Superfoods: do you know what it is?
This term is increasingly popular in the areas of food and health. YouHot shows you the wonders of superfoods.
The awareness that “you are what you eat” and that the food has a huge impact on our health is growing in number of researchers interested in deepen the benefits that each of the different types of existing foods can bring to wellbeing and longevity. It is believed that a diet based on certain foods, the so-called superfoods, might mean for our body a source of health, wellness and youth, enhancing many functions that it performs. The term “superfood” has been popularized and is characterized for being “a food considered especially nutritious or beneficial to health and welfare “. This concept has been extended through referring more specifically to the density of nutrients that constitute these foods.
In superfoods classification, are essentially fruits and vegetables, whose nutritional composition confers more health benefits compared to other type of food.
The blueberries are on top of the list of Superfoods for its high concentration of antioxidants, vitamin C and potassium contained, they may also decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. The darker the Berry, the greater the concentration of antioxidants in it. The pomegranates, believed to be able to lower blood pressure, and the açai berry, for having similar characteristics to blueberries, also receive this status.
Also Omega 3 rich fish, such as salmon or sardines, receive this designation and must be consumed two to three times a week. Walnuts and flaxseeds are other forms of Omega 3. The consumption of these superfoods reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, arthritis and possibly memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
Beetroot has been proposed as a superfood for heart health, since it seems to contribute to the decrease of the blood pressure and the tendency for clot formation; as the cocoa that due to the high concentration of flavonoids promotes the reduction of blood pressure and increasing the elasticity of the blood vessels.
Do not be surprised with the fact that tea is considered a superfood, especially green tea. For containing ECGC, an antioxidant that doctors consider to be very important in reducing cholesterol and inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, the tea is included in this category.
Take note of a few more of the foods that can also be covered in the category of “super” and that we should not forget in your diet: sweet potatoes, olive oil, oats, lentils, raspberries, avocados, tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms.
