Stock Up On These 'Power Foods'
You are what you eat, but if the only contents found in your fridge is beer and leftover pizza, then you might want to head down to the grocery store to pick up these power foods:
Celery
Besides being filling with hardly any calories, celery also contains a compound that can help moderate blood pressure. Phthalides, or the phytochemicals in celery, have the ability to relax muscle tissue in artery walls and helps to increase blood flow.
Seaweed
This popular health food in Japan can be divided into four classes of seaweeds: green, brown, red, and blue-green. Seaweeds are a great plant source of calcium, plus its also loaded with potassium, which is essential for maintaining healthy blood-pressure levels. If you can't get the fresh stuff, then look for sheets of dried seaweed. Try grinding the sheets into a powder and using it as a healthy salt substitute that's great for seasoning salads and soups.
Hemp Seeds
Hemp seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Just 1-ounce serving of the seeds provides 11 grams of protein; unlike the ones found in most plant sources, these seeds offer all the essential amino acids to the ones found in meat, eggs, and dairy.
Scallops
Scallops are more than 80% protein. One 3-ounce serving provides 20 grams of protein and just 95 calories. They're also a good source of both magnesium and potassium. (Clams and oysters provide similar benefits.) If possible, stick to purchasing the fresh, dry-packed scallops (not the "wet-packed" kind).
Dark Meat
Dark meat might have more fat than white meat, but it also has cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that makes you feel fuller, longer. You'll be less likely to overeat in the hours that follow your meal.
As for cholesterol, only a third of the fat in a turkey drumstick is the saturated kind. The 86% of that saturated fat either has no impact on cholesterol, or raises HDL (good) cholesterol more than LDL (bad) cholesterol. This can actually lower your heart-disease risk.
In terms of calories, an ounce of dark turkey meat contains just 8 more calories than an ounce of white meat.
Lentils
Boiled lentils have about 16 grams of belly-filling fiber in every cup. Cooked lentils also contain 27% more folate per cup than cooked spinach does. Colored lentils (black, orange, red) also have compounds in the seed hulls that contain disease-fighting antioxidants.
Besides being filling with hardly any calories, celery also contains a compound that can help moderate blood pressure. Phthalides, or the phytochemicals in celery, have the ability to relax muscle tissue in artery walls and helps to increase blood flow.
Seaweed
This popular health food in Japan can be divided into four classes of seaweeds: green, brown, red, and blue-green. Seaweeds are a great plant source of calcium, plus its also loaded with potassium, which is essential for maintaining healthy blood-pressure levels. If you can't get the fresh stuff, then look for sheets of dried seaweed. Try grinding the sheets into a powder and using it as a healthy salt substitute that's great for seasoning salads and soups.
Hemp Seeds
Hemp seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and can help reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Just 1-ounce serving of the seeds provides 11 grams of protein; unlike the ones found in most plant sources, these seeds offer all the essential amino acids to the ones found in meat, eggs, and dairy.
Scallops
Scallops are more than 80% protein. One 3-ounce serving provides 20 grams of protein and just 95 calories. They're also a good source of both magnesium and potassium. (Clams and oysters provide similar benefits.) If possible, stick to purchasing the fresh, dry-packed scallops (not the "wet-packed" kind).
Dark Meat
Dark meat might have more fat than white meat, but it also has cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that makes you feel fuller, longer. You'll be less likely to overeat in the hours that follow your meal.
As for cholesterol, only a third of the fat in a turkey drumstick is the saturated kind. The 86% of that saturated fat either has no impact on cholesterol, or raises HDL (good) cholesterol more than LDL (bad) cholesterol. This can actually lower your heart-disease risk.
In terms of calories, an ounce of dark turkey meat contains just 8 more calories than an ounce of white meat.
Lentils
Boiled lentils have about 16 grams of belly-filling fiber in every cup. Cooked lentils also contain 27% more folate per cup than cooked spinach does. Colored lentils (black, orange, red) also have compounds in the seed hulls that contain disease-fighting antioxidants.
