Five Foods to Keep Your Youth
As we age, the desire grows for more energy, weight loss, lower cholesterol, and a youthful looking physique. One of the keys to acquiring ideal health is to use the power of healthy foods to positively affect how you look and feel. Here at Chef By Request, we have put together a list of five “super foods” that we use in our gourmet meals to help turn back the clock and keep you feeling and looking great.
1. SALMON– Living in the northwest allows us to have access to some of the freshest wild caught Salmon one can have. This pink fleshed fish is one of the few food sources that contain vitamin D, a micronutrient that most Western Washington residents are deficient in. Vitamin D comes from our exposure to the sun, and with an average of only 58 sunny days per year, it’s a little hard to come by. This vitamin is important for preventing osteoporosis and other bone related problems, along with immune function, and regulating blood sugar levels. Salmon is also rich in omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial for heart health, lowering cholesterol, and brain function.
2. SPINACH - Calorie for calorie, leafy green vegetables like spinach provide more nutrients than any other food. With its delicate texture and jade green color, this low calorie vegetable packs in 169% of your daily required value of vitamin K and 53% of vitamin A in just one ounce along with 16 other essential vitamins and minerals. Spinach helps to battle and prevent many types of cancers, especially prostate and ovarian cancers. Eating fresh or lightly sautéed spinach is a great way to gain energy, improve your eyesight, and have better digestion.
3. STRAWBERRIES - The fragrant sweet juiciness and vivid red color of strawberries can illuminate both the taste and aesthetics of any meal. Strawberries contain more vitamin C than an orange; contain powerful age-fighting antioxidants, and have a small glycemic load. Eating fresh strawberries can improve rheumatoid arthritis due to their anti-inflammatory properties from the high content of vitamin C. The powerful antioxidants that give the strawberry its vibrant, red color give this little berry the power to decrease the rates of cancer deaths. Strawberries are in their peak season from spring to mid-summer, which make them a delicious addition to any summer picnic.
4. ONIONS - The distinctively piquant aroma and taste of onions fill out the flavors of almost any type of cuisine imaginable. These pungent bulbs are a great source of the trace mineral chromium, which is great for stabilizing blood sugar levels. By keeping your blood sugar levels under control, you will have more sustained energy throughout the day, assistance in weight loss, and the ability to prevent and control diabetes. During allergy season, onions can help to reduce the symptoms through their content of the anti-inflammatory flavonoid, quercetin.
5. EGGS -Eggs provide not only delicious meals on their own but as an essential constituent for the many baked goods and sauces that would never be the same without them. The appearance and health of our hair, skin, and nails play a big role in how youthful we look. Eating eggs provides your body with the B vitamins biotin, choline and the mineral, selenium, all of which are great for keeping your hair, skin and nails vibrant. Not only are these fragile shelled protein sources an abundant source of nutrients, there are countless ways to prepare and enjoy them, making it simple to procure their nutritional benefits.
Chef By Request believes that food not only has the power to implement good health, it also has the power to indulge in the complete satisfaction of eating, which is why fresh made gourmet meals like the ones our intricate chefs compose daily are the essential infrastructure of optimal health.
“True good health is more than just the absence of disease;
it is a state where you enjoy all the energy, vitality and benefits life has to offer.”