10 More Essential Foods That Can Increase Your Health

Cabbage

Cabbage and other cruciferous vegetables are considered protective foods. They contain good sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and still can help your body in other ways. They are also enjoyed in many recipes.

• People who eat cabbage often have a lower risk of attaining cancer, especially of the stomach, colon, lung, and skin. Having high levels of antioxidants in the body can lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cataracts.
• Raw cabbage juice is eaten as an ulcer remedy. It is helpful, but less efficient.
• Sauerkraut, or fermented cabbage, is used to improved digestion and gut health
• Folic acid in cabbage lowers the risk of having a baby with spina bifida
• If you even eat one serving a week, either raw or cooked, or as a fermented cabbage, you have a lower risk of colon cancer. However, it is recommended to eat 2-3 servings a week for optimal benefits.
• Cabbage reduces iodine absorption, so people who eat cabbage 2-3 times a week should also eat iodine rich foods, especially if iodine is scarce in the area they live in

Chili Pepper

Chili peppers come in many varieties of flavors and degrees of spiciness. They do not need to dominate other foods in taste, but they can be used delicately, to deepen flavor. Chili pepper lovers often add a little more pepper in their meals for a higher degree of spiciness.

• Strokes and heart disease are usually caused by the formation of blood clots in the blood vessels. Chili peppers stimulate circulation and help prevent blood clots.
• Eating hot chilies causes sweating, make the eyes water, and the nose run. The warm, stimulant action increases mucus flow and helps clear congestion in the airways, which reduces and eases coughs and colds.
• Chilies increase gastric acid, which helps make sure that the body has enough acid to kill bacteria in foods, and enable efficient digestion
• Chilies can have a numbing effect on pain
• Eating less than 1 teaspoon (3g) of chili sauce with a meal raises the rate of calories used by an average of 25% for some hours
• Hotter chili peppers contain more capsaicin, the source of their spiciness and their stimulant properties, so less can be eaten if the pepper is spicier. The spiciness of the chili pepper is highest in the seeds.
• About 2 teaspoons of fresh jalapeno a day is enough to help the circulation in the body and clean the airways of the respiratory system. If eaten regularly, any amount can help with health benefits.
• Eating large amounts of chili peppers may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Be careful when handling fresh chili peppers; do not touch your eyes or any cuts.

Garlic

Garlic is considered one of the best-known healing foods, as the Greeks and the Egyptians praise the food, and it is now supported by modern research. Garlic aids circulation, is resistance to infection, and affect many aspects of your body’s health.

• Garlic can control the range of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, such as flu, cold sores, colds, yeast infections, and gastroenteritis
• Eating 1-2 fresh garlic cloves a day can reduce the level of blood cholesterol by 10%
• Eating moderate amounts of garlic can lower high blood pressure
• Garlic reduces blood clotting, which gives a better flow of blood in the bloodstream
• Garlic reduces blood sugar levels, which can help diabetics
• They can reduce the risk of stomach cancer
• Eating 1-2 fresh garlic cloves a day for several weeks can give you optimum health benefits with the prevention of infection. Cooking garlic reduces the health value. Crushing garlic causes beneficial sulfur compounds to form, so it is best to eat the garlic as soon as possible after crushing or chopping.

Ginger

Fresh ginger is a pungent spice mostly used in Asian cuisine. The “stem” is a more exact term than “root” because the part of the tropical plant we eat is the underground stem. Ginger still has its healing properties when dried, but fresh ginger is finer for use in cooking.

• Ginger can prevent nausea, but cannot stop the existence of nausea
• It stimulates bile and helps relax colic and quell flatulence, or upset stomach
• It is more effective in reducing blood clots than garlic and onion
• Ginger has a stimulant effect on circulation, which aids the body in dislodging phlegm and congestion
• It helps rheumatic pain, stiffness and swelling because ginger blocks some inflammatory substances
• To relieve motion sickness, eat about ½ teaspoon (1g) of dried ginger. For treatment of rheumatism, eat about 1¾oz (50g) of cooked or 2½ teaspoons (5g) raw fresh ginger a day for at least 3 months.
• Excess ginger can cause itchiness in and around the bladder openings. If this happens, eat less.

Tea

Tea is often criticized for being a stimulant, but since it is a mild one, it is proved to have health benefits. Green, oolong, and black tea are made from the same leaves of the same plant. The process of making teas darker reduces the health value, but does not remove it.

• Antioxidants in tea can delay cancer-causing substances, such as nitrosamines in smoked foods and residues of nitrate fertilizers. Drinking green tea can reduce the risk of attaining stomach cancer.
• Drinking tea reduces blood clots, cholesterol levels, and fat levels in the body. It also reduces raised blood pressure.
• People who drink more tea will have fewer heart attacks
• In areas with low fluoride provided, drinking 2-3 cups of tea can reduce tooth decay
• Tea is an antiviral against flu
• Tea made from 1½-2½ teaspoons (3-5g) of leaves daily is considered enough for protective health benefits
• Drinking too much tea, however, mottles the teeth and excess caffeine can cause insomnia. Drink scalding tea encourages cancer of the esophagus, and any drunken with meals can reduce iron absorption.

Oats

They are one of the most valuable staple foods. Unlike most grains, there is no refined version of oats, so their nutritional values are preserved. Compared to other grains, oats have more linoleic acid, vitamin B, vitamin E, protein, and soluble fiber.

• With a low-fat diet, eating 1¼-1½oz (35-45g) oatmeal a day for 8 weeks may lower 3% total cholesterol, and lower 14% in “bad” LDL-type cholesterol in the body
• Oats have a reputation in helping the nervous system. Symptoms of heavy smokers were eased more with oats than with placebo, a substance with no medication that eases symptoms.
• Soluble fiber in oats slows down digestion and the absorption of carbohydrate into the blood stream. This causes smaller rises and falls of blood sugar, helping some diabetics.
• 92% of people with celiac disease, who must avoid all gluten, can safely eat oats, suggesting that celiacs can include oats in their diet
• Fiber in oats helps ease constipation
• For soothing purposes, eat ½oz (15g) a day, raw or cooked. Eat 1¾oz (50g) oatmeal or rolled oats to avoid or reduce raised cholesterol and have steady blood sugar levels.
• You should not eat more than the amount suggested because oat bran is high in phytic acid, which reduces absorption of calcium, iron, and zinc from other foods

Sunflower

Sunflower seeds have more vitamin E than any other common food. Vitamin E lowers the risk of heart disease, some cancers, and cataracts. They are also a primary source of the fatty acid, linoleic acid, which is important to many health functions.

• Having adequate amounts of vitamin E can reduce the risk of a heart attack
• Linoleic acid in sunflower seeds decreases the levels of both total and the “bad” LDL-type cholesterol, which helps prevent the narrowing of the arteries. The acid also discourages blood clots.
• Sunflower contains antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E, which lowers the risks of cancer and cataracts as you get older
• Heavy exercise increases the concentration of free radicals in the body, which can lead to muscle damage, but eating vitamin E prevents the muscle damage
• Unrefined sunflower oil has more flavor than refined oil and loses no nutrients in processing
• Eating 1oz (28g) or about 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds a day will give you just about a double more than most people’s intake of vitamin E. Eating seeds or oils that are rancid, either because of overheating or poor storage, can increase the risk of free radicals, which can damage your muscles.

Walnut

Rich and aromatic, walnuts are a useful source of alphalinoleic acid and linoleic, the two fatty acids our bodies make. Increasing the ratio of polyunsaturated fats to saturated fats has significant health benefits.

• Linoleic acid reduces blood cholesterol. Alphalinoleic, omega-3 fatty acid, and linoleic acid discourage blood clots.
• The omega-3 fatty acids also reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis and itchy, scaly skin conditions
• People who eat walnuts had lower risks of attaining coronary heart disease. Walnuts also lower blood pressure and blood fats.
• Walnuts raise the “good” HDL-type cholesterol and lower the “bad” LDL-type cholesterol
• Five walnuts, or ten halves, (about 1oz/28g) give you the total linoleic acid needs for a day. Do not eat too much; it can be fattening and increases your need for vitamin E. Never eat walnuts that taste bitter; this means that oxidation has started with harmful effects.

Yogurt

One of the most resourceful foods, the yogurt’s reputation as an aid in good health is reinforced by research. All yogurts have high value, but yogurt that contains “live” bacteria has more health value, especially Lactobacillus acidophilus.

• Eating live yogurt made with live Lactobacillus acidophilus reduces the vulnerability from gastroenteritis and yeast infections. Some forms of Lb. acidophilus counteract common bacteria that cause food poisoning, urinary tract infections, and some peptic ulcers.
• Eating yogurt with live Lb. acidophilus can speed recovery from diarrhea faster than antibiotics.
• Having low levels of healthy microflora in the intestines, which are a side effect of antibiotics, affect the body’s ability to fight infections and diarrhea. Eating live yogurt helps restore gut microflora.
• Eating live yogurt with live Lb. acidophilusstimulates the immune defenses in the body that fight harmful bacteria and the output of gamma interferon, a substance with antiviral action.
• Eating a ½-cup (140-ml) serving of yogurt provides the daily calcium needs and a good amount of B vitamins. This is helpful to many people, especially to those who cannot drink milk. It is better to eat yogurt once a day rather than eating occasionally. Yogurt works best if it is eaten the same day as infections begins.

Oily Fish

Eating oily fish regularly, whether salmon or as a sardine, is one of the best-proven ways to eat for health. The omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish discourage heart disease, blood clots, and provide anti-inflammatory action. The vitamin D in oily fish is valuable to many people, and there are plenty of convenient and economic ways to include more oily fish to your diet.

• Eating canned mackerel 3 times a week for 2 weeks reduces blood pressure, fat levels, and cholesterol levels
• Men who eat oily or white fish at least twice a day are less likely to die from heart disease. They also had a better chance of survival during repeated heart attacks, if any.
• Eating 4-6 meals with oily fish a week, about 1lb 9oz (700g), is suggested to sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis because they had less tender joints and less need for pain relief. Any benefits may take several weeks to show.
• Ulcerative colitis, a condition in which the intestines are inflamed, can be very serious to many people, but treatments improved with the consumption of oily fish far better than with other conventional treatments
• People with psoriasis and dermatitis have reported that fish oils relieve itchiness, scale, and general severity. Eating a small amount of oily fish daily helped treat severe cases of dermatitis; sufferers who were given olive oil were not treated any better. Other treatments, such as ultraviolet light for psoriasis, were more effective when combined with eating fish oils.
• The omega-3 fatty acids raise cancer resistance
• It is recommended to eat 2 meals with oily fish a week. For women, the ideal weekly amount is 4½-13oz (120-380g), and for men it is 5¼-17oz (150-480g). It is better to eat small amounts daily than a large amount every day, because extra benefits are unlikely if more than 1lb 9oz (700g) a week is eaten.