10 Superfoods Healthier Than Kale SUPERFOOD #5 Spinach Nutrition Score: 86.43 Spinach is to kale what Michael Jordan is to LeBron James -- the once unrivaled king now overshadowed by the hot new thing. But like MJ, spinach has a few more championship rings than its more current rival -- primarily its position as a top source of biceps-building iron. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, a 180 gram serving of boiled spinach provides 6.43 mg of the muscle mineral -- thats more than a 6-ounce hamburger patty! Recent research also suggest compounds in the leaf membranes called thylakoids may serve as a powerful appetite suppressant. A recently published long-term study at Lund University in Sweden found that having a drink containing thylakoids before breakfast could significantly reduce cravings and promote weight loss. On average, the women who took the spinach extract lost 5.5 pounds more than the placebo group over the course of three months. (Its easy to see why spinach tops our list of the essential 8 Foods You Should Eat Every Day.) SUPERFOOD #4 Beet Greens Nutrition Score: 87.08 Yes, the stuff they cut off and throw in the garbage before charging you an arm and a leg for beet salad. A scant cup of the bitter green serves up nearly 5 grams of fiber--thats more than youll find in a bowl of Quaker oats! Researchers at the University of Leeds found that risk of cardiovascular disease was significantly lower for every 7 grams of fiber consumed. Try them in stir frys and eat to your hearts content! SUPERFOOD #3 Chard Nutrition Score: 89.27 Chard. Sounds like burnt. Its not as fun a name to drop as, say, broccolini, but it might be your best defense against diabetes. Recent research has shown that these powerhouse leaves contain at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants, including anthocyanins-anti-inflammatory compounds that could offer protection from type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of East Anglia analyzed questionnaires and blood samples of about 2,000 people and found that those with the highest dietary intakes of anthocyanins had lower insulin resistance and better blood glucose regulation. Related: 5 Daily Habits That Blast Belly Fat SUPERFOOD #2 Chinese Cabbage Nutrition Score: 91.99 Taking the silver medal in the powerfood Olympics is Chinese cabbage, also called Napa or celery cabbage. Rich sources of highly available calcium and iron, cruciferous vegetables like the cabbage have the powerful ability to turn off inflammation markers thought to promote heart disease. In a study of more than 1,000 Chinese women, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, those who ate the most cruciferous vegetables (about 1.5 cups per day) had 13 percent less inflammation than those who ate the fewest. SUPERFOOD #1 Watercress Nutrition Score: 100 The top dog, the unrivaled champion, the chairman of the cutting board, watercress may also be the closest thing yet to a true anti-aging food. Gram for gram this mild-tasting and flowery-looking green contains four times more beta carotene than an apple, and a whopping 238 percent of your daily recommended dose of vitamin K per 100 grams -- two compounds that keep skin dewy and youthful. The beauty food is also the richest dietary source of PEITC (phenylethyl isothiocyanate), which research suggests can fight cancer. Results from an eight-week trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggest daily supplementation of 85 grams of raw watercress (thats about two cups) could reduce DMA damage linked to cancer by 17 percent. Exposure to heat may inactivate PEITC, so its best to enjoy watercress raw in salads, cold-pressed juices, and sandwiches. huffingtonpost/david-zinczenko/10-superfoods-healthier-t_b_6213842.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&utm_content=10713484&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:56:53 +0000
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