What are Superfoods? 2020 Edition

So you have heard of superfoods, right? But the question is what are superfoods?

Do you really know, and which ones are the best to eat in 2020?

And what are the benefits of eating superfoods?

Well, superfoods are foods that are mainly plant-based, healthy greens, broccoli etc.

But these super healthy food choices are not limited to just greens, vegetables and fruits there also some fish that are seen as superfoods and some dairy as well, but I disagree to some extent on dairy.

superfoods are said to be extremely good for your health and wellbeing because they are nutrient rich.

Kale, Blueberries and some oily fish such as Salmon are good examples of these nutrient-rich foods.

Nutrients provide nourishment within your diet.

In the field of nutrition and diet, nutrients are split into six specific categories that are necessary to sustain life:

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

What qualifies a food as a superfood in 2020?

A superfood is basically any food item that contains an extremely dense concentration of vital nutrients, vitamins and/or minerals.

They are also high in antioxidants, healthy fats, and high in healthy enzymes, and when eaten as part of a healthy diet help decrease the chances of disease.

Superfoods are not only rich in nutrients, they also contain chemical compounds called phytonutrients. Phytonutrients help to help protect fruits and vegetables from germs, fungi, bugs, and other threats. 

Whole grains, nuts, beans, and tea are also a source of phytonutrients.

These chemical compounds are important to your diet because they help boost your immune system and general health.

phytonutrients

a substance found in certain plants which are believed to be beneficial to human health and help prevent various diseases.

“Phyto” refers to the Greek word for plant.

These chemicals help protect plants from germs, fungi, bugs, and other threats.

What are the best superfoods to help you lose weight in 2020?

Nutrient-dense foods help with weight loss because they not only provide the body with what it needs as part of a healthy diet but they also do an incredible job of sustaining the body throughout the day. So that there is less need for you to reach for an unhealthy snack option.

Cinnamon, one of the oldest spices around is not really associated with being a superfood but it really is and is now seen as a superspice

Cinnamons health benefits include

• Anti-inflammatory properties
• Benefits Diabetes 2 patients
• Improves Cognition
• Lowers cholesterol
• Can help cut the risk of heart disease
• Regulates glucose levels

The last point “regulates glucose levels” is particularly important with superfood weight-loss as one of the very beneficial properties of cinnamon is that it will help you cut your unhealthy sugar cravings.

A teaspoon of ground cinnamon in your oatmeal or porridge at the start of the day would be a great option to sustain you to lunch and help curve your sugary cravings.

And if you are used to adding sugar to your breakfast you could make a very beneficial swap and change to Stevia as a sweetener.

Using stevia regularly may well be one of the most beneficial things you ever do for your health. Not for the nutrition value that stevia gives you, but for what it helps you substitute in your diet, sugar.

3 common superfoods that help you lose weight are:

Superfoods are now widely available in shops and Supermarkets here are a few everyday favorites that you can literally find everywhere that are super healthy and good for you and when eaten as part of a balanced diet will help you lose weight if that id your goal.

Apples

You know the saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, well there are no surprises there as the common everyday apple is full of antioxidants and phytonutrients that fight free radicals.

Apples help improve neurological health, help prevent dementia, lower your risk of stroke and help lower your levels of bad cholesterol.

 

All in all, apples are pretty damn good for you 😉

Bananas

I have to confess, I don’t like bananas… that’s bananas right 😉 but bananas are one of the most widely consumed fruits in the world for good reason.

Eating bananas can help lower your blood pressure and reduce the risks of cancer and asthma and are rich in potassium and fiber.

Even though I don’t actually like bananas I still get them into my diet and I will show you how I do this towards the end of this article so be sure to keep reading to the end.

Broccoli

When we had our first child we would take her to the supermarket to get our weekly groceries.

She would sit in the trolley as went around the store and when we got to the fruit and veg section we would grab some broccoli and pull one of the florets or little trees as she called them and she would happily munch here little tree all around the store.

Eating broccoli raw passes on 100% of the nutrient benefits. The most common way of cooking broccoli is simply to boil it but that really is not the best cooking method to maintain its superfood status.

Boiling your broccoli can leach up to 90% of the valuable nutrients. Steaming, roasting, stir-frying broccoli, and even microwaving tends to preserve the nutrients.

Brocolli is rich in Vitamins K and C and is also a great source of fiber in your diet. It is also high in potassium and folic acid.

My favorite method for cooking brocolli is roasting

Try this at home next time brocolli is on your menu:

Place some broccoli florets on a non stick backing tray. Drizzle with olive oil, garlic, rock salt (Pink Himilayan if you have it), and pepper. Roast for about 20 mins, until the edges are crispy and the stems are tender and serve warm.Click To Tweet

Pink himilayan salt is a healthier version of salt. It is widely available in food stores and supermarkets.

But if you are having trouble finding it or ust don’t have time to look for it then you can also get it from Amazon

Everyday white salt is bleached and stripped of it’s nutrients. Pink himilayan salt on the otherhand provides a whopping 84 trace minerals

Our friends over at Emowered Susatenancea have a full list of the benefits of pink himilayan salt.

You deffinitely should make the change from table salt

 

 Best superfoods for men

Superfoods can not only help you lose weight or maintain your weight they also have anti-aging properties and some can help boost testosterone.

Testosterone is most often associated with sex drive and plays a vital role in sperm production.

But it also affects bone and muscle mass, the way men store fat in the body, and even red blood cell production.

A man’s testosterone levels can also affect his mood.

Testosterone levels are at their peak at around 30 for men and start to gradually lower after this age.

Everything just starts to slow down and it becomes easier to gain weight.

Boosting your testosterone levels helps slow the aging process.

Testosterone is responsible for:

• sex drive
• bone mass
• fat distribution
• muscle size and strength
• red blood cell production

How do you boost testosterone naturally?

If you are a man at a certain age and your gaining weight, your suffering from a decreased libido, you are losing some muscle mass and strength then the first thing to say is that you are not ill you’re just getting older.

Of course, if you are worried by any symptoms that you are suffering then you should have a chat with a registered medical practitioner and discuss your symptoms.

But the chances are that all is well and that you are just getting older.

This is exactly why you tend to see lots of 40 something men jogging, they have to do something to counter the weight gain they often encounter.

Exercise is one of the most effective ways to prevent many lifestyle-related diseases and maintain a good healthy weight. It can also boost your testosterone.

But jogging and cardio exercise, in general, are not the best types of exercise to boost your testosterone levels. You will lose weight and if skinny is what you want then jogging is the way to go

Weight training and high-intensity interval training

lifting weights and high intensity, on the other hand, are the most effective forms of exercise that boost testosterone naturally.

They help you lose the weight fast, swapping it for lean muscle.

You probably won’t lose a lot of weight unless you are obese, you will just be swapping fat for muscle and we are not talking about becoming a bodybuilder we are talking about gaining a more athletic aesthetic.

And you don’t even need weights to achieve a more athletic look. Body weight training and resistance training are equally as good for building lean muscle as lifting weights.

Just about every muscle group can be worked hard with just a set of resistance bands.

You can pick up a good set of resistance bands for as little as £19.99 on Amazon. I have linked you a good set below.

Protone resistance bands set – 5 tube set with handles, door anchor, ankle straps and carry bag for home fitness/travel fitness/strength

Foods that increase testosterone naturally

A balanced healthy diet is also essential to boost testosterone naturally and it works hand in hand with any exercise program you follow.

Food is basically is just fuel for your body, the better the fuel the better your performance. We are after all what we eat.

Testosterone can be found in red meats, oily fish such as tuna, cheese, eggs, olive and coconut oils, avocado and peanut butter amongst others.

Superfoods such as pomegranates, bananas, avocados, spinach are all excellent at helping to boost testosterone naturally

20 foods that increase testosterone naturally

1. Bananas
2. Spinach
3. Cabbage
4. Broccoli
5. Pineapples
6. Grapes
7. Apples
8. Papayas
9. Blueberries
10. Avocados
11. Pomegranates
12. Kiwi Fruits
13. Oranges
14. Eggs
15. Fish
16. Oysters
17. Nuts
18. Seeds
19. Cauliflower
20. Ginger

What foods are bad for testosterone?

Hydrogenated vegetable oils

These oils can be found in cakes, cookies, biscuits, crackers, doughnuts, candies, fried fast foods.

Soy products

Soya is hidden in a lot of the foods that we eat.

Soy contains compounds called isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) which act as phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) in the human body.

They’re structurally similar to the principal female hormone, estrogen, and are believed to have similar effects in the body.

As high estrogen level in men are almost always a direct route to low testosterone levels, eating soy, which contains estrogenic compounds, is often blamed for lowering testosterone.

Soy also causes a boost in levels of the stress hormone cortisol which is also bad for testosterone

You can read more on this subject here

Does consuming soy affect a man’s testosterone levels?

Alcohol

Ok so not really a food but I’m sure your interested and probably not surprised to find out that alcohol it is bad for your testosterone levels.

Not only does drinking alcohol have negative effects on the brain, but it also helps you gain belly fat around the waist.

Drinking too much alcohol increases the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, which will increase your fat percentage.

Foods with hormones and antibiotics

Animal foods, including meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and other dairy items typically contain hormones and antibiotics that are given to the animals to increase yield and fight diseases.

When you consume these foods these hormones and antibiotic substances are also ingested into our bodies and can increase estrogen levels which as we know causes a decline in testosterone. So if you are a meat eater it is good to go organic if you can afford the price tag.

The lesson to learn here is that most foods manufactured and mass produced are just not as good for you as cooking with fresh produce in your own kitchen.

Best superfoods for women

Kale and Broccoli

These leafy greens are a low-calorie source of phytoestrogens, which are very good for hormonal balance and full of nutrients including iron

Nuts

Nuts are filling and satisfying. They can be eaten alone as an energy-boosting, blood sugar-stabilizing snack, as a condiment on salads, grains, or in yoghurt or whole-grain cereals such as granola and oatmeal.

They are nutrient-dense, loaded with protein, good quality fats, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, selenium, folate, vitamin E, and vitamin A. 

Almonds may actually help you lose weight, including belly fat. 

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is super rich in antioxidants that help keep your blood vessels, cells, and nerves in prime condition by protecting against damage from free radicals. 

It is also full of magnesium, manganese, copper, zinc, and phosphorus minerals important for bone strength.

And you thought you had to give up chocolate 😉

Eating dark chocolate helps fight your cravings for sweet sweats and chocolates, the ones that really are no good for you.

Fish

Fatty oily fish is a quality protein that you can eat and full of omega 3 essential fatty.

These fatty acids protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease and are important in pregnancy.

How to include superfoods in your diet that you don’t like

At the start of this article, I revealed that I don’t actually like bananas and yet I am able to still include them in my diet. In fact, I don’t actually like broccoli either yet it is still included in my healthy eating habits.

Here is how I do it

It is easy I just make very simple smoothie drinks. You can very easily hide bananas in amongst other healthy fruit options, like apples, oranges, blueberries etc.

Likewise with broccoli. You can make very healthy green drinks including broccoli in just a couple of minutes.

Something to try

Here is a delicious healthy green smoothie incorporating bananas that you can make at home

Here is what you need:

• 1 banana, peeled
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach

As well as the superfood ingredients you will also need a good blender.

I use a NutriBullet at home but there are other blenders that do as equally a good job

Simply combine the ingredients into your NutriBullet cup and blend to the consistency you want and your ready to drink.

It really is that simple.

What are Superfoods? Takeaways

As you now know superfoods are fresh healthy foods that give the most bang for your buck.

They are full of vitamins, minerals and give the body exactly what it needs. 

I added “Best superfoods for men” and “Best superfoods for women” sections in this article because it is important to just establish really that some superfoods that are more beneficial to one sex than the other.

Soy is the main example where it can lower testosterone

The bottom line is that if you are eating any superfoods you are doing yourself more good than not, they are all pretty much all hugely beneficial to either sex.

Keep it fresh and varied and your be eating yourself to wellness in 2018.

That’s all for now.

Do you eat superfoods?

Do you look after yourself and live a healthy lifestyle?

Let me know in the comments section below.

Regards Dexter

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So you have heard of superfoods, right? But the question is What are superfoods? Do you really know? And what are the benefits of eating superfoods?

Author

Dexter Roona

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Infobunny

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