A continuation on nourishment: Powerhouse foods
By Justin and Clara Hamel
Last week we touched on the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable intake for nourishment, health and well-being. While it is important to incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables into your diet, we want to highlight several powerhouse fruits and vegetables.
Regular intake of these fruits and vegetables are highly correlated with reduced chronic disease, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
The first powerhouse food we will discuss is the mighty bean. Beans are loaded with fiber, folate, potassium, zinc, iron and protein. Regular consumption of beans has been correlated with reduced risk of many cancers, improved gut health, reduced blood pressure, lower rates of heart disease and reduced rates of diabetes. In fact, if you research all the benefits of a diet rich in beans you may wonder why doctors are not prescribing a daily dose!
Thankfully beans are relatively simple and inexpensive to include in your diet daily. They can be added to soups and salads, used as dips (hummus), put into tacos and burritos, or used to top baked potatoes.
Our second powerhouse food is leafy greens. Leafy greens are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and a diet rich in leafy greens can reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, osteoporosis and mental decline. There are many types of leafy greens that exist, but here are a few of the most common:
Spinach
Romaine
Dandelion Greens
Beet Greens
Swiss Chard
Butter Lettuce
Trying to include these in your daily nutrition can have a multitude of health benefits and it is easy to get a serving or two through smoothies or salads.
Another powerhouse food is wild blueberries. Wild blueberries are smaller than conventional blueberries, but that small package packs a nutritional punch! They have two times more antioxidants than conventional blueberries. The antioxidants in blueberries have been correlated with a reduction in depression, decreased inflammation and improved cognitive function.
Frozen wild blueberries are available in the freezer section of most grovers and can be used in smoothies, tossed on a salad or eaten with a light drizzle of honey for dessert.
The final powerhouse food we want to highlight is cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and certain leafy greens contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, calcium and selenium. They are rich in fiber, are anti-inflammatory and support cardiovascular health.
As you can see from the litany of health benefits these powerhouse foods provide, what we choose to nourish our bodies with matters. When we choose nutrient-dense foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, we fuel our body with what it needs for physical and mental health.
Check back next week for some recipes that incorporate these powerhouse foods!
Dr. Justin Hamel and Clara Hamel have a combined over 30 years of experience in health fields. Reach them at 1° Performance & Longevity, located at 900 South Main St., Suite A in Jacksonville, on Facebook or by phone at 217-243-6358.
