These days, getting healthier seems almost impossible! Expensive protein powders, fancy meal plans, and over the top gym memberships that all add up quickly. When you look at the hefty price tag it’s easy to think, “Well, maybe next year. . .”
However, the best way to change how you feel starts right at your grocery store or your local farmers market – and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg to do it.
Healthy lifestyles start with the foods you eat. If you’re constantly ingesting bad-for-you foods, no gym membership in the world is going to make you feel better.
But, if you give your body the nutrients it needs and deserves, it will reciprocate the love. More energy, less weight gain, and better brain performance are just a few of the ways you’ll start to feel healthier, fast.
What is a Superfood?
A super food is generally a food that is especially dense in nutrients.
While most of these foods tend to be plant-based, some fish and dairy fit the criteria. According to the American Heart Association, there is no set criteria for super foods. However, most seem to exhibit certain characteristics that make them especially good for you.
These include:
- High in antioxidants
- Have plenty of healthy fats to boost heart health
- Rich in fiber to prevent digestive problems
From our past article, What Makes a Food a Superfood, we said:
For example, some small foods are packed with so many vitamins or antioxidants that they are as rich in nutrients as a whole plate of others.
Hence the name; superfoods deliver on key nutrients in a way that puts them far ahead of other, less nutrient-rich foods.
To ensure you’re including as many superfoods as possible in your diet, check out the infographic below by Skintrium, and next time you’re grocery shopping, pick up a few of these superheroes. Getting healthy never tasted so good.
Blueberries, quinoa, salmon, steel cut oats, coconut oil, greek yogurt are some of the superfoods to boost health and immunity. All of the options can lead to a delicious and super-healthy meal – so which of these superfoods will you be sure to include in your next meal?
For inspiration on including these superfoods in super-delicious meals, be sure to check out Greener Ideal’s Recipes.
{This article has been updated for freshness and consistency.}