Thursday, April 25, 2013

You are what you eat!

 What you eat today can affect how you feel, and how you may feel years from now.
Some foods help the body’s natural disease-fighting abilities, other foods can make you lethargic and impair your digestive system.

Vitamin A helps maintain healthy teeth, bones, soft tissues, and skin. It can help prevent infections and will help keep nails and hair looking their best!
Foods that are particularly high in vitamin A include: sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, kale, and collard greens, cantaloupe, apricots,winter squash. Some spices are also high in this nutrient, including paprika, red pepper, cayenne, and chili powder.

Vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid (B9) all assist nerve function, the synthesis of DNA, and the making of red blood cells. They also help to prevent anemia.
Foods particularly high in vitamins B6 and B12 include meat, poultry, and fish, seafood, including mussels and oysters, eggs,milk.
Foods particularly high in folic acid include leafy green vegetables,poultry and certain fruit juices, including orange and grapefruit.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is a powerful antioxidant that protects the health of cells and improves iron absorption. It’s also important in promoting healthy teeth and gums, healing wounds, and helping the body resist infection.
Foods particularly high in vitamin C include papaya, citrus fruits, strawberries, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dark leafy greens like kale, mustard greens, and chard.

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin because it can also be created by the body from sunlight. It’s critical for bone health, immune system health, and calcium absorption. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), this vitamin is also associated with a possible decreased risk of colorectal cancer. .
Foods particularly high in vitamin D include some seafood such as salmon, herring, catfish, oysters, trout, milk, eggs, shiitake mushrooms.

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that protects cells from damage, helps the body use vitamin K, and repairs muscle cells.
Foods particularly high in vitamin E include sunflower seeds and almonds, spinach, Swiss chard, turnip greens, bell peppers, asparagus

Vitamin K is critical for the clotting of blood. 
Foods particularly high in vitamin K include kale, spinach, collard greens, Swiss chard, turnip greens, mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, parsley, romaine lettuce, broccoli

Eating a healthy diet with all the nutrients your body requires can be a struggle.
Most nutrients are available in vegetables, leafy greens, fruits, nuts, and seafood. If you incorporate a variety of these options into your diet on a daily basis, you’re likely to get all of the nutrients you need for optimum health and wellness.


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