Most people know that the well-known carrot, chicory and tomato are very healthy. But in addition to all the commonly known healthy food sources, there is a number that deserves our extra attention. In addition to being very healthy, these food sources exhibit a number of additional striking positive health properties. Examples are anti-inflammatory honey or plums, which contain enormous amounts of antioxidants. If you ensure that you regularly eat these well-known and less well-known products, your health will be further improved.
Contents
- Grapefruits
- Honey
- Celtic sea salt
- Garlic and onions
- Coconut oil
- Sky
- Nuts
- Plums
- Rooibos tea
- Spanish peppers
- Licorice tea
- Carrot or carrot
Grapefruits
This citrus fruit, which is a cross between the grapefruit and the orange, is full of antioxidants and minerals, including plenty of vitamin C and potassium . The grapefruit helps you lose weight, this is because grapefruit contains an antioxidant, naringin , which causes the body to burn fat instead of storing it. Naringine also provides the bitter taste of grapefruit. Grapefruit is also a benefit for the intestines and the liver. When eating grapefruit, be careful whether medications are being used, as naringin also ensures that medications are broken down less quickly and therefore they can have too strong an effect. It is therefore recommended not to eat grapefruit while taking medications. By the way, naringin, which also has an anti-inflammatory effect, is also contained in grapefruit. The grapefruit comes from Jamaica and is widely grown in the US and Israel.
Honey
Without the bee, humanity will die out in four years, Einstein said. The special bee is the most important link in our food chain. The bee’s product, honey, is also very special. Honey is good for almost everything, for example it has an anti-inflammatory effect . Just apply honey to a wound and the inflammation will calm down. So you can imagine what honey will do to internal wounds when eaten. Honey is also very good for regulating blood sugar levels because it contains natural sugars such as fructose and glucose. Fructose and glucose are much healthier than the refined (factory-produced) sugars that we unfortunately consume all too much. Honey also contains many antioxidants, it contains many minerals and many good healthy bacteria. Do not buy cheap honey from the supermarket with added refined sugars, but prefer to buy expensive organic honey from a reputable health food store or from the beekeeper. Real and good honey costs at least five euros per jar.
Honey should NOT be eaten by children under the age of 1. Rode? Honey contains many good bacteria, but can sometimes also contain the bacterium Clostridium botulinum or its spores, which can cause botulism (infant botulism). The intestinal system of young children and babies is not yet well developed to resist this bacteria or the spores. This warning is also clearly indicated on some jars of honey.
Celtic sea salt
Every person needs many minerals, and we are getting less and less of them as a result of depleted soils on which our food is grown. We are often warned against eating too much salt. This is correct, because this concerns the unhealthy table salt NaCl. But there is a mineral-rich salt that is healthy, it is called Celtic sea salt. You can easily mix this product with your tea or water and drink it. You will notice that this salt does not taste as sharp as table salt, but pleasantly soft and tasty. Celtic sea salt does not only consist of NaCl but also contains magnesium, zinc, calcium, selenium and manganese , the minerals causing the pleasant taste. Minerals have a purifying, detoxifying effect and also promote a regular heartbeat, are good for communication between nerve cells and communication in brain cells, and promote the absorption of nutrition in the intestines. Drinking a little Celtic sea salt regularly, or mixing it with food, will benefit your health. So stop eating regular table salt NaCl as much as possible and use the healthier Celtic sea salt.
Garlic and onions
Garlic and onions are related, namely the garlic family, and both have very healthy properties. Garlic contains many flavonoids and, if it is not heated too strongly, acts as an antibiotic and is therefore bactericidal. In addition, garlic prevents the formation of plaque in the blood vessels. It also lowers cholesterol and blood pressure.
Onions are very good against infections, increase resistance, good for hair and skin, stimulate hearing, stimulate the elasticity of blood vessels, are good for the heart and circulation, and are good for the nervous system. Onions also contain strong antioxidants, including the flavonoid quercitin .
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is the pressed extract from the white flesh of the coconut. It contains many saturated fatty acids, including lauric acid (45%) and capric acid (7%). Saturated fatty acids are known to be unhealthy, but most of the fatty acids in coconut oil are the exception to this rule. The fatty acids found in coconut oil are so-called medium-chain fatty acids, and these can be processed well by the body, because they are quickly converted into energy in the liver and not stored in the body as fat.
Capric acid has an antifungal effect, including the fungus Candida. Lauric acid is even better, it lowers cholesterol and has a virucidal and bactericidal effect, including the ability to deactivate or kill the Epstein-Barr virus and Herpes viruses. Lauric acid is converted in the body into monolaurin, this substance dissolves the outside of viruses and bacteria, causing the micro-organism to break down.
Coconut oil also has a good effect on the hair and skin. You can use this product both internally and externally. It is best to buy the unrefined and cold-pressed variant of coconut oil, in this variant vitamin E, lecithin, various polyphenols, carotenoids and minerals are best preserved.
Sky
We often forget, but fresh outside air is also a very good “source of nutrition”. It contains oxygen! Oxygen is available everywhere we can go, but the air is not of good quality everywhere, with the result that we often no longer breathe deeply. It is therefore important to regularly seek out good quality fresh air in nature and to avoid places where there is air pollution. It is important to breathe properly and to provide your body with plenty of fresh oxygen quietly and for a long time. Walking or cycling quietly is very suitable for this, but sitting still on a bench and breathing deeply is also perfect. For comparison; it is just as healthy and perhaps even healthier to walk for an hour to an hour and a half and breathe properly than to run for half an hour. While inhaling you literally have to inhale the fresh air. Taking a deep breath is an activity that provides all the deepest cells in your body with new oxygen and makes your lungs healthier.
Nuts
The nuts as we know them from the store are not actually real nuts, but belong to the fruits and seeds. Real nuts are, for example, hazelnuts or chestnuts. Nuts contain many nutrients and minerals. Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, walnuts, they are all very healthy. Brazil nuts contain a lot of selenium, iron, calcium and magnesium. Cashew nuts also contain a lot of iron and magnesium. Walnuts contain a lot of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, iron and potassium. Walnuts also strengthen the walls of the blood vessels and contain the most antioxidants of all nuts. In short, nuts should not be missing from our daily diet.
Plums
Unfortunately, this vitamin cannon is not available all year round, but you can also eat it in dried form outside the seasons. The plum is one of the healthiest fruits that exist. It is healthy for the bones and contains a lot of fiber which is healthy for digestion. Plums contain more antioxidants than any other fruit. The plum can rightly be considered the antioxidant champion . The plum also helps to obtain iron from the diet. The varieties with the bluish color are the healthiest. Naturally, plums contain sufficient minerals. Try to eat plums regularly for dessert, and skip that apricot yogurt with added sugars and aromas and flavors.
Rooibos tea
If there is one type of tea that is truly healthy, it is rooibos tea. No other type of tea provides so much inner strength and energy. The tea is made from pieces of needle-like leaves of the South African Rooibos. Rooibos tea contains a lot of iron, copper, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, manganese and vitamin C. It also contains many flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants that naturally occur in plants. Examples of this in rooibos tea are quercitin, rutin, isoquercitrin and luteolin. Flavonoids strengthen the effect of vitamin C. Rooibos tea is also very good for the stomach and intestines and digestion. By the way, rooibos tea does not contain caffeine. Preferably buy good rooibos tea from a real health food store. You will recognize this and taste it by its heavy and full flavor.
Spanish peppers
Chili is much healthier than we often think. It contains a lot of vitamin C, carotene, vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium and iron. Chilli prevents fungi and it is a good source of nutrition for the heart . It is also good for digestion and the stomach. Chili peppers have an alkalizing effect, thus combating acidification of the body. They speed up the metabolism (chili peppers stimulate fat burning) and for that reason alone they are healthy. Colds can also be combated well with chili peppers. Moreover, chili peppers induce endorphins, the same substances that are produced during intensive exercise, for example. This can create a pleasant feeling while eating chili peppers.
Licorice tea
Licorice is made from the rhizome of the plant Glycyrrhiza glabra. Tea can also be made from this plant; licorice tea. This tea has an inflammation-relieving and analgesic effect. If you have inflamed gums or canker sores, licorice tea will help to ease the pain. Licorice tea is also very suitable for calming a sensitive stomach. Licorice contains the substance glycyrrhizin , which counteracts inflammation and viruses. Licorice tea is therefore great to drink for sore throats, colds (it has an expectorant effect) and stomach ulcers.
Unfortunately, the same substance glycyrrhizin or glycyrrhizic acid can also increase blood pressure. This is because glycyrrhizin increases the amount of cortisol in the kidneys, which then causes the kidneys to retain more salt and therefore fluid and increases blood pressure. Three cups of licorice tea per day is the maximum for healthy people. But advice such as just one cup a day is also often mentioned. If you drink a maximum of one or two glasses of licorice tea every day, you will be doing pretty well. It is also recommended not to drink it every day. People with high blood pressure should make sure that they use this product very rarely or not at all.
Carrot or carrot
The carrot has many benefits. First of all, during the chewing process of a raw carrot, teeth are thoroughly cleaned and the gums are kept in good condition. In addition, carrots contain a lot of beta-carotene (8 mg per 100 grams), which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A or retinol is important for the construction of capillaries and therefore for the health of our cells. A deficiency can cause night blindness, dry and flaky skin, poor teeth, poor immunity and reduced fertility. The carrot also contains enough vitamin C and calcium, 5.9 and 33 mg per 100 grams respectively. The cradle of the carrot is present-day Iran, from this region the first carrots were brought to our country by the VOC in the 17th century. One of the most Dutch vegetables is not as Dutch as we think. The root can be cooked, but it is healthiest to eat the root raw, for example fresh or mixed in a salad. Juice can also be made from it.
