Top Healthy Foods To Keep You Fit

Healthy eating and physical fitness go together, but there are no magic foods that cause you to be one hundred percent healthy by just eating the one food. No, you need a variety of foods from each of these food groups each day. It's also important to watch the portion size so as not to overeat. Make your mealtimes pleasant and relaxed occasions and your healthy foods will work effectively with your healthy emotions to give you a healthy body.

Berries
You may like all types of berries or just one or two favorites, but you can never go wrong by adding a few fresh berries as a quick energy snack or frozen berries made into a luscious smoothie in place of calorie laden desserts. Berries are high in vitamin C across the board, but some are high in other nutrients as well. Choose ripe blueberries for vitamin C and heaps of anti-oxidants for the health of your circulatory system. Gogi berries are less well-known but are wonderfully rich in many of the nutrients your body needs to be nutritionally and physically fit.

Citrus
The foods of the citrus family are widely recognized as a valuable source of vitamin C. Choose fully ripe citrus fruits for the best nutritional value and choose citrus as near to the tree as possible. Tree ripened fruits picked at the peak of perfection and consumed with hours of picking give you the top nutritional rating. Try grapefruit for breakfast. Add a dash of fresh squeezed lime to your salad as a dressing and enjoy slices of orange with coconut in a light honey dressing for dessert.

Vegetables
The variety of vegetables is amazing. For people who are vegetarian or vegan, choosing vegetables to be part of a nutritionally sound diet is a way of life. Your vegetable group provides many of the minerals required in a good diet. For example, you may realize that potassium is necessary for healthy nutrition. Many people claim the benefits of potassium found in a single banana. But did you know, you can also get adequate potassium in your diet by eating a stalk of broccoli? Try a salad of fresh young spinach topped with pine nuts and stirred with lightly cooked penne'. Feta cheese and a light vinaigrette dressing to create the perfect light luncheon meal.

Green Tea And Antioxidants

Green tea has been used in ancient Chinese culture for thousands of years and was only drunk by the most fortunate of people. It was not until many years later that the public was allowed to consume the tea. Many teas can be found in China but it is said that green tea has the most medicinal and health purpose.

Todays biggest focus of green tea is the antioxidants that are found in the tea. By not fermenting the tea the antioxidants are kept in the tea to where as with other teas that are fermented they are lost. The traditional Japanese way of steaming the leaves stops the oxidation process. The Chinese use flat pans to dry the leaves to stop oxidation. By stopping the oxidation the tea retains its medicinal properties. Antioxidants are used by the body to keep are healthy cells from oxidizing premature and becoming unhealthy. They also help to keep free radicals from attacking and damaging healthy tissue.

Green tea has many health benefits people who drink at least two cups of tea a day are said to live longer. It helps in the prevention of different cancers, heart disease and liver problems. The Epigallocatechin gallaten antioxidant found in green tea is said to be 100 times more potent than vitamin C and 25 times stronger than vitamin E at protecting cells and DNA.