Hey there,
What are you eating to stay healthy and age gracefully?
Are you maxing out on the protein your body needs to build muscle? Hitting the natural plant-based fats hard to feed your brain? Rocking the antioxidants from fruits and veggies?
The best way to live a long, healthy life is to make certain you’re getting as broad an intake of nutrients as possible from a wide range of food sources. And, of course, making sure to include nutrient-rich, complex “superfoods” into your diet.
Here are the five green superfoods—aka, “supergreens”—that will give your body a fighting chance at staving off age-related deterioration and help you enjoy a longer, healthier life:
1. Spinach – Spinach is a truly “super” food. It’s loaded with Vitamin A to protect your eye cells from deterioration, Vitamin C to boost your immune response, Vitamin E to improve your heart and skin health, and Vitamin K to improve blood clotting in response to wounds. It’s also rich on magnesium, lutein, and highly bioavailable heme iron. The high fiber content makes it excellent for digestion and it’s packed with antioxidants to combat free radical damage and prevent oxidative stress from prematurely aging your body. Eat more of this nutrition-improving, inflammation-fighting food and you’ll never regret it.
2. Kale – Kale is the sharper, pepperier-tasting cousin to spinach, packed with many of the same nutrients but (some) in higher quantities. For example, kale contains more immune-boosting, skin-improving Vitamin C, as well as more calcium to strengthen your bones. It’s also rich in selenium, a potent antioxidant that plays a significant role in combatting biological aging. One truly amazing benefit of kale is that it contains cholestyramine, which bonds with cholesterol and encourages its removal from your body. It’s even more heart-smart than spinach, and has a lot more zing in flavor, too.
3. Broccoli – Broccoli is a cruciferous veggie, which while different from the leafy green family kale and spinach belong to, makes it beneficial for your body in a number of ways. First off, it’s packed with sulforaphane, a sulfur-containing compound that is known to have potent anti-cancer effects, as well as a compound called indole-3-carbinol that can combat tumors. The calcium and collagen in broccoli benefit your bones, teeth, fingernails, hair, and skin, and the high Vitamin C content improves skin health as well as immune function. Best of all, the fiber in broccoli is a powerful digestive aid that can not only prevent diarrhea and constipation, but also lower your risk of colon cancer.
4. Watercress – Watercress may not look like much, but you’d be surprised by just how nutrient-dense it is. It contains an impressive range of vitamins—including A, C, E, and B vitamins—as well as calcium, manganese, potassium, and phosphorus. Watercress has potent antiseptic properties that can protect your skin, and it is known to increase circulation so your skin cells receive more nutrients and energy. Thanks to the high antioxidant content of watercress, you can combat free radicals and oxidative stress, particularly in your skin—leading to reduced wrinkles and age lines (aka, the visible signs of biological aging).
5. Brussels sprouts – Brussels sprouts belong to the cruciferous vegetable family like broccoli, which means it’s also loaded with many of the same sulfur-containing compounds that make broccoli such a potent supergreen. It’s also rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin K, folate, iron, potassium, magnesium, and thiamine. The high fiber content of Brussels sprouts make them amazing to improve your digestion and clear up intestinal issues so your digestive system is better-able to absorb nutrients from the food you eat.
Add these five supergreens to your diet every single day and you’ll give your body what it needs to enjoy a longer, healthier, more energetic life. |