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Choosing nutritious foods helps your health in two ways. First, a diet packed with fiber-rich
fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats helps you feel fuller on fewer calories,
which is key in keeping your weight in check. Plus, antioxidants and other beneficial compounds
in foods offer unique health boons. Keep your body looking its best-inside and out-with
these five foods.
Green Beans
Filling up on green beans, and other
high-fiber foods, can help you prevent
weight gain or even promote weight losswithout
dieting-suggests new research in
The Journal of Nutrition. Researchers
found that women who increased their
fiber intake generally lost weight while
women who decreased the fiber in their
diets gained. The scientists boiled the
findings into a single weight-loss formula:
boosting fiber by 8 grams for every
1,000 calories consumed resulted in losing
about 4 1/2 pounds over the course
of the study. Try it for yourself. If you’re
consuming 2,000 calories per day, aim to
increase your fiber by 16 grams.
Raspberries, chickpeas and strawberries
can also help you get your fill.
2. Salmon
The omega-3 fatty acids in oily fishsuch
as salmon and tuna-can boost your
skin’s defenses against UV damage. In a
study published earlier this year in the
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
researchers found that those who ate a
little more than 5 ounces of omega-3-rich
fish each week decreased the development
of precancerous skin lesions by
almost 30 percent. Scientists think the
omega-3s act as a shield, protecting cell
walls from free-radical damage.
3. Bluberries
Eating just under a cup of mixed
berries (such as red raspberries, strawberries,
blueberries) daily for 8 weeks
was associated with increased levels of
"good" HDL cholesterol and lowered
blood pressure-two positives when it
comes to heart health-according to a
recent study in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition. The diverse range of
polyphones-health-promoting plant compounds
that include anthocyanins and
ellagic acid-provided by the mix of
berries is likely responsible for the
observed benefits.
4. Watermelon
Research shows that eating foods
that are full of water, such as watermelon,
helps keep you satisfied on fewer
calories. (Interestingly enough, drinking
water alongside foods doesn’t have the
safe effect.) At 92 percent water, watermelon
is a good source of vitamin. When
it’s the red variety (some are orange or
yellow), it also has lycopene, an antioxidant
that may help protect against heart
disease and some types of cancer. Other
foods that are made mostly of water
include cucumbers (95 percent), salad
greens (90 percent) and strawberries (91
percent).
5. Tomatoes
Eating more vitamin-C rich foods,
such as oranges, tomatoes, strawberries
and broccoli, may be a secret to smoother
skin. Research in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition links consuming plenty of
vitamin C-rich foods with youthful skin.
The findings suggest that a higher intake
of vitamin C from foods is associated with
a lower risk of having wrinkled skin and
age-related skin dryness in middle-age
women. Vitamin C’s youthful effects on
skin may be due to its antioxidant properties,
which help protect against ultraviolet
rays, and its role in keeping skin firm via
collagen synthesis, say the researchers.