Superfoods Add Super Benefits
“Superfoods help promote health by increasing your immune function and decreasing your chance of disease prevention or progression,” says Beth Czerwony, RD. Each superfood has different nutritional properties, but overall, they’re associated with:
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- Heart health.
- A strong immune system.
- Cancer prevention.
- Reduced inflammation.
- Lower cholesterol.
What makes a food a superfood?
Superfoods are, in a sense, exactly what they sound like: a category of foods that are super-healthy. But not every healthy food is a superfood.“Superfoods are those that offer exceptional health benefits, beyond what you’d expect based on just their nutritional profile,” Czerwony explains.
In particular, superfoods are rich in:
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- Antioxidants: These natural compounds protect your cells from damage and may lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and other diseases.
- Minerals: These essential nutrients (think calcium, potassium, iron and the like) help your body perform at its highest level.
- Vitamins: It’s better to get these organic compounds from natural foods — like superfoods — than from supplements.
Superfoods may also be high in:
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- Fiber: Fiber helps decrease cholesterol, prevent heart disease and control glucose in Type 2 diabetes.
- Flavonoids: Found in plants, flavonoids (once called vitamin P) have anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties.
- Healthy fats: Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, a.k.a. “good fats,” help lower your cholesterol and prevent heart disease and stroke.