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Seven Superfoods to Include in Your Diet

By Emily Smith

Good morning! How was your weekend?  We had some pretty chilly/damp weather, so we spent most of our time indoors – baking, reading, watching old movies, and on Sunday we went to the Ottawa Veg Festival (thankfully held inside the Glebe Community Center).  I was happy to be introduced to a few new local vendors, including Olivia Chocolat, from whom I bought some incredibly decadent 86% dark raw chocolate. I was excited to read that it is locally made, fair-trade, gluten-free, dairy-free, and organic! While I was eating a piece of chocolate last night, I was flipping through the latest issue of Alive magazine and reading up on some of the benefits of lemon and honey. It got me thinking about all of the superfoods and how important they are to add to our diets.
 
I’m sure you’ve heard the term superfoods many times before, so this is just a refresher. A gentle reminder to include some of those nutrient packed foods into your diet on a daily basis. There are many superfoods that you can add to the list, I just rounded up a few that I am including in our diets regularly. I’ve also created a Superfoods Pinterest Board that has a more extensive list.  What are superfoods? They are foods that are considered to give great health benefits and are extra nutritious. The ‘super’ also describes foods with high phytonutrient content. 

Seven Superfoods to try:

  1. Green Tea: It contains antioxidants useful for protection against cancer and free radical molecules. Green tea also fights inflammation in the body, can lower cholesterol and improve your blood sugar balance
  2. Pomegranates: Also antioxidant rich, pomegranates and pure pomegranate juice has been shown to help fight heart disease.
  3. Ginger:A natural anti-inflammatory, ginger helps prevent inflammation in the body. It’s also great for helping with nausea, digestion, and pms. (Try my ginger apple tea)
  4. Broccoli: Contains high amounts of phytonutrients called isothiocyanates (sulforaphane and indole-3 carbinol). These phytonutrients help the liver to detoxify harmful, cancer-causing compounds.
  5. Flax Seeds: Improve your heart health with these super seeds. They contain omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and lignans. Grind them and add them to smoothies and baking!
  6. Dark Chocolate: One square a day gives you a happy little high, is good for your heart, and blood vessels, boosts endorphins, and promotes feelings of attraction, excitement, and love. 
  7. Buckwheat: High in protein and fiber, it helps get your immune system in top shape. It can also lower cholesterol and is a source of magnesium. Buckwheat flour is a great alternative to wheat flour and adds a tasty nutty flavor to your baking. (Buckwheat muffins are a favorite)
 images by: green tea, pomegranate, ginger, broccoli, flaxseeds, dark chocolate, buckwheat
 sources: livestrong.com, hormone diet,  about.com, startcooking.com
 
Your turn, what are some of your favorite superfoods?  Let me know in the comments!
 
Wishing you a not-so-manic Monday :)
 

Posted in Health, Superfoods | 11 comments »

11 Comments on Seven Superfoods to Include in Your Diet

  1. tinajo
    April 30, 2012 at 7:03 am (384 days ago)

    Superfoods are great additions! I hope you´ll get some sun, the weather here has finally been great during the weekend and I think today will be sunny too. :-)

  2. Gaby [The Vault Files]
    April 30, 2012 at 9:11 am (384 days ago)

    Love all of these in this list, I drink green tea everyday but eat more chocolate than I should…I also love quinoa, arugula, spinach, avocado, pecans, they are healthy right? ;)

  3. myFudo
    April 30, 2012 at 10:30 am (384 days ago)

    This is a great list…My newly favorite mix is a blend of green tea, ginger and cranberries from Cyprus. I love the flavor! Refreshes me and I am glad to learn that the ingredients are part of your Superfoods list. I have bookmarked the page.
    Of course, dark chocolate is a staple…;)

  4. Bonnie
    April 30, 2012 at 12:02 pm (384 days ago)

    Fantastic list! I eat nearly all of these, except I need to remember about the buckwheat. I also like to add goji berries to trail mix, they are a superfoods too.

  5. Tegan @ Style Chic
    April 30, 2012 at 12:34 pm (384 days ago)

    So many to choose! Some of my favs are quinoa, avocados, blueberries, almonds and chia YUM xx

  6. Punctuation Mark
    April 30, 2012 at 8:03 pm (384 days ago)

    have at least 3 checked for today on that list… happy week!

  7. Guru Uru
    April 30, 2012 at 8:36 pm (384 days ago)

    This is such a fantastic list – thank you my friend :D
    Pomegranate and dark chocolate are two of my favourite foods so no major dietary alternations here!
    Love your blog :)

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  8. Alexa
    April 30, 2012 at 9:26 pm (384 days ago)

    Oh wow. I am so glad you included the dark chocolate. Haha.

  9. Anna @ IHOD
    May 1, 2012 at 10:09 pm (383 days ago)

    This is very helpful and I want to go out and stock up!
    Thanks Em!
    x, Anna

  10. Emily Lynne {The Best of this Life}
    May 3, 2012 at 12:02 am (382 days ago)

    Thanks for all of your comments and additions to this post! Loved reading about the superfoods you include in your diet!! xo

  11. Janice Lorgan
    May 3, 2012 at 7:50 pm (381 days ago)

    Acai berries, blueberries, turmeric, almonds, and chia seeds are superfoods that I eat regularly!