Blueberries:
Blueberries have more antioxidants - those magical molecules that can help prevent a host of maladives - than 40 other common fruits and vegetables tested.
The antioxidant plant pigments that make blueberries
blue guard against heart disease, cancer and age-related blindness or memory loss. They´r also tops when it comes to preventing urinary tract infections, thanks to antioxidant epicatechnis, which keep bacteria from sticking to bladder walls.
Quantity : 1/2 cup (125ml) of blueberries equals one fruit and vegetable serving per day.
Tip : Sprinkle blueberries on your pancakes at the last minute - cooking the berries destroys the valuable vitamin C.
Olive oil:
Pres an olive and you get one of the healthiest fats in the world. The main benefit of olive oil is that it lowers "bad" LDL Cholesterol and raises "good" HDL Cholesterol thanks to its monosaturated fats. Olive oil is also packed with antioxidants called phenols, which may protect artery walls from cholesterol buildup.
Quantity : Include up to 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of olive oil into your diet every day.
Tip : Look for "virgin", "extra virgin" or "cold-pressed" oils, which are extracted by pressing alone. Solvents and heat used to produce "light" or "extra-light" oils destroy antioxidants.
Yogurt:
Yogurt is a great source of bone-building calcium, but its real strenght lies in live beneficial bacteria, known as probiotics, that keep down the growth of harmful bacteria i your gut. Eating more yogurt could help with inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, urinary tract infections and vaginal yeast infections.
Quantity : 3/4 of a cup (175 ml) of low fat or fat-free yogurt with live cultures is one serving of milk/dairy products.
Tip : When coating chicken, pork or fish with bread crumbs, replace the eggs used to moisten the meat with plain yogurt.
Garlic:
Garlic has antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Most of its disease fighting potential comes from its sulfur compounds, which act as antioxidants, providing many of its cardiovascular benefits. Just six or more cloves of garlic a week can slash your risk of colorectal, stomach and prostate cancer in half compared eating one clove a week or less.
Quantity : Incorporate at least one garlic clove into your diet every day.
Tip : Chop or crush your garlic, then let it stand for 10 minutes to fully release its healing potential.
Broccoli:
Consider broccoli your number one cancer fighter, thanks to its sulfur compounds, such as sulforaphane, which you can smell as broccoli cooks. These compounds signal our genes to boost production of enzymes that detoxify potentially cancer-causing compounds. Eat more broccoli and you can slash your risk of everything from breast and lung cancer to stomach and colon cancer.
Quantity : 125 ml (1/2) cup of cooked broccoli is one fruit and vegetable serving.
Tip : Steam broccoli for 3 to 4 minutes until itś crisp-tender to free up more of its sulforaphane.
Oats:
Oats´cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering come from beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre. One cup (250 ml) a day of cooked oat bran 1 1/2 cups ( 375ml) of cooked oatmeal or three packets of instant oatmeal provide enough beta-glucan to lower blood-cholesterol by about five percent and heart attack risk by about 10 percent.
Quantity : Aim for 10 grams of soluble fibre each day. cooked oats contain about 2 to 3 grams per serving.
Tip : Buy the type of oatmeal you´ll eat. It dosen´t matter if itś steel cup or instant.
Flax:
A tablespoon of ground flaxseed sprinkled over cereal or yogurt provides and easy 2 to 3 grams of fiber, often more than whatś in the cereal itself. But flaxseed is most revered for its lingans. These act like estrogen in the body, blocking estrogen receptors on cells and contributing to reduced rates of certain hormone-related cancers, such as breast cancer. Their anti-inflammatory power may also help keep conditions from acne to asthma at bay.
Quantity : Sneak 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 25 ml ) of ground flaxseed into your diet daily.
Tip : Make sure your flax is ground, otherwise the seed will come out the same way they came in (whole) and you wont reap the health benefits.
Cinnamon:
Cinnamon is one of the most powerful healing spices. Itś become most famous for its ability to improve blood sugar control in people with diabetes. The apple pie spice can help prevent blood clots and has antibacterial and anti inflammatory properties. It has been shown to conquer E. coli, among other types of bacteria.
Quantity : As little as 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ( 1 to 2 ml ) a day could cut triglycerides and total cholesterol by 12 to 30 percent.
Tip : Sprinkle your cinnamon on your daily coffee to reap the benefits of this super-spice.
Tea:
Tea is one of the most potent sources of antioxidants in nature (more potent than any fruit or vegetable).
Teaś antioxidants offer protection of heart disease, stroke and cancer. They appear to protect against heart disease by slowing the breakdown of "bad" LDL cholesterol, preventing blood clots and improving blood vessel function. People who drink a cup or two of tea a day have a 46 percent lower risk of developing narrowed arteries.
Quantity : Brew up two to five cups daily.
Tip : Drink most of your tea between meals since the tannins interfere with the absorption of iron from food.
Beans:
Beans are in fact good for your heart, thanks in large part to their soluble fibre, which soaks up cholesterol so the body can dispose of it before it can stick to artery walls. Studies find that diets high in soluble fibre can cut total cholesterol by 10 to 15 percent. A recent study also ranked beans among the top antioxidant foods.
Quantity : 3/4 cup (175ml) of beans equals one serving of meat and alternatives.
Tip : Beans contain more protein than any other plant food, but the protein is incomplete. Eat a grain such as rice at any time of the day to complete the protein.
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