An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, but 3 Apples a Day May Keep the Pounds Off
The age old adage has a new twist. With the obesity epidemic in the
United States people constantly look for easy ways out. A few years back
some folks in Washington State found one.
As part of a local gym's weight loss contest, registered dietician Tammi
Flynn put them on diets which included 3 Washington apples a day before meals.
The results speak for themselves. 346 people lost 6,126 pounds of fat
in 12 weeks.
Even if weight loss is not your concern, apples provide a nutrient dense
snack which is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and water.
There are many varieties, with different flavors and best of all you can get
apples year round, world wide for very cheap.
How to Include Apples in Your Diet: Apples are the
easiest food to include in your diet. They have a very long shelf life for
fruit and you can pack them, and eat them anywhere. You have no excuse not
to eat them every day.
4. Spinach
Popeye is Back with a Vengeance and he wants You to Eat Your Greens
Spinach
won't give you huge forearms or the ability to beat up a giant sailor named
Bluto, but is an every day superfood.
Eating spinach is the easiest way to include those dreaded green leafy vegetables
in your diet.
In addition to being very, very low in calories, the list of the benefits of
spinach goes on and on.
Dietary fiber headlines the list which includes the antioxidants beta and
alpha carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin as well as calcium, potassium, magnesium,
vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K and folic acid.
How to Include Spinach in Your Diet: A spinach salad is
always a good way to get a full serving of spinach but spinach is a very
versatile superfood to include in your diet every day.
Spinach can be added to many cooked foods, to supercharge their nutrition
without altering the taste.
3. Cottage Cheese
If you Don't want it on your Thighs, You should Definitely Include it in Your
Diet
You either love it or hate it but hate never gets you anywhere. Cottage
cheese is one of the best protein sources you can have in your diet.
The protein in cottage cheese is casein. Casein has the advantage of
being the slowest digested protein.
Digesting slowly carries advantages for all fitness goals with the exception
of getting extremely fat. Sorry sumo wrestlers.
You can also get cultured cottage cheese which definitely has an acquired
taste, but will give you all the benefits of the healthy cultures which it
contains. These "good bacteria" which include Lactobacillus acidophilus
keep your intestines healthy and help digestion run smoothly.
How to Include Cottage Cheese in Your Diet: Cottage
cheese is the perfect protein source to compliment fruits, berries, and nuts to
create a healthy, nutrient rich, low calorie meal or snack which will help you
keep your body healthy inside and out.
It is the muscle builders best dietary choice to consume before bed as the
casein protein is broken down slowly over the night to maximize muscle gains and
minimize muscle catabolism.
2. Oats
Uncle Sam Recommended
Back
in 1997 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) allowed all products which
contain oat grains and oat bran to claim on the boxes that oats reduce risk of
heart disease and lower cholesterol.
While this opened the floodgates for unhealthy processed foods to claim a heart
healthy benefit, oats still remain one of the stable foods in your every day
nutrition program.
The benefits of oats stem from the soluble fiber which has been shown in
studies to lower cholesterol levels thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular
disease.
This is not the only reason to make oats an every day food choice. Oats
contain a unique antioxidant called avenanthramides. Avenanthramides help
prevent free radicals from damaging the good (LDL) cholesterol. This was
suggested in a study at Tufts University and published in
The Journal of Nutrition.
In addition to the long term benefits of oat consumption, oats are a great
source of complex carbohydrates which provide long lasting energy for active
individuals. Oats also contain a high amount of the antioxidant selenium.
How to Include Oats in Your Diet: Oatmeal comes in
different varieties such as rolled oats, steel cut oats and instant oats, all
which are great for the breakfast of champions. Oats are the main
component of museli which is a tasty, energy rich mixture of different grains,
fruits and nuts and their associated healthy fats.
Oats are also great for baking cookies, breads, granolas and energy bars.
A great addition to oatmeal is flax meal which will add the healthy essential
fatty acids to your diet. With your imagination and skills, there is no limit to the ways you can include
oats in your diet.
1. Sweet Potatoes
/ Yams
Just What is the Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams?
Yams and sweet potatoes are used synonymously sometimes but are actually 2
different species. They come in colors ranging from white to orange.
Only a botanist would be able to understand the differences therefore the US
department of agriculture requires yams to be labeled as sweet potatoes also.
Regardless of the differences both are healthy for you. They are alive and
bustling with nutrients.
In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional
value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fiber content, complex
carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato
ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes
earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato.
If you have never eaten sweet potatoes before they will grow on you, literally!
Sweet potatoes have a very long shelf life and grow until you kill them with a
few minutes in the microwave or bake them in the stove.
The complex carbohydrates and B vitamins in sweet potatoes make them every
active person's best dietary carbohydrate source. Sweet potatoes have long
been the best source of carbs for athletes and bodybuilders for strength, speed,
power and body composition benefits.
How to Include Sweet Potatoes in Your Diet: Sweet potatoes
will grow in your kitchen for months if you fail to eat them. As well as
the common baked sweet potatoes and sweet potato pie, they can be eaten just
like apples.
If you have access to a microwave you can pack uncooked sweet potatoes to work
and microwave them. If you cook them beforehand, sweet potatoes are good
cold or hot and taste great alone without any added calories.
Honorable Mention
All Natural Foods
It is worth it to mention the common theme of AsktheTrainer.com.
Everything in moderation. This mantra is never more important when you
consider your diet.
Just because some foods were not mentioned in this list does not mean they
couldn't or shouldn't be every day foods in your nutrition program.
These 5 were selected as foods to eat every single day because they have
the most benefits including, nutrition, availability, price, ease of preparation
and health benefits.
All natural foods such as nuts, berries, lean meats, dairy products, vegetables
and fruits have a place in your diet.
A good way ensure your diet is healthy is to limit your shopping in the grocery
store to only the produce, dairy, and meat section.
Do not shop for groceries when you are starving and with tunnel vision and
discipline you will make smart food choices which will create the best healthy
diet for you.
Along with exercise, a diet rich with the top 5 every day foods and other solid
food choices will help you live a long, strong, balanced, healthy and satisfying
life.
Spinach
won't give you huge forearms or the ability to beat up a giant sailor named
Bluto, but is an every day superfood.
Back
in 1997 the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) allowed all products which
contain oat grains and oat bran to claim on the boxes that oats reduce risk of
heart disease and lower cholesterol.
/ Yams
