There are 6 essential categories of superfoods. Each of them can make a powerful impact on your health and well-being.
Most people, however, only use one or two.
However, when you combine all 6 of these categories into one stack, you unleash a synergistic power that can take your energy and vitality to a whole new level.
Dark leafy greens and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and other phytonutrients essential for basic cellular function. By using whole vegetable and whole plant sources, you increase bioavailability and get more benefit per gram than with a typical single vitamin. Also, be sure to screen for organic sources of these, because residual pesticide residues can destroy many of the beneficial effects.
Here are some of the superstars of this superfood category:
Moringa: an African tree known as the “Miracle Tree” for its many health benefits
Chlorella: a nutrient dense blue-green algae
Wheatgrass: a superfood grass packed with dozens of health-promoting compounds
As a general rule, the typical western diet is deficient in fiber. What many people don’t realize is that soluble fiber is essential for your gut health, which in turn impacts every other aspect of your health and well-being. Here are just a few of the benefits of soluble fiber
Perhaps most importantly, it feeds your gut microbiome, the trillions of beneficial bacteria living in your gut. These little bacteria improve immunity, make neurotransmitters, fight infection, and perform dozens of other essential functions for your daily life.
Take care of your microbiome by giving it soluble fiber and it will take care of you.
You can recognize soluble fiber by its gel-like quality. Here are some of the best dietary sources:
Flax Seeds: also known as linseeds, they are rich high in both fiber and omega-3 fatty acids
Chia seeds: a nutrient dense seed from central America high in fiber, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids
Acacia root: in addition to being a great source of soluble fiber, this root is also known as a potent anti-inflammatory.
Balancing your blood sugar levels is one of the secrets to optimal health and performance.
As your blood sugar spikes and dips, so does your focus, concentration, and overall energy level. This rollercoaster has negative effects on your health.
One of the major benefits of a paleo or ketogenic diet is its effect on your blood sugar levels, but you don’t need to go keto to get these benefits.
By using superfoods to regulate your blood sugar level, you balance your entire energy system, reduce free radicals, and manage weight more effectively.
Here are 3 of the top superfoods to help you regulate your blood sugar effectively:
Apples not usually considered a “superfood,” apples are a rich source of phytonutrients
Cinnamon: everyone’s favorite spice
Bitter Melon: Momordica Charantia is found throughout Asia and Africa. It is one of the most bitter and medicinal fruits in the world.
“All disease begins in the gut”
-Hippocrates, founder of Western Medicine
Gut and digestive health is one of the most exciting areas of modern health research. This is the fundamental interface between you and the external world. Digestion is where the outside becomes your insides.
Digestive enzymes are the front lines of digestion. They break down all the complex molecules into parts that your body can use. Protein, carbohydrates, fats, and fiber all require special enzymes to be digested. The more enzymes you have, the more nutrition you get from your food.
Long ago, we got many enzymes from our diet, but now, with depleted soil and nutrient deficient food, we simply don’t get the same amount of dietary enzymes we used to. This means we need find other sources to get our digestion back to optimal condition.
Here are the four most important enzymes your body needs:
Probiotics are the other half of the story. Once food passes through your stomach and into the intestines, your microbiome finishes the digestion job. It takes the broken-down food particles and turns them into important signaling molecules like neurotransmitters, peptides, and phospholipids
There are dozens of probiotic strains out there, but some of the most beneficial for overall health include:
Inflammation and free-radicals are the hidden cause of many of the most debilitating diseases of our time. They are behind everything from digestive problems like IBS, to arthritis, to brain fog, and even cancer. Accumulated antioxidants may even be the real source of aging.
These two culprits damage proteins, cell walls, connective tissue, and DNA. Whatever it damages, symptoms and disease begin to show.
This means turning down the fires of inflammation and damping the dangers of free radicals is critical to your long-term health and well-being.
Here are some of the most potent dietary sources of anti-inflammatories and antioxidants.
Turmeric: the most researched spice on the planet, with more than 6200 published scientific papers
This is perhaps one of the most disregarded categories of superfoods out there. Toxins interfere with your body’s natural processes. When they accumulate, so do symptoms. Your thinking becomes foggy, your joints begin to hurt, your whole system gets bogged down.
The liver is like your body’s garbage disposal. It grinds up and neutralizes toxins, sending them to the bowels for elimination. It keeps the garbage out of your system.
The problem is that it can only handle so much. Our daily environment is more full of toxins than ever before. From plastic residues to pesticides to air pollution to artificial preservatives, these are all building and overloading your liver. When the liver is overloaded, toxins build up and health suffers.
That’s why liver and detox support is so important. Even if you eat a healthy diet, boosting your liver function will benefit your health.
Here are some of the most important dietary sources of detox:
Pick and choose what works for you. Just be sure you have at least one superfood from each category to see maximum results in your health and performance.
In the nearly 8 years that my wife and I have lived in Colorado Springs, never have we seen the amount of road construction currently taking place. Whether it’s a main road or side street, there’s no part of town missing out on the “fun”. And it’s not just re-paving or patching potholes. Whole lanes are being ripped up with miles of digging in order to replace underground pipes of all varieties.
At first, I thought all the “weed” sales (pot is legal in Colorado) might be producing the influx of tax funds for all this construction. But a running buddy of mine made me aware of a bill that had passed in the last couple years which freed up an enormous amount of funds for these projects.
Turns out the city has a certain amount of time to spend the money. Based on the number of orange cones and “ROAD WORK AHEAD” signs, it looks as though no penny is being spared.
Millions of people are about to be disappointed –– they don’t even realize it.
Maybe you’re one of them.
Right now, around the world, people are setting new ambitious health goals and resolutions.
And yet, according to Inc Magazine, approximately 80% of New Year's resolutions fail. Most of them buried in an unmarked early grave by February.
Why is that?
How is it that despite all our best intentions and genuine desire to live healthier and be fitter, the most we can hope for is a depressing 20% success rate?
So to help you kickstart your New Year with a healthy lifestyle we are going to breakdown why most goals and resolutions fail and what to do instead.
Collagen is just about everywhere.
Not just in your body, where collagen makes up roughly 25% of your total protein content, its also around you.
It’s in health food stores, grocery stores, in big plastic tubs at discount markets.
