Do you know the best foods to eat for a healthier body? One of my goals for 2009 is to eat healthier. I’m not overweight or in terrible shape, but I know that my eating habits are not what they should be.
As I grow older, I want to do what I can to ensure my quality of life doesn’t deteriorate. Therefore, this year, I’m going to concentrate on choosing the best foods to eat.
Keeping it simple by focusing on the eight best foods to eat
There is so much confusing information out there about how to eat healthier. It can all be overwhelming and confusing.
Some people seem to really enjoy researching what to eat and closely monitoring their diet. Not me! Instead, I want to keep it simple. I think this is the best way for me to stick to eating healthier.
So, I’ve done a little research on the best foods to eat and I’ve found the eight foods that are the best to eat everyday. These suggestions come from the publishers of the book Eat This, Not That! Thousands of Simple Food Swaps that Can Save You 10, 20, 30 Pounds–or More!
I’m going to concentrate on these eight super foods to make it easy and simple.
The eight best foods to eat everyday for better health!
1. Spinach
Spinach is a rich source of plant-based omega-3s and folate. It will help me reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis. The goal is to eat one cup of fresh spinach or a half cup of cooked spinach a day. This isn’t as hard as it seems. You can throw a few fresh spinach leaves on top of a salad or pizza, or add it as an ingredient to your morning omelette (you eat a good breakfast right?).
2. Yogurt
This one is pretty easy for me because I like to eat yogurt. It boosts your immune system by providing tons of beneficial bacteria. Yogurt also helps to protect your system from cancer and cavities. I’d like to keep my own chompers to eat with when I get old. Just make sure that your yogurt includes live, active cultures and avoid brands that include high fructose corn syrup. Mix blueberries and walnuts into your yogurt and you have a powerhouse breakfast or snack.
3. Red Tomatoes
I can add tomatoes to my sandwich or salad, drink low-sodium V-8, or just slice one up and eat it by itself! These powerhouses are packed with lycopene which is a terrific antioxidant. The equivalent of 8 cherry red tomatoes or one glass of tomato juice a day can reduce my risk of several different cancers as well as coronary artery disease!
4. Carrots
Carotenoids are fat-soluble compounds that reduce the risk for a wide-range of cancers. They also help ease inflammatory diseases like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. A half a cup a day of carrots a day is low in calories and packs all the carotenoids you need. I like to eat raw baby carrots as a snack or add some grated carrots to my salad.
5. Blueberries
As I mentioned above, mixing blueberries into my morning yogurt or blending them into a fresh fruit smoothie for an afternoon treat is easy. These tiny berries pack more antioxidants than any other North American fruit. They help prevent cancer, diabetes and age-related memory loss. They are also rich in fiber, as well as, vitamins A and C. I’ll strive to eat one cup a day.
6. Black Beans
What to boost your brain power? Eat a half of cup of black beans a day! These jewels are loaded with anthocyanin which improves brain function. Black beans are also good for your heart. The half a cup I mentioned contains 8 grams of protein to keep you from feeling so hungry so often and 7.5 grams of fiber for good colon health. Black beans are great in burritos, quesadillas, or tossed in a salad.
7. Walnuts
The walnut is truly a super food and I only need to eat about 1 once per day! They pack more heart-healthy omega 3s than salmon, more anti-inflammatory polyphenols than red wine, and half as much protein as chicken! Only walnuts include all three of these benefits. They are great as a mid-morning snack all by themselves!
8. Oats
Oats, like you find in oatmeal, have soluble fiber which reduces the risk of heart disease. Soluble fiber also helps to lower cholesterol which is something I need to do. I will limit my intake to about a half a cup a day because oats are loaded with carbs which convert to sugar.
Eating healthier is not as hard as it seems
I feel that focusing on these eight foods is a simple way to eat healthier without going crazy. It is amazing to me the amount of benefit I can gain from just these eight simple foods. Heart disease and cancer are obviously two of the biggest things that concern me and this strategy addresses them head on. These foods are also low in calories and when combined with 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day, I might even see a few pounds drop off the old body!
Note: I am not a doctor or healthcare professional. I am simply passing along what I’ve read from credible sources. You should consult your doctor before making any changes to your diet or exercise regimen!
Photo by NatalieMaynor
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Awesome post. All great foods especially spinach which I have recently been using as an alternative to rice for some dishes it works surprisingly well as a base for things like chilli and takes moments to prepare (from frozen) I thought you would like this post I did a while back: http://zentofitness.com/5-no-nonsense-power-foods/
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Ah, the superfoods!
Everyone one of those is a regular part of our families diet, including the children!
On a side note related to yogurt, The Rockette(my wife the registered dietician) swears by a probiotic supplement along with yogurt. We didn’t get sick(me, my wife, or our 1 year old) for a year when we started them. We backed off them and started getting sick again. We started them back up and all types of colds/sickness are staying away again, even in the winter. We even give the baby a probiotic supplement in his bottle.
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Thanks for not jumping on the pom bandwagon here. Love those things, but they’re prohibitively expensive!
I’ve been trying to talk myself into eating the bee pollen in my fridge – but it tastes like you’re licking bees’ butts. and it gets stuck in your molars, so you get to taste the bees’ butts for a loooong time.
Have you checked out justtomatoes.com? Their freeze dried bloobies are so much cheaper than store bought, and work really well in the AM yogurt.
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Woohoo! I eat two of the foods daily, yogurt and blueberries. I need to incorporate the other foods into my daily diet. Eating healthier and learning how to cook are two of my goals for 2009.
Nice article Jeff!
-HIB
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@Happy Rock – That’s fantastic that your whole family already eats these foods! The probiotic sounds very interesting. I’ll have to check it out.
@Emily – You cracked me up with the bee butts stuff! That is hilarious! Thanks for the tip on the bloobies!
@HIB – I really like this list of healthy foods because it is simple with nothing exotic. These are basic foods that we can all buy at any grocery store. Like you, I need to work to incorporate more of them into my daily diet.
Thanks for the tips and comments! You guys are great!
Add Salmon to the list, and it would be perfect.
I’m not stranger to red tomatoes. Its sauce runs thru my veins.
Edamame is a great health food too. Rich in fiber, omega-3, protein, and a bunch of vitamins.
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@tonycassise – Salmon is a great idea! Thanks for mentioning it.
@Gennaro – I love edamame dipped in a little soy sauce. I wonder if that adds too much sodium?
Thanks for the additions!
This is a great list.
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Our family eats carrots almost daily as it’s one of our kids favorite snack items. We also love the cutties or clementines that are loaded with vitamin c. Great list!
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All tasty snacks… I love carrots and eat them in place of salty and sugary snacks like chips or candy. They are also great after a meal because they cleanse your palate and leave your mouth feeling clean and fresh (great when you bring your lunch to work).
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Great list, Jeff! And I like how all the foods are “normal” and everyday.
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Hi Jeff,
Happy New Year to you and congrats on making the decision to including these great foods into your diet! You’ll feel so good for doing it
I would add that broccoli or those types are very important in fighting or preventing disease.
What I love about your list is that these are the same foods that are easy to give to babies and toddlers – no trendy magical super fruits here! My daughter loves black beans, long grain brown rice and some some yogurt on top.
Like I need an excuse to eat more spinach!
Garlic, olive oil and peanut butter are on my ‘every day’ food list. Maybe I shouldn’t admit to the peanut butter…
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The problem is not that food is healthy or not, but about that today even the healthy foods are full of dangerous elements.
If you don’t cultivate your own veggies you probably won’t find trustful source to buy some from it.
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To me, any kind of fruit is the best thing to incorporate into a daily diet. I always eat a minimum of 5 servings per day, and the kind depends on what is in season and the best prices. Lately, it has been apples, oranges, and bananas that I find the best deals on.
As far as a great daily beverage, to me, nothing beats unsweetened, freshly brewed, organic green or white tea! I like to have at least three cups per day.
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Great post, thanks. I think it’s important to teach people about the foods they CAN eat, and those that should be ADDED to the diet, instead of what we shouldn’t eat. A positive message is always better received.
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Great list. I feel it’s always preferable to get your vitamins from actual food, if possible, rather than supplements.
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Great List! Almonds are also a fantastic superfood.
Tiggy – Peanut butter isn’t all bad. Just make sure it’s the natural organic kinda. That other stuff is loaded with sugar
I thought banana will be in the list as well.
Thanks for the information!
Robert
Why is this website implying to only eat a couple of fruits and vegetables?
To have a healthy diet you must have a wide variety of different foods, not ONLY the foods listed.
@Tammy – I certainly do not advocate eating only these foods. I am just suggesting that you eat these on a daily basis along with a balanced diet.
While not a food, don’t forget the importance of water over any other beverage! Without enough water, none of these ‘good for you’ foods will ever be digested properly to give you the nutrients they carry, nor will they move through your system along with their fiber!
My must have top 5 foods daily :-
aa) Raw Garlic and Raw Onions along with lunch and dinner
bb) A glass of FRESH carrot juice in morning and a glass of FRESH Tomato juice in the evening
cc) A handful of Walnuts and almonds daily as a snack
dd) A orange, some dark colored grapes, apple daily
ee) broccoli or spinach or lettuce daily
Five Things to Avoid :
aa) No soft drinks at all
bb) No juices off the shelf as they contain fattening chemicals. Fresh juice ONLY
cc) No fast food from Mcdonalds or burger king
dd) Do not eat anything fried absolutely
ee) Avoid white rice
This is a wonderful article and I agree with this information that if you want to get health and fit body they you have to get the healthier food.
I also enjoy Walnuts & blueberries.
My list would also include dark chocolate, soaked almonds, ghee, organic milk, soaked figs, mangoes, hummus, Guacamole.
I give tomatoes a miss due to them being deadly nightshades.
Thanks for your list. Fresh Carrot juice is great too!
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Delicious and instant to make..Chose wisely the food you eat.We all want a well and balance diet but i think not all eat healthy foods,,,lol…
I try to keep my food intake simple and nutricios.. I believe strongly in herbal teas.
Before noontime I usually drink about a quart of green tea supplemented by
green tea extract. For breakfast I eat uncle sam cereal with bran and flax seed
added in. During the day I eat salads composed of Kale, wild alaskan salmon, broculli.
baby spinach and brussel sprouts. On the salads i use balsamic vinegar and olive
oil. During the day I eat several green apples and drink non-caffinated herbal teas.
I try to avoid salty foods and sugarery products. It seems like I’m eating and
drinking all day yet I do not gain weight and for a 69 year old I feel great and
have absolutely no health problems. For supplements I take reverserol,l. ubiquinol,,
tumeric and vitamin D. All of this with a lot of yoga, weight lifting a couple times
a week and walking a lot with a little jogging.
nice and helpful content
I and my sister confert eat tomatoes, carot, yogurt but she dost eat yogurt what can i substute for her instead of yogurt thankx.
Healthy eating means maintaining a nutritious diet. I believe it to be important to every one. I stress a healthy life to my family and friends and I try to show them the benefits to it. I think the greatest benefit most of all is that it makes you feel and look great. If your not eating healthy, then you are not helping your body. You are filling it with what it does not want, instead, help your body out and eat healthy. The turn out is awesome. I have been eating healthy for years and I have never felt better in my life.
As far as a great daily beverage, to me, nothing beats unsweetened, freshly brewed, organic green tea! I like to have at least three cups per day.
How long can you keep Raw Almonds in the freezer? I’m just curious b/c I found a ‘very old bag’ in our freezer (not-deep) and am wondering if we can still eat them!
Thanks!!!
Great to see carrots, tomatoes and spinach on the list – good proper wholesome food. Often it is the simplest and most common foods that are good for us. Obvious really, as few people have ever had huge access to “superfoods”, these are often very seasonal and do not store well.
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Great list! I would also recommend Broccoli! Broccoli is ridiculously packed with fiber, and other vitamins and nutrients. Great list though!