Five Healthy Foods to Eat - Nutritious Food Choices You May Not have Considered
1. Cinnamon
If you’re a Starbucks lover you might want to consider sprinkling your favorite coffee drink with cinnamon powder. It’s freely available at all Starbucks’ condiment counters. So, you don’t have to spend extra just to get a dose of cinnamon by buying expensive pastries which have high concentration of sugar. Cinnamon is helpful for lessening the instance of heart diseases. It controls your blood sugar level and is very helpful if you have diabetes. To learn more about what cinnamon can do for you and for tips on how to include cinnamon in your diet, please read The Health Benefits of Cinnamon.
2. Pumpkin Seeds
Another unpopular health food that we ought to be eating is pumpkin seeds. I rarely see anyone munching pumpkin seeds as much as I see people eating peanuts. If you thought pumpkins were only good for making soups or pies, think again. Pumpkin seeds have more nutrients than the pumpkin itself. Pumpkin seeds are high in protein and low in fat. They are also a great source of magnesium.
3. Guava
When I learned that guava is among the healthy foods that we are not eating, I almost couldn’t picture in my mind what a guava looks like. When was the last time you had an encounter with a guava? Me, it was probably 20 years ago. So, when my wife and I went to the grocery store and while she was buying her favorite papaya and pineapple, I immediately began searching for a guava and found the bigger variety of guavas. Upon reaching home, I immediately sliced off a piece and starting eating it. Then I remembered why guava is not a popular fruit that gets eaten fresh and raw. The texture and the taste are not the best among the fruits that we know. Its acidity gives it a sour taste only to become sweeter as you get your way into eating its center part.
Anyway, for its health aspects - guavas are said to have a higher concentration of lycopene which you normally get from tomatoes and pineapples. In case you don’t know, lycopene is an antioxidant that prevents prostate cancer from developing (click here for more information on lycopene). Guava also contains potassium and yes, it’s high in fiber too. And there’s no other way of eating guava but to eat it fresh and raw.
4. Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular vegetable among the Europeans and Asians. I’d like to call this the poor man’s lettuce since comparing their
prices, cabbage is cheaper than lettuce. Despite being a cheaper alternative to lettuce, cabbage is rich in nutrients and contains only 22 calories per cup. Cabbage contains vital chemicals, such as sulforaphane, which is vital for the body’s production of enzymes. These enzymes help in combating free radicals and also helps in the reduction of cancer producing cells in your body. As to why we are not eating it, I would have to say that eating cabbage raw is not as pleasing as eating a fresh leaf of lettuce. So, to make it more appealing, the best way to eat cabbage is to make it as coleslaw. But if you’re like me who doesn’t want to go through the trouble of preparing coleslaw, you can just sauté chopped cabbage (using healthy cooking oil of course) with either fresh shrimp, lean cutlets of pork or beef, or simply on its own. Click here to learn more about the health benefits of cabbage.
5. Pomegranate Juice
I’m not fond of drinking fruit juices. I admit that I’m a caffeine addict, so I’d rather have a cup of coffee instead of a glass of fruit juice. And yes, I’ve not tasted pomegranate juice before, so hopefully this article would serve as an eye opener for me to drink more fruit juices, specifically pomegranate juice. It lowers blood pressure and improves blood flow to your heart. Pomegranate juice is also a great source vitamin C.
Basic Principles of Healthy Eating
This article may have given you some ideas on new foods to try that you have never thought of before. At least I hope so, as that was the intention. A basic principle of a healthy diet is lots of variety - so keep on trying new foods! You never know when you might stumble upon a new favorite with fantastic health benefits as well.
Picture Credits
Cinnamon: https://www.flickr.com/photos/spence_sir/2292728214/
Pumpkin Seeds: https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie1/285347124/
Guava: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bren/46458539/
Cabbage: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wheatfields/2671495796/
Pomegranate: https://www.flickr.com/photos/m500/3093341832/