Food and Nutrition
Ever wondered why some people eat less but are more energetic? The secret may lie in the kind of foods they consume. Foods that are high in carbohydrates with a little potion of protein but have no or low fats are often termed as energy foods.
Another good thing about energy foods is that you can’t indulge in overeating. And this helps in controlling weight problems too. If you want to try out some energy foods, here is list of top ten energy foods that are healthy, full of nutritional value and of course, energy:Oatmeal
Over the last few decades or so, oatmeal has earned a pride of place amongst the entire range of energy foods. Its popularity could be attributed to the inherent nutritional values that it can provide to benefit the general health.
Various Health benefits of oatmeal are:
• The complex carbohydrates and fibre present in oatmeal help in stabilizing blood glucose level in the body.
• It makes digestion easier.
• A bowl of oatmeal a day can greatly assist in lowering blood cholesterol.
• Owing to the present of beta-glucan in oatmeal, food prepared with large proportion of rolled oats or oat bran, together with a low-fat diet, is believed to lower risks of heart disorders.
Whole Wheat Pasta
The phrase ‘whole wheat’ implies that the whole of the grain is used and none of its rudimentary elements is discarded or lost in the process of making the flour. Considered an extremely healthy food, whole-wheat pasta offers the following health-supportive benefits:
• Irrespective of whether it is made out of flour or durum, whole wheat pasta contains considerably (almost three times) more fibre compared to standard pasta.
• Reduces risks of heart disease and diabetes.
• Helps in augmenting energy with the whole grain advantages.
• A low calorie food, whole-wheat pasta does not add to one’s weight.
Blue Berries
High in manganese and vitamin K, blue berries have high fibre content and low glycemic value. Various health advantages of blue berries are:
• Lowers blood cholesterol and other lipid levels thus helping adequately against heart conditions.
• Helps in preventing urinary tract infections.
• Antioxidants present in blueberries (particularly in the wild species) are believed to decrease the level of a protein contributing to proliferation of cancer cells thereby reducing the risk of cancer.
• Regular intake of blue berries reportedly prevents the cognitive decline typically seen in Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions of aging.
Citrus fruits
Citrus fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit and lemon are known for their great nutritional values. These fruits offer the following health benefits:
• In addition to their primary energy content carbohydrates, these fruits are also rich in other energy contents such as fructose, glucose and sucrose and citric acid.
• All citrus rich fruits are excellent sources of vitamins (especially vitamin C), minerals and dietary fibre (non-starch polysaccharides), which are necessary for body growth/development and general well being.
• These fruits help in preventing onset of cold and related problems due to high vitamin C content.
• Non-nutrient compounds contained in citrus plants can be instrumental in lowering the risks of numerous chronic diseases.
Figs
Both fresh and dried figs, another kind of high-energy food product, are good source of nutrition. The health-related advantages of fig are:
• High antioxidant content.
• Relatively higher fibre contents than any other dried or fresh fruit.
• Figs help in superior muscle functions and sound bone health.
• Being an excellent source of soluble pectin fibre, figs can assist in lowering cholesterol thereby decreasing risks of heart complications.
Apples
Apple is another vitamin C-rich magical fruit that helps in keeping a person healthy. The main advantages are:
• Lowers the risks of a few cancerous conditions (affecting colons, prostate and lungs) due to the presence of high vitamin C content and numerous antioxidant compounds that can help in preventing DNA damage.
• With absolutely no cholesterol content, the fruit can control body cholesterol to a great extent.
• Lowers risks of any kind of heart problem.
• Aids substantially in weight loss.
• Certain chemicals present in apple are believed to protect brain from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson diseases.
Yoghurt
A highly nutritious food this can keep one enormously healthy and lead to longevity. Various health-supportive features of yoghurt are:
• Yoghurt is a very rich source of protein, calcium, zinc, phosphorous, iodine, molybdenum as well as vitamins B2, B5 and B12.
• Especially beneficial for lactose-intolerant people, who cannot consume milk.
• Yoghurt can help treatment of gastrointestinal disorders.
• Prevents anti-biotic induced diarrhoea.
• Can prevent vulvovaginal candidiasis, a kind of fungal infection
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of proteins providing a high-energy value to one’s health. Various beneficial features are:
• High in essential amino acids and fats.
• Provide proteins and vitamins A and E, minerals such as phosphorous and potassium.
• High fibre contents.
• High in carbohydrates (and oils too – warranting consumption in moderate quantities).
The vast range of nutritious nuts includes almond, walnuts, cashew, coconut, pistachio and peanuts. Amongst seeds, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds are commonly available.
Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potato, a universally popular root vegetable, is a great source of copper, dietary fibre, iron, potassium, manganese as well as vitamins A (predominantly present), B6 and C. The vegetable product’s health-supportive features are:
• Acts as an anti-oxidant due to presence of exclusive root storage proteins.
• Believed to be an excellent anti-diabetic food.
• A highly nutritious food and a good source of vitamins and minerals.
Rice Bran
Rice bran, a by-product of the rice-milling process, is a highly nutritional high-energy food with the following health benefits:
• Comprises of a number of antioxidants.
• Helps in an improved lipid profile.
• High dietary fibre content
Rice bran oil, extracted from the bran before being stocked, is also considered one of the highly nutritional cooking oils.
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