7 Important Benefits In Including Superfoods In Your Diet

If you’re looking to make real improvements to your health, there are lots of things you can do in order to do so. Whether you take up running, a strength training routine, or go on a diet, you’ll likely notice that you really start to feel better after just a short while.

Another great addition you can make in order to improve your health is by incorporating more superfoods into your daily intake. The term superfood came about over 30 years ago and refers to different types of food that offer you hefty nutritional benefits. These superfoods are chock-full of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, and beneficial fatty-acids which all work together to take you from feeling just OK to great! If you are truly focused on losing weight, check this out! This diet is a pretty interesting one, known as the Just Eat Real Food (JERF) diet.

In order to bring you up to speed on some of the important benefits superfoods can provide you, we’ve detailed a few examples of them and what they have to offer your HealthyBody. Continue reading to learn more:

Raw Nuts

One of the best additions you can make to your diet, as long as you are not allergic, is raw nuts. When consumed in moderation, raw nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, and others are able to provide you with a healthy serving of omega-3 fatty acids and beneficial fiber. Not only that, but they are also full of minerals and vitamins such as magnesium, iron, and calcium!

When you regularly consume nuts, you may lower your risk of developing both diabetes and heart disease. This effect is especially prominent when you replace red meat as your chosen protein source for nuts. Many studies have been done that experts are concluding from their results that when you substitute nuts for processed or red meat, your risk of developing diabetes goes down by as much as 35 percent! If you’re worried about sodium intake, consider opting for unsalted varieties.

Leafy greens

Leafy greens are an amazing source of nutrition, that when looked at, calorie for calorie, provide you with more vitamins and nutrients than nearly any other food source on the planet! Leafy greens provide you with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals that all go to provide your body with stuff it needs in order to fend off terrible diseases such as cancer and heart disease! Leafy greens provide benefits to your whole body! All the way down to the cell level!

Some great examples of leafy greens include spinach, Swiss chard, kale, dandelion greens, and mustard. These are all both delicious and incredibly nutritious. A great way to incorporate leafy greens into your diet is by throwing some in a smoothie or preparing a nice salad, which will go towards bumping up the nutrition of any meal! You can also experiment with some tasty protein rich smoothies, if you’re more into cultivating strength.Whether you consume leafy greens cooked, or raw, in a smoothie, sauce, omelet, or just simply on their own, they provide you with substantial servings of vitamins C, A, K, potassium, folate, and calcium.

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are another great example of a superfood that provides you with many vital nutrients, in a tiny package. Chia seeds are actually considered the best source of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids on the planet! Chia seeds are not only a great source of omega-3s, they are also an amazing source of protein, antioxidants, minerals, and both insoluble and soluble fibers, which go to improve your body’s digestion.

An interesting and unique fact about chia seeds is that when they are combined with a liquid, they can actually expand to nearly 5 times their size and weight. As a result of this expansion, adding just a small spoonful or two to a meal can significantly increase satiety.

Chia seeds are easily added to your diet do to them having nearly no taste at all. You can scoop a spoonful into your soups, sauces, smoothies, or salads and will hardly notice the difference!

Chocolate

Chocolate is not only tasty, it is great for your health! Long considered a superfood, chocolate can improve your body’s blood flow, lower your blood pressure, and even put you in a better mood! It also may lower bad cholesterol levels, and reduce your body’s inflammation. Chocolate is also a great source of beneficial antioxidants, which go towards protecting your body from cell damage and degenerative diseases such as cancer.

It’s important to note with this tasty treat that even though chocolate is amazingly beneficial to your health, it needs to be consumed in moderation. A good amount to eat is a single 1 oz serving just a couple times a week.

In order to get the best bang for your buck with chocolate, seek out a dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 70% cocoa, obtained from quality cacao. The more the better!

Cruciferous vegetables

Adding another group of vegetables to the list, cruciferous vegetables are another superfood that can provide your body with numerous health benefits! Cruciferous vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, and cabbage are all able to lower your risk of developing many diseases including cancer! There is a growing body of research which points to these vegetables being able to halt the growth of certain cancer cells, and can also reduce your body’s production of free radicals.

Quinoa

Quinoa is another great superfood addition to your diet. If you’re looking for a healthy replacement for things like pasta or white rice, quinoa is just the food for you! Quinoa has lots more fiber and is loaded with nutrients. Not only that, but it is naturally gluten-free, and is much higher in protein.

If you suffer from type 2 diabetes, it is especially great in that in can help reduce the likelihood of your blood sugar spiking after eating.

Avocado

The last superfood we have for you today is the avocado. Avocados are an amazing source of healthy fats and contain good amounts of important vitamins and nutrients including lutein, oleic acid, vitamin E, folate, glutathione, and monounsaturated fats. By increasing your intake of these vitamins, nutrients, and beneficial fats, you may help defend your body from such conditions as degenerative brain and eye disease, cancer, and even heart disease!