Presenting… the Super Foods!

Health and wellness are two of the major concerns of a lot of people nowadays. With more and more illnesses coming to life, there is no denying that we all need a change in lifestyle -- especially in the food we eat -- to achieve our goals. To help elevate your mood while keeping your spirit as well as your body nurtured, there are super foods to count on. Super foods are so amazing in a sense that they are of natural ingredients, providing a complete diet minus the guilt.

What are Super Foods?

Super foods are naturally grown foods that are designed to lift the spirit and free the body with the common toxins that can be obtained from the rich kind – heavily fried, high fat and refined sugar contents. If you are used to taking the fast food route (McDonald’s, anyone?), making the switch from your regular food intake to the super foods will make a lot of difference on how you feel. Super foods lift the spirit amazingly. They elevate the mood by making you feel light and guiltless. Not only that. By taking the super foods route, you will also benefit with an improved brain function.

Having said all of those, super foods are basically, naturally grown foods that do not require any process – frying, stewing, boiling, etc. – to be suitable for eating. Super foods contain high levels of antioxidants and bioactive nutrients especially when eaten as close to their natural state as possible. They have disease-fighting properties and can also enhance brain activities. If you don’t thing super foods are amazing, we do not know what is.

The Super Foods

Super foods are mostly composed of fruits and veggies, which do not have to be subjected to any cooking procedure to be edible. They contain high levels of the nutrients that our body needs to achieve vitality. Below are some super foods that you can easily obtain from the supermarket and beyond:

* Peach - The peach is an edible tree fruit that is classified with the almond. It is one of the most popular fruits in Asian countries not just for its health benefits but for its connection with Asian tradition as well. In China, the peach symbolizes long life both literally and figuratively. And why not? Peaches offer a horde of health benefits. They help keep the skin supple and clear. They also have antioxidants that can free your mind with any worries of cancer. Peaches also have deworming properties that targets the intestinal tract.

Peaches also have the power to elevate the mood and relieve anxiety with its small amount of a natural sedative. There is indeed, a basis for the common practice of serving boiled peaches to hyperactive children before bedtime. Peaches have calming properties that help reduce anxiety and make sleep a lot easier for them.

* Acacia Berry – As of late, the acacia berry is getting some serious attention, especially in the weight loss arena. It is being criticized for its supposed weight loss properties. It has been touted as a potent dietary supplement that can help people dismiss the fat away. Well, let’s set the record straight. The acacia berry does contain advantages for those who seek to trim down their body weight. In fact, it contains elements that can help even out blood glucose levels, which in turn would make your cravings for food less. If you combine that with a regular exercise routine, there is no reason for you not to lose the excessive weight. However, the acacia berry does not make magic overnight.

Still, there is a huge advantage of taking the acacia berry for its super food content. It is found to be a potent antioxidant that will help drive away toxins in your body. It is the free radicals that make us feel heavy. They are also the sources of some health conditions you would not dare to have. Knowing that the acacia berry can help eliminate the free radicals is enough not to doubt its super food capacity.

* Blueberry – This small, supple, indigo-colored berries originating from a shrub tree is a certified super food. The blueberry has every element that is required to be definitely counted as a super food. For one, it has a very strong antioxidant property. It is also rich with nutrients that are easily absorbed by the body. All in all, the blueberry is found to provide numerous health benefits. It enhances more than moods but a person’s wellness and vitality. The brain function enhancers of blueberry are currently being tested for its ability to combat Alzheimer’s disease. Not only that, blueberry is also a potent cancer-fighting fruit. Blueberries are surely nature’s most amazing gifts for that youthful glow and that powerful mind and body.

* Almond – If you are raring for a snack, you need not to pick your guilty pleasure and suffer from its heavy burden on your emotional health as well as your total wellbeing. You can always have almonds as the healthy alternative. Almonds are great snacks and are great for your health, too. They are so amazing because they contain zinc as well as vitamin B12, both of which are known fighters of bad mood.

But more than its mood enhancing properties, almond is being touted as super food for its known benefits in your heart’s health. Almonds can fight heart disease with its monounsaturated fats that are provided in high amounts, making it a snack you can munch any time of the day. Almonds also have high levels of iron. In that sense, it can help combat stress brought about by low levels of iron in your blood or anemia.

*Raw Cocoa – Before you dip your teeth on that creamy, processed chocolate bar, think about the benefits you can get if you drop the manufacturing process and just take chocolate for what it is. Raw cocoa may not be as tasty but it is way healthier than processed chocolates. Raw cocoa contains high amounts of magnesium, which is helpful in relieving stress and irritation while enhancing the brain function. Regular intake of raw cocoa helps supply our common deficiency of magnesium. With no sugar and fat contents, raw cocoa also makes munching on chocolates a healthy practice.

* Maca – There has been a recent clamor for the Maca root. And it is understandable why. Because Maca, in its most natural form, is a potent super food that could help elevate your mood, enhance your brain function, and improve your overall health. Maca root powder can either be made into a tea or can be sprinkled on your regular food to obtain its benefits. It is enriched with high levels of iron, magnesium, potassium, iodine, and calcium. Some studies show that Maca root powder has the power to treat depression that is usually controlled by medications. With all those benefits given, the difficulty of finding the unprocessed form of Maca root is definitely worth it.

Super foods are becoming more and more in demand in the market these days. Since studies have been conducted to reiterate their known benefits, people learned to seek help from servings of super foods to equalize the unhealthy way of life we are all guilty of having. Embracing a super food diet is an investment not just on your longevity but on your overall happiness as well. Super foods can certainly deliver a better quality of life with their disease-fighting, brain function-enhancing, and mood elevating properties.