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Food education - Part 3

At Vision PT, good nutrition, to us, is more important than exercise. In part 3 of this 3 part topic, we take you through the importance of nutrition.
Health & Nutrition Articles
Health & Nutrition Articles

By James Clare

Part 3 of the super foods list. The list over the 3 articles is made up of every superfood I have looked into and details their multiple health benefits. Get to know your body well and learn which of the superfoods you could benefit most from consuming, based on the research and known positive effects they can have.

Whether your here looking for fat loss foods, anti - inflammatory foods, liver cleansers, kidney cleansers, best anti oxidant sources or a combination of all these things you have all the information available here. Read through the lists over the 3 articles and test them out on yourself. Experience energy, vitality and true health.

24. KALE

Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. This vegetable is so good for you that it is often recommended to patients that are following a doctor's recommended diet when fighting kidney disease. It's packed with so many antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties as well, not to mention all of the vitamins and minerals it contains. Leafy greens are likely the #1 food you can eat to improve your health. They're filled with fibre along with crucial vitamins, minerals, and plant-based phytochemicals that may help protect you from almost every disease known.

25. LEMONGRASS

This is a herb that is used in Thailand and other parts of the world as a natural way to cleanse several organs at once. It not only helps the liver but also the kidneys, the bladder, and the entire digestive tract. Benefits of using it in your cooking, or drinking it as a tea include a better complexion, better circulation, and better digestion. It is most often used as a tea in the world of detoxing, and there are several recipes you can try until you find one that suits your tastes best.

26. LEMONS

This wonderful fruit stimulates the release of enzymes and helps convert toxins into a water-soluble form that can be easily excreted from the body. In addition, they contain high amounts of vitamin C, a vitamin needed by the body to make glutathione. Glutathione helps ensure that phase 2 liver detoxification keeps pace with phase 1, thereby reducing the likelihood of negative effects from environmental chemicals. Drinking lemon water, which is alkaline-forming, first thing in the morning will help to balance out the acidity of foods we've consumed. They also have an incredible effect in detoxing the liver. Fresh lemon juice contains more than 20 anti-cancer compounds and helps balance the body's pH levels. 

27. OLIVE OIL

Some liver cleanses out there call for olive oil mixed with fruit juice in order to trigger your liver to expunge its gallstones. But aside from that olive oil should be your go-to oil when you're trying to detox the body. That's because it has a lot of healthy properties, and makes for a better choice of fat than most of your other options. Just be sure not to cook with it at high heat. Use it as a salad dress to help things like dark leafy greens go down. Your best choice is always ice - pressed olive oil, but if you can find a very high quality cold-pressed olive oil, although not as nutritious, it will suffice provided the quality is high and not adulterated.

28. ONIONS

This ubiquitous kitchen staple is as healthy as it is tasty. It's brimming with sulfur-containing amino acids, which efficiently detox the liver. Raw onions deliver the most health benefits. Even a small amount of "overpeeling" can result in unwanted loss of flavonoids. For example, a red onion can lose about 20% of its quercetin and almost 75% of its anthocyanins if it is "overpeeled". Onions will soak upheavy metals such as lead, mercury and tin in contaminated foods. The total polyphenol content of onion is not only higher than its fellow allium vegetables, garlic and leeks, but also higher than tomatoes, carrots, and red bell pepper. Onions have been shown to inhibit the activity of macrophages, specialized white blood cells that play a key role in our body's immune defense system, and one of their defense activities involves the triggering of large-scale inflammatory responses.

29. PARSLEY

Those pretty green leaves don't just make your plate look great. Parsley boasts plenty of beta-carotene and vitamins A, C and K to protect your kidneys and bladder. Diuretic herbs such as parsley prevent problems such as kidney stones and bladder infections and keep our body's plumbing running smoothly by causing it to produce more urine. They also relieve bloating during menstruation. The flavonoids in parsley-especially luteolin-have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells.

30. PINEAPPLES

This tropical delight contains bromelain, a digestive enzyme that helps cleanse your colon and improve digestion. Excessive inflammation, excessive coagulation of the blood, and certain types of tumor growth may all be reduced by bromelain. Two molecules isolated from an extract of crushed pineapple stems have even shown promise in fighting cancer growth.

31. SEAWEED

Seaweed may be the most underrated vegetable in the Western world. Studies at McGill University in Montreal showed that seaweeds bind to radioactive waste in the body so it can be removed. Radioactive waste can find its way into the body through some medical tests or through food that has been grown where water or soil is contaminated. Seaweed also binds to heavy metals to help eliminate them from the body. Seaweed can help you lose body fat too.

32. SESAME SEEDS

Sesame seeds' phytosterols have beneficial effects which are so dramatic that they have been extracted from many foods and added to processed foods, such as "butter"-replacement spreads, which are then touted as cholesterol-lowering "foods." But why settle for an imitation "butter" when Mother Nature's nuts and seeds are a naturally rich source of phytosterols-and cardio-protective fibre, minerals and healthy fats as well? Sesame seeds contain minerals important in a number of antiinflammatory and antioxidant enzyme systems. Sesame represents one of the top 10 healthiest seeds on earth.

33. TURMERIC

Curcumin is the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, which gives it its yellow color. The rate at which your detox pathways function depends on your genes, your age, lifestyle and a good supply of nutrients involved in the detox process. Curcumin is used a lot in Ayurvedic Medicine to treat liver and digestive disorders. Turmeric has specifically been studied in relation to the positive effect that it has on the liver. As a high antioxidant spice, turmeric protects the body and prevents disease more effectively than drug based treatments and without the side effects. Curcumin is now used by athletes as a recovery supplement from high intensity training sessions.

34. WATERCRESS

Give your liver a big boost with cleansing action of watercress. If you're into making smoothies for your detoxing this is a great one to blend up and drink down. This helps to release enzymes in the liver that clean it out and help rid it of toxic buildup.

35. WHEATGRASS

Wheatgrass restores alkalinity to the blood. The juice's abundance of alkaline minerals helps reduce over-acidity in the blood and thus also Is a powerful detoxifier, and liver protector. It increases red blood-cell count and lowers blood pressure. It also cleanses the organs and gastrointestinal tract of debris. Wheatgrass stimulates the metabolism and the body's enzyme systems by enriching the blood. It also aids in reducing blood pressure by dilating the blood pathways throughout the body.

As always if you enjoy reading these articles and feel there is something here for more people to learn please do share.

My goal is to educate and inspire as many people as I can. To help empower people to take responsibility for their own health.

Are you our next success story?

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