Risk factors, like hypertension and inflammation, can also be tamed by diet. Try to fit all these super foods into your daily diet plan.
Head off high blood pressure:
1. Swiss chard: This vegetable supplies nearly 1000 milligrams of potassium per cooked cup. Studies show you need about 4000 mg of potassium (found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and yoghurt) a day to keep blood pressure low.
2. Fresh herbs: They’re a healthy substitute for salt. Try sprinkling dishes you’d usually salt with chopped fresh herbs, which are typically more flavourful than dried ones. Chives and rosemary complement potatoes, parsley perks up eggs, sage goes well with poultry, and thyme can add zip to popcorn. As an added bonus, herbs are rich in antioxidants that protect your cells against heart disease.
3. Low-fat or non-fat yoghurt: It has about 50 percent more blood pressure lowering calcium and potassium than low-fat milk. In studies, people who ate enough of these two minerals and kept their sodium intake low experienced drops in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The reduction is larger in people with hyper- tension, but yoghurt also lowers blood pressure a little in people with normal levels.
Curb unhealthy cholesterol levels:
1. Garlic: This tasty bulb has a mild cholesterol-lowering effect and also keeps LDL from building up in the arteries and contributing to plaque. You need to consume several cloves a day to get the protective benefits. To fit it into your meals, use garlic as often as you can in cooking.
2. Extra-virgin oilve oil: Olive oil is rich in mono- unsaturated fats, which can lower LDL when they replace saturated fat in your diet. “In fact, every 1 percent decrease in your intake of saturated fat can reduce your LDL level by 2 percent,” says Ohlson. Try replacing saturated fat rich foods with olive oil, as well as with avocado, nuts, and other sources of monos. Extra-virgin olive oil has an advantage over other types: It packs extra polyphenols, compounds that keep LDL cholesterol from sticking to artery walls.
3. Almonds: When adults ate about 28g of these nuts a day as part of a healthy diet, their LDL levels dropped 13 to 20 percent – the amount comparable to the reduction that occurs with some medications – according to researchers at the University of Toronto.
Beat high blood sugar:
1. Barley: It’s the grain least likely to produce spikes in your blood sugar; in fact, a study from the Creighton University School of Medicine found barley was better than much-touted oats at keeping glucose levels under control. The reason may be that the grain has high levels of a soluble fibre called beta-glucan, which is digested very slowly and helps lower cholesterol levels.
2. Cayenne chilli pepper: Sprinkling this spice on your food helps prevent a big spike in blood sugar after a meal, according to a new study from the University of Tasmania. When adults polished off a chilli-seasoned burger on a bun with a sugary beverage, their blood sugar was much lower than when they finished the drink and the burger sans spices.
3. Carrots: A Harvard University study found that crunching on half a cup of dark yellow vegetables, like carrots, each day cuts the risk of diabetes in women by 27 percent. To enhance your absorption of antioxidants from carrots (or any colourful veggie) serve them with a little fat, such as olive oil.
Scale back your weight:
1. Broccoli: While it’s true that all veggies are low-kilojoule, broccoli is one of the biggest diet bargains: A half cup of cooked florets has a mere 113 kilojoules, about the amount in just a tiny bite of lasagne. You’ll also get 3 grams of fibre, which helps fill you up.
2. Oranges: These deliver a sweet taste for just 273 kilojoules a piece. In addition, oranges contain a type of fibre called pectin that not only keeps you full, but also controls cholesterol.
3. Lean pork: Adults who have a high-protein meal burn twice as many kilojoules afterward as those who eat a high-carb one, according to a study at Arizona State University. With just 512 kilojoules per 85g, pork tenderloin is one of the leanest sources of protein, supplying as much as prime rib for one-third to one-eighth of the fat. The same size serving of pork top loin has 617 kilojoules and 5 grams of fat.
Fight inflammation:
1. Salmon: This fish is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which ease inflammation, boasting three to six times the amount found in other popular seafood.
2. Black beans: Few foods supply as much magnesium as black beans, and adults who don’t get enough of the mineral in their diets are about twice as likely to have high levels of CRP, according to a study by the Medical University of South Carolina. A cup of canned beans delivers 120 of the 320 milligrams of magnesium you need daily.
3. Dried cherries: Tart or sweet, they’re loaded with anthocyanins, antioxidants that help neutralize the enzymes that cause plaque to break apart. “Fresh cherries do the same thing, but dried ones are more versatile and are available year round,” says Gutterson. Mix a tablespoon or two into cereal, wild rice, salads, muffin batter, or yoghurt.
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