways, so try a few new salmon recipes to get those omega-3s.

Spinach

I'm sure this superfood is no surprise. Everyone knows that spinach is a healthy powerhouse. It's high in iron, folic acid, vitamins K and A, manganese and even a decent dose of vitamin C as well. There is also a quarter of your daily requirement of potassium and calcium in one cup of cooked spinach.

For antioxidants. you'll get flavonoids and carotenoids. They both help fight against aging, cancer and will also help reduce any inflammation that is causing you problems.

And if you don't think you like spinach enough to really eat more of it, there are spinach recipes to suit any taste or dish.

Tofu and Soy

Like salmon, there is a good supply of tryptophan in tofu. This can help with sleep or mood problems, and the Omega-3 fatty acids are good for your heart and inflammation problems. Tofu is also very high in iron, manganese and protein (which is why vegetarians love it). Soy proteins (not just tofu, but all soy products) are also good at reducing "bad" cholesterol and can generally improve heart health.

One unusual benefit to tofu are the chemicals that act much like estrogen, which is a great help for hormone balancing (particularly in menopausal women).

Not sure how to cook with tofu? Well, its new to many people so a collection of tofu recipes is very helpful. A little trial and error will help you get the hang of it.

Red Wine

It may be a little surprising that an alcoholic beverage makes the list, but red wine is a potent superfood.

The main component of red wine that is so healthy is the resveratrol, which is yet another type of anti-oxidant. Besides being a typical anti-oxidant, resveratrol has also shown great promise in combating Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular diseases. It can also lower your risk of getting lung and prostate cancer as well.

Of course, since it is an alcohol, you really need to only drink in moderation. But if you are selecting a wine, stick with a red for the most healthful properties.

If you want to cook with wine as well as just drink it, a good red wine recipe can be useful.