The Ten Best Healthy Foods to Eat (Part I)

Your doctor has just told you that you need to eat healthier. It’s true, you know, but how do you do that? Eating better and cleaning up your food habits is generally just an issue of recognizing where to start. Sadly, many people believe that a healthy diet is just taking away the bad foods and not adding any of the good foods in.

All of these foods are heavy with nutrition and chocked full with fiber, lean protein, antioxidants or fats that are heart-healthy; in some instances they contain all four. There’s even better news too! The majority of the foods here are low-calorie compared to their amount. This means you’ll feel more satisfied and fuller after eating these foods.

This list will show you what you need to be eating, not what you shouldn’t be eating. Today, we’ll be looking at five of the ten best foods on this list. Remind yourself that these foods are designed to be a starting point. There are oodles of other healthy food choices that could’ve certainly been incorporated in this list.

Oats and Oatmeal

What is one of the great food selections that you can eat to begin your day right? Oats, oatmeal or oat bran of course!

Oatmeal is high in fiber, even the dissolvable kind of fiber that can aid in sweeping cholesterol out of your body. Likewise, it has an abundance of complex, slow-digesting carbohydrates that can help your blood sugar remain stable and your energy levels continue to be raised.

Stay away from the pre-packaged, pre-flavored instant oatmeal since that comprises a lot of extra sugar. However, plain instant oatmeal is okay in an emergency. Instead, select steel-cut oats, quick oats, boxed oat bran or old-fashioned oats. Each of these types will have a marginally different texture, so taste each one and then pick which one you like the best.

Remember that granola is also made from oats and is a good cold cereal for breakfast—or anytime—when you pair it with skim milk. When finding a good package of granola, attempt to select the low-sugar varieties such as Bear Naked Fit—or you could always create your own low-sugar granola at home!

Egg Whites

These are one of the most easily-absorbed, concentrated types of lean protein on the Earth. Egg whites are high in protein but low-fat and are a terrific supplement to any healthy diet. Whisk them into scrambled eggs, an omelet or perhaps mix them into your breakfast oatmeal for that extra boost of protein.

Egg yolks have a lot of healthy advantages—but you don’t want or need all that cholesterol and saturated fat. So blend three or four egg whites with one whole egg. Egg whites are also high in riboflavin as well as micro-nutrients such as selenium which might have anti-cancer attributes.

Beans

It doesn’t matter whether they’re re-fried, canned or dried—beans are really good for you.

Just like oatmeal, beans are extraordinarily high in fiber. This high fiber could assist in reducing the risk of certain kinds of cancers as well as heart disease and in keeping your bowels regular.

Beans are extremely useful and are available in many varieties and each one contains a somewhat different flavor and texture. The best thing to do is to eat many kinds of beans such as cannellini beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans and pinto beans. Why you ask? Well, beans are extremely high in antioxidants as well as fiber and protein. Antioxidants are the chemicals that give beans their unique color and might assist in neutralizing free radicals which could cause cellular damage in your body. So eat a plethora of diverse colored beans—you’ll be taking advantage of the full range of phytochemicals exclusive to every variety.

Beans can be added to many recipes. If you include them with rice or grain-based dishes—like pasta—the result will be a complete protein. Beans can be contributed to all kinds of dishes like soup, rice, pasta and you can even create a salad.

Fish

Until several decades ago, fresh fish wasn’t easily accessible for those that didn’t live near the water. Then they came up with better shipping methods and now fish is convenient for everyone.

But why is fish so great anyway? Fish is loaded with polyunsaturated Omega-3 fatty acids and research has uncovered that these healthy fats might decrease the risk of coronary heart disease. There are two particularly healthy oils known as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These oils could also decrease blood pressure, improve circulation, may enhance mood, remove some signs of chronic and acute inflammatory disease and prevent blood clots.

Eating fresh fish is preferred, but you can’t forget about canned and frozen fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel. Frozen and canned fish makes it more convenient and much simpler to incorporate more fish into your overall diet. Just remember that canned fish has more sodium; if that’s a concern for you, select fresh or frozen fish instead.

Quinoa

Quinoa—pronounced Keen-wah—is one of the healthiest grains you could eat that’s an old staple of the Inca Civilization. Actually, this is a seed, not a grain. It’s getting easier to find in health food or grocery stores and can be found in the organic food or rice aisle. Because of the wider availability in supermarkets, it’s becoming popular on restaurant menus and in cookbooks.

Quinoa is a terrific replacement for brown rice and has a fluffy, light consistency which makes it a wonderful base for tabbouleh and cold salads or a side pilaf and warm breakfast cereal.

It’s pretty high in complex carbs and fiber. Quinoa is one of the only foods that are plant-based that contain nine important amino acids which makes it a complete protein. It’s available in a color variety of black, yellow, red and white and there’s also quinoa flakes which makes a creamy, tasty breakfast cereal.

Would you like to know about the other five foods? Well, it’s a secret! No, just kidding! But you will have to stick around and read Part II to find out what the other five best healthy foods are.