Ten foods you must have in your shopping cart for excellent health

Ten foods you must have in your shopping cart for excellent health, here we List out the Top ten Foods

1. Vegetables. “Green vegetables like our callaloo, our beetroot and high coloured vegetables, the ones with fibre, I generally always encourage,” she said. “Eat vegetables raw when you can. Some people might not want to have pumpkin raw, but pumpkin can be substituted for some carrots once it’s firm. String beans also do not have to be eaten cooked, you can just cut them up in a salad and it is nice and crunchy.”

2. Fruits. Choose “the things that are in season like bananas, June plums, papaya, soursop, those kind of fruits. They have a lot more body, a lot more nutrients, they have minerals, they have vitamins, and like for the banana, the potassium would be higher on the list there. You have vitamin C type fruits, you have fibre type fruits too that are enzymatic in their giving such as papaya and pineapple,” she noted.

3. Wholegrains. Whole grains have been linked to lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and other health issues. “You will encourage people to have their whole wheat bread and their whole wheat flour, because people want to have their dumplings and so on,” said the nutritionist, who pointed out that some people might have strong allergic reactions to wheat in which case they will have to find alternatives.

4. Lentils. “Lentils are a good source of iron and calcium and protein and so you can have even lentil soup. Peas and beans are very important. A lot of people are not eating sufficient peas and beans and they are eating more meat and carbohydrates than anything else and therefore they are missing out on the nutrient contents of all of the other food groups that should be had,” said Fletcher.

5. Oatmeal. Oatmeal is great and can be found at most supermarkets. “Oats is a good thing, but rolled oats, not so much the instant oats, because that is processed,” the nutritionist said. “If you are doing rice, do the brown rice,” she added, while pointing out that those who hate the taste of brown rice could purchase additional vegetables to cook with it, such as pumpkin.

6. Ground provisions. “Sweet potatoes have more fibre than Irish potatoes, so it is more highly recommended. You have plantains, you have yam, even dasheen to some extent, but sometimes we boil the dasheen out too much,” Fletcher said.

7. Lean meats. “It’s good to have the meat fresh and with high nutrient contents — your fish and your chicken and your beef,” she said. “The organ meats I don’t lean too well on in terms of recommending it — maybe liver — but I kind of just stop there. I am not convinced of the value of the other organ meats; but that’s my personal take,” the nutritionist said.

8. Nuts. Fletcher noted that eating too many nuts can make you put on weight even though they are considered healthy. Even so, peanuts and almonds are good things to snack on when you want to avoid more high caloric snacks such as cookies and potato chips.

9. Coconut oil. Although olive oil is often touted as the best possible brand for good health, Fletcher’s personal preference for cooking is the coconut oil or the canola oil which is similar to olive oil.

10. Water. If you are restricted from having tap water for medical reasons, be sure to stock up on bottled water while at the supermarket. Stocking up on the healthiest of foods at the supermarket will not get you any closer to meeting your weight loss or health goals without this vital ingredient.

Alternative Health News