Matrix Desk
Good nutrition is extremely important for leading and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Good diet can help you to reach and maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases (like heart disease and cancer), and promote your overall health if combined with exercise.
Here is a list of foods you must include in your diet to stay healthy, active and to build muscle.
Olive Oil
Caloric value: 119 calories per tbsp.
Recommended allowance: Eat 2 tbsp per day
Rich in good monounsaturated fat, olive oil is an ideal food for heart health. A study in the journal Nature reports that olive oil also has potent anti-inflammatory properties which can help reduce pain and swelling. Studies show that replacing two tablespoons of saturated fat (found in butter and lard) with monounsaturated fat may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Black Beans
Caloric value: 227 calories per cup
Recommended allowance: Eat 2 servings per week
Beans are incredibly high in fiber, which swells in your stomach and promotes a feeling of fullness. And, they’re stuffed with a highly complex form of carbohydrate that can take your body a long while to convert into energy. Therefore, beans can help you feel energized and fuller longer than almost anything else you can eat.
Also, like meat, they’re packed with protein but have no saturated fats unlike meat. Beans are therefore highly recommended by most nutritionists
Eggs
Caloric value: 74 calories per large egg
Recommended allowance: Eat 3-7 eggs per week
Eggs contain 4 grams of pure muscle-building amino acids inside every shell, in addition to boasting some of the highest naturally available doses around of a vitamin called “choline”, which is thought to help enhance memory. Nutritionists suggest that beans provide all the right nutrients for muscle growth.
Milk
Caloric value: 118 calories per cup
Recommended allowance: Get 3 servings of dairy per day
Research says that that skipping dairy makes your body sort of “angry”. When you’re not getting enough, your body releases hormones that cause your cells to retain calcium-and fat, says Michael Zemel, Ph.D., director of The Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee. “There are components in dairy that help turn on your body’s fat-burning system and slow down the storage of fat,” says Zemel. You don’t have to drink milk by gallons since calories still count! But just make sure you get some.
Water
Caloric value: 0 calories
Recommended allowance: Drink Eight 8-oz glasses per day
Water flushes toxins from your system, regulates body temp, acts as an insulator for joints, prevents kidney stones, and supplies the body with a raft of crucial minerals, says Marietta Amatangelo, R.D., of Germantown, Md. “Without water, none of the other super-foods would matter.”
Although water helps in every way, it may be at its most powerful when it comes to weight loss. Drinking a glass or two of water a half hour or so before mealtime, for example, can help take the edge off your hunger.
Green Tea
Caloric value: 2 calories per cup
Recommended allowance: Drink 1-3 cups per day
Researchers believe that from preventing cancer to losing weight to potentially slowing the development of Alzheimer’s disease, green tea has been shown to help fight almost every major medical ill. “Hot or cold, there’s almost nothing better you can drink,” says doctors.
Sweet Potatoes
Caloric value: 100 calories per med. Potato
Recommended allowance: Eat 1 per week
Sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene, iron , and plentiful amount of vitamin C and E. A four-ounce sweet potato holds more than 100% of our daily recommended supply. These essential nutrients work together to protect your body against cellular damage of all types. They’re also one of the best foods for muscle recovery in athletes.
Turkey Breast
Caloric value:72 calories per 3-oz serving
Recommended allowance: Eat 3 servings per week
Skinless turkey breast provides seven grams of muscle-building protein per ounce. Turkey is high in B vitamins, zinc and the cancer fighter selenium. “It’s also got a ton of amino acids, and there are little or no saturated fats,” says Elizabeth Ward, M.S., R.D., a nutritionist in Reading, Mass.
Beef
Caloric value: 163 calories per 3-oz serving
Recommended allowance: Eat 3-4 servings per week
Beef is not only high in muscle-building amino acids, but is also a powerhouse of iron and zinc, which aid circulatory health. In fact, beef is so nutrient-dense that a three-ounce serving supplies more than 10% of your recommended daily intake of a number of nutrients, including protein, B6 and B12, selenium, phosphorus, niacin, and riboflavin.
If you are worried about the fat? Don’t. According to USDA data, today’s beef is up to 20% leaner than it was a decade ago. To keep the meat you’re buying lean as well as tender and flavorful, opt for cuts with the words round or top in the name-things like eye round roast, top round, or top sirloin steak.
Whole-Wheat Bread
Caloric value: 140 calories per 2 slices
Recommended allowance: Eat 6 slices per week
“Even if you’re cutting carbs, there’s still a place for complex whole grains in your diet,” says Mohr. “They leave you feeling fuller longer, and they provide the longest possible supply of sustained energy.” Just watch out when you’re buying something that claims to be whole grain. It may only look brown because it’s colored with molasses. Rather than buying based on color, check the ingredient list. The only true whole-grain products are those that contain 100% whole wheat or whole grain listed as the first ingredient on the packaging.
Almonds
Caloric value: 82 calories per 1/2-oz serving
Recommended allowance: Eat 3 servings per week
High in protein, fiber, and vitamin E , almonds are great for your heart, digestive system, and skin. Although they’re also loaded with healthy unsaturated fats, some guys avoid them because they’re so calorie-dense. But that’s a mistake. Gary Fraser, Ph.D., a professor of medicine at Loma Linda University in California, studied folks who added two ounces of almonds to their diet on a regular basis. Turns out they had no significant weight change. “Since nuts are such a hard food, it appears that a significant amount of their calories are never absorbed into the body,” he says.
Spinach
Caloric value: 7 calories per cup
Recommended allowance: Eat 2-3 servings per week
Nutritionists love spinach! One serving of these leafy greens is loaded with fiber, calcium, and virtually your entire day’s recommended dosage of beta carotene, a nutrient vital for immune-system health, good vision, but not-as far as we know-huge wrist flexors.
Broccoli
Caloric value:31 calories per cup
Recommended allowance: Eat 2-3 half-cup servings per week
This fleshy green should be at the top of your list when it comes to vegetables. It’s rich with a healthy supply of iron, calcium, fiber, and vitamin C, meaning it’s good for the circulatory system, bones, and fighting colds.
Salmon
Caloric value: 121 calories per 3-oz serving
Recommended allowance: Eat 3-4 servings per week
Salmon is densely stuffed with omega-3’s. These fatty acids are thought to slow memory loss as you age and boost heart health by regulating heart rhythms and keeping arteries and veins supple and free of blockages. While saturated fats lead to obesity, the polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish appear to correct and prevent obesity, according to a study published in Clinical Science.
Salmon is also an excellent source of protein. A three-ounce cooked serving contains 20 grams-making it ideal for building muscle and trimming fat. Besides helping stimulate your metabolism three to four times more than carbs or fat, protein is the absolute best food for helping fill you up, so you take in fewer calories and burn more. And that’s what being a fit food is all about.
