The Siberian American: Seven Foods That Will Change Your Life

Friday, January 27, 2017

Seven Foods That Will Change Your Life

Quick note: Today is the last day to sign up for our Galentine's Blogger Gift Exchange! Click here for more details.

This is a sponsored post written by the company, but I wouldn't share it if I didn't believe everything it says. One of my goals is to eat healthier in 2017, and this post is a great way for me to get started in the right direction.

You don’t have to win the lottery or do something drastic to change your life, making some tweaks in your diet is a great start, particularly if you eat way too much unhealthy food. These diet choices don’t provide much-needed nutrients for the healthy functioning of your body and it is needless to mention they affect your waistline at the same time. Introducing different foods to your diet will help you stay healthy, manage weight, and gain a different perspective regarding other aspects of your life. It all starts with a diet which is why this post features seven foods that you should eat to change your life.


Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds offer a wide array of health benefits due to the fact they are an incredible source of zinc, Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, and so on. For example, magnesium participates in multiple processes in your body and improves heart health. This way, these tiny seeds can, actually, prevent heart attack, cardiac arrest, and stroke. High level of zinc is essential for strong immunity that keeps you healthy and fends off viruses and infections. Here’s yet another reason to eat more pumpkin seeds, they promote restful sleep. They are a rich source of tryptophan, an amino acid converted into the serotonin in your body. Then, serotonin is converted to melatonin, the sleep hormone. Getting enough sleep is essential for productivity, energy levels, stress management, beauty, and so on.


Quinoa
Quinoa is widely popular among vegetarians and vegans, but even if you don’t adhere to these eating patterns you should still introduce it to your diet. The reason is simple, quinoa is incredibly healthy thanks to high fiber content, B vitamins, potassium, Vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, and antioxidants. Plus, it’s ideal for people who are gluten intolerant. Some health benefits associated with quinoa intake include blood sugar control, improvement in metabolic health, aids weight loss, and so on. Nowadays, you can have quinoa when you’re eating out, all you have to do is to find a restaurant that suits your needs and preferences.


Cherries
While most people use cherries as ingredients in desserts such as Cherry Cobbler with Cheese Cream Crust, they’re more than that. These are extremely beneficial for your health due to high nutritional content including an abundance of vitamins and antioxidants. Cherries have a low glycemic index thus posing as a perfect snack for diabetics. Moreover, they are a great source of melatonin, which helps you sleep better and it is needless to mention that cherries are well-known for their ability to help you lose weight. Other benefits you can expect with regular consumption of cherries are a lower risk of stroke, beautiful and nourished skin, alleviating muscle pain, and so on.


Kefir
Kefir is a fermented milk drink that most people have never heard of. Just like yogurt is made from live culture, kefir comprises of bacteria that your organism needs to properly digest foods and absorb nutrients. In fact, kefir is a more powerful probiotic than yogurt which is why you should definitely give it a try. Certain probiotics in kefir have antibacterial properties and offer protection from infections. Thanks to the high level of calcium, kefir protects bone health and reduces the risk of osteoporosis. If you’re lactose intolerant, you’ll be happy to know that kefir is perfectly safe for you.


Green tea
Even if you’re not a “tea person” you still shouldn’t avoid green tea, the healthiest beverage on the planet. It is abundant in antioxidants and nutrients that keep you healthy and happy. Active ingredients in this beverage improve brain function and enhance your cognitive abilities. Also, this tea is well-known for the tremendous potential to burn fat and help you lose weight. Just take a look at some weight loss products on the market and you’ll see they contain green tea. Thanks to high antioxidant content, the beverage lowers your risk of different kinds of cancer such as breast, prostate cancer. If you want to maintain your beautiful smile, green tea steps up again as it kills bacteria and improves dental health.


Sweet potatoes
It’s not uncommon for people to assume that all healthy foods are expensive and difficult to find. But, that’s far from the truth! Let’s take sweet potatoes as an example, they are high in Vitamin B6 which reduces homocysteine chemical in our body (known for inducing heart attacks and degenerative diseases). Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, and so on. Plus, they’re abundant in potassium which regulates your blood pressure. Although sweet-tasting, they don’t cause spikes in blood sugar levels.


Dark chocolate
Although everybody is a chocoholic to some degree, most people stay away from dark chocolate because it’s “not sweet enough.” What it lacks in sweetness, dark chocolate makes up with incredible health benefits it provides. In fact, its benefits go so far that scientists refer to it as a superfood. Dark chocolate is nutritious and supplies the body with fiber, antioxidants, magnesium, manganese, copper, potassium, zinc, selenium, and phosphorus. Regular intake of dark chocolate protects brain health and improves cognitive abilities, lowers blood pressure and regulates blood flow, manages cholesterol levels, protects skin against the sun, and much more.


Making some tweaks in your diet can, indeed, change your life because you feel healthier, happier, and you become more mindful. As a result, you instinctively make healthier lifestyle choices that improve the overall quality of life. This post just gave seven pointers that you can use to start making that change.

18 comments:

  1. I like this post, Olya! Sometimes healthy-based posts are filled with complicated recipes and steps. These are just simple (yummy) foods! While I don't really like quinoa or green tea, I could definitely add cherries, pumpkin sees, and sweet potatoes into my diet more often! I've never heard of kefir, but maybe I'll try it now!

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  2. These are ALL my favorite foods. I do need to use green tea more though.

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  3. I love hearing about different foods to try! For some reason I haven't been able to get on the Quinoa bandwagon but maybe I need to try it out again. Beautifully Candid

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  4. Love this post! Love cherries. I have always heard awesome things about green tea!

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  5. My parents used to drink Kefir when I was growing up!! Dark chocolate I can definitely get behind!! xo, Biana

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  6. oh man no matter how hard i try, i can't get behind dark chocolate. i'd rather not eat chocolate at all lol. i love quinoa though! yum. and sweet potatoes, so good.

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  7. I really love each one of these! It makes up the majority of my diet and has been so good for RA too. I like kefir, but can't use it much due to dairy. But it is so great in smoothies :)

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  8. I tried Kefir at an Indian restaurant once and it was really off-putting at the time...I think I was just not prepared for the yogurt in it? I think now that I know what it is (and how it's supposed to taste) I could go for it again.

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  9. I've never tried kefir before but love green tea and sweet potatoes. Love learning about different healthy foods.

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  10. Love love love quinoa and of course green tea! And like I need another reason to indulge in dark chocolate - YUM <3
    Green Fashionista

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  11. I needed this post today. I don't have a great diet and have really been feeling it lately, so thanks for the suggestions!

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    1. I know what you mean, Jess! It's a struggle for me, too.

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  12. Great choice of foods to eat for the New Year! Especially sweet potatoes and dark chocolate, YUM!

    Lexi of Lex Be Livin’

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  13. Ohh I love this post! I tried quinoa for the first time last year and loved it, but haven't made it recently for some reason-- I definitely want to change that now though! I'm always on a mission to eat more sweet potatoes, because they're not really my favorite but I know they're good for me and so much better than regular potatoes!

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  14. You've got my interest piqued with kefir! Never heard of that one before. I'll be on the lookout.

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  15. Bark thins (dark chocolate + pumpkin seeds) is one of my favorite snacks! I keep them in my desk drawer for a small sweet treat at work! :) Oh bummer! I missed the galentine's exchange. My xmas gift never did arrive. : / I dunno! Maybe I'm jinxed! Hopefully it doesn't show up in Feb! We're moving. Good luck with your health goals, I have a lot too! XO - Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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