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Volume III
August 31, 2012


Weekly Home / Cook'n & Eat'n

The Top 10 Healthiest Foods (and Others)

By Sydney Hill

I checked multiple sources to get the most accurate list that I could of the top 10 healthiest foods. I'll include all that I saw, but the top 10 I used were the ones that were listed most often. There are billions of healthy foods out there, so just because it is not listed below does not mean it's an unworthy candidate. Once again, these are just what were noted most often. How could we narrow down our earth's plethora of foods to just 10 healthy ones?

The order in which each food is listed is irrelevant to its health level.

1. Sweet potatoes

Packed with Vitamin C, potassium, fiber, carotenoids
Try making mashed potatoes with your sweet potatoes. It's extremely tasty and adds a nice splash of color to the plate. According to one website, sweet potatoes were the healthiest vegetable when you looked at vitamin A, C, iron, calcium, protein, and complex carbohydrates.

2. Broccoli

Brimming with Vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acic, carotenoids, fiber, folate, potassium, calcium
Help the kids enjoy eating their broccoli by letting them pretend their dinosaurs chomping down all trees in their path. That might be more convincing than explaining the nutrient content, although you should give it a try. Broccoli has anti-cancer ingredients. DO NOT overcook, as this destroys much of its nutritional content. Light steaming is okay.

3. Salmon

Saturated with Omega-3 fats, vitamin A, D
I'm not personally a fish fan, but to those of you who are, that's good news for the heart! Fish oil may also do lots more for the health; including helping arthritis, vision loss, and cancer







4. Legumes/Beans

Leaking with protein, fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc
It's easy to add these into your diet. Top them on your salad, nachos, rice, quesadilla, you name it.

5. Leafy greens

Lots of vitamin A, C, K, folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, lutein, fiber
Spinach was listed as a definite good one. Next time you have a salad, choose a dark green lettuce or spinach rather than iceberg. There's not a whole ton of difference when it comes to taste and texture, but there's a whole ton of difference when we talk nutrition.

6. Apples

Abundance of antioxidants, fiber
Antioxidants may improve how long you live. Sounds good to me.




7. Almonds

Absolutely full of iron, calcium, vitamin E, fiber (has some of the most in the tree nut family), riboflavin, magnesium
Grab a handful in the morning to start your day off with a healthy source of protein. Almonds may also help cholesterol. Also a good food storage idea as you can make your own milk with it.

8. Blueberries

Bubbling over with phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber
There were many studies conducted where blueberries came into play. They might help cognitivity, obesity, high blood pressure, intestinal disease, artery hardening, and strong bones. I don't know how absolutely certain these are, but it doesn't hurt to eat blueberries, so why not hope they help out? They can get pretty expensive, but they freeze well so buy them on sale.

9. Oatmeal

Outstanding amounts of complex carbohydrates, fiber, folate, potassium, B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids
While oatmeal is healthy for the heart, be careful. The instant oatmeal packets are loaded with sugar (I discovered this one sad day). I'm sure many of you know this, but still, it's just a reminder.

10. Wheat germ

Whopping amounts of vitamin E, folic acid, thiamin, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, fatty acids, fiber
How do you eat wheat germ? You can add it to smoothies, yogurt, oatmeal, and you can even use it in baking. You can use wheat germ instead of flour in some quick bread recipes (1/2 cup or less) or you can sprinkle it on top.

Here are more foods that were listed as the top 10 healthiest:
Avocados
Watermelon
Garlic
Veggie juice
Dark chocolate (crazy, but awesome, right?)
Lemons
Mangoes
Crispbreads
Butternut squash

Remember all things in moderation! Don't confine yourself to eating these foods only. Just try implementing them into your diet as much as possible. Eat a green-leaf salad topped with kidney beans and almonds, with sweet mashed potatoes on the side. Have an apple a day. Eat oatmeal sprinkled with wheat germ and blueberries in the morning. Have fun with it!

References:
https://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245259.php
https://abclocal.go.com/kabc/gallery?section=news/health&id=8358752&photo=10
https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/health-foods/MY01108&slide=12
https://www.wikihow.com/Eat-Wheat-Germ





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