My Top 5 Tips for Burning More Fat:

Do you have any fat burning tips that have worked for you in the past?

Joanna talks about her favourite snacks for health, weight management and enjoyment!

Two key lessons really stood out for me:

1. Spread out your meals: You will expend more calories (ie speed up your metabolism) if you spread your calories out in the day (rather than eating 2-3 larger meals). That’s why if you skip breakfast then eat more than half your daily calories after 4pm, you will probably struggle to lose weight.
2. Beware Foods that Drive Hunger: The three main drivers for hunger (ie these things make you want to eat more) is Fat, Sugar, Salt. Food manufacturers know this so they load up food with these things. Chips: Fat and Salt. Chocolate bar: Fat and Sugar – ouch!

Joanna’s top Snack Pics:

• Fruit/veggies: Bananas, Oranges, apples, strawberries, carrot sticks, celery sticks.
• Muesli bars (Be Natural are her top pick). Beware of fat and sugar content
• Small portion sizes of nuts and seeds

Thanks SO much Joanna for your informative (and cheeky) interview! I need one of those banana holders!

What are your favourite snacks that follow my guide of  SIMPLE – NUTRITIOUS – DELICIOUS?

• a small 7g mini Easter egg: 8 minutes of brisk walking (6.5km/hr) or 4minutes of jogging, skipping or boxing
• a medium 25g egg: 30min brisk walking or 14 minutes of jogging, skipping or boxing
• a large 100g egg: 2hr brisk walking, 1hr jogging, skipping or boxing

Some of the Questions Asked

Q. We’ve heard the studies about chocolate and red wine being good for you, so is chocolate really that bad?

• Bad only if you eat too much. 7g or 1 square per day is all you need to take advantage of health benefits
• Chocolate is calorie dense, nutrient poor. High in Sugar and fat, low in nutrients
• Dark chocolate is better as it contains antioxidants from the cocoa beans.

Q. What is chocolate made of?

• Cocoa beans, milk, fat, sugar, often many flavour chemicals

Q. Why is saturated fat worse for our bodies?

• Saturated fat hardens at room temperature, eg animal fat from red meat, butter, chocolate. It raises your LDL (bad cholesterol), has been associated with increase risks of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Q. How many grams of fat should we be eating a day?

• 45 for women and 60 for men. Preferably from mono unsaturated or poly unsaturated fats. Avoid Trans fats at all costs

Q. And what about carbs per day?

• Average woman 180g, trying to lose weight 100g per day.

The Verdict

Whilst one to two squares of chocolate per day has some health benefits, overdoing it quickly tips the scales. Dark chocolate (70% or higher) has considerably higher health benefits, so stick to dark and use it as a treat, not a daily snack.

What’s your plan of attack for keeping the sugar cravings at bay? Can you stop at just one egg, or once you break the seal is it all over?

You know those times in your life when you’ve partied a bit hard? Maybe you’ve been working long hours and eating crap? You feel exhausted, lethargic yet anxious and frankly not on top of your game. It’s time like these that you need to Detox. There are a plethora of Detoxes to chose from, lasting from one day up to three months. But before you go launching into the first brand you come across be warned, choosing the program can mean the difference between having a Detox that rocks or having Detox Disaster.

The Benefits of a Detox

Besides the usual benefits of increased energy, clear eyes, skin and regulated moods, Detoxing has many other benefits:

• Improves our Immune Function
• Reduce the amount of toxins and pollution into our body to lessen the burden against the detoxification organs
• Promote healthy eating, nutrition and supplementation to help our body effectively clear the toxins
• Scavenge free radicals and eliminate toxins
• Strengthen body’s fight against cancer cells and generate healthy cells in our body
• Cleanse mucous, congestion, fermentation, inflammation in our digestive tract
• Purify our blood
• Reform our lifestyle addictions for sugar, salt, high glycemic carbohydrates, alcohol, junk foods, nicotine, etc

Things to be Aware Of

Consult our Doctor if you are:

• Under 18yo
• Pregnant or breast feeding
• Sick or highly stressed
• Have diabetes

Some Popular Detoxes

Lemon Detox Diet: Lasting from 1 – 7 days this detox is a liquid diet whereby all meals are replaced with a lemon, Madal Bal Syrup, and Cayenne Pepper drink. They have spent a lot of money marketing this product but I question it’s effectiveness.

Martha’s Vinyard Diet Detox: This is a 21 day Detox that also replaces all meals with either fruit or vegetable juices, protein shakes or herbal teas. No solid food is recommended. Colonics, massages and other supplements sold by the company are encouraged.

The Fruit Flush: A three day Detox. However it is encouraged to do it once per week for twelve weeks. The first day Detoxers have a special protein shake every two hours. On the following two days they have 100cal of fruit every two hours in addition to a salad for lunch and protein shake for dinner.

Dr Joshi: Is all about returning your body back to it’s natural Alkaline state. According to Joshi our bodies function better if we are slightly alkaline because it improves digestion and disease resilience. Lasting for 21 days Detoxers are asked to avoid acidic, toxic and refined foods including red meat, dairy, fruit (except bananas), wheat, nuts, sugar and sweets, potatoes, coffee and tea. Instead they are told to eat from a list of acceptable meats, brown rice, fish, produce and grains.

The Detox I like to Follow

I do not advocate liquid diets which rules out three of the above four detoxes. I also feel that the best Detoxes are one’s that you can adapt into your life even when the Detox is over. Therefore I do a  fourteen day Detox using  Detox Recipes written by Nicola Graimes Combined with a Metagenics supplement. I have done this Detox over five times myself and put hundreds of clients on it with great health results as well as weight loss (the best being 11kg/24lb loss in 14 days).

How It Works

Day one: Fast day. One type of fruit or vegetable is to be eaten and only water drunk

Day two – seven: Every morning you take your s detox supplement mixed with water. Follow the diet plan and recipes using the best fruits, vegetables and superfoods. Please be aware that the following foods are not allowed and the only drinks allowed are water and decaffeinated herbal teas:

• No caffeine
• No alcohol
• No meat
• No dairy
• No added sugar
• No wheat (bread pasta etc)
• Nothing processed
• Basically it’s fruits and vegetables for the week and not much else

Day eight – fourteen: Same as above but introduce yoghurt and starchy vegetables such as potato

Lifestyle Factors to Accelerate the Detox

Epsom Salt baths: One of the fastest ways to absorb Magnesium is through the skin, so an Magnesium Sulfate (aka Epsom salts) is a relaxing, effective way to improve your magnesium levels.

Dry Skin Brushing: Fot those of you struggling with cellulite or dull skin, dry skin brushing stimulates blood circulation to the surface of the skin which not only clears out toxins that are stored in subcutaneous tissue,  but it also stimulates your endocrine system which is crucial for detoxing.

Herbal Tea’s: As good as Green Tea is, it contains caffeine so avoid it during this Detox. My favourite Detox teas are Rooibos, Roasted dandelion, chamomile, peppermint and Ginger tea. There are many to choose from so try a few and use them to curb your appetite.

Gentle Exercise: Being a  fitness nut I know how hard it is to hear the dreaded ‘R’ word – Rest. But throughout this Detox it is what I recommend, or at least slowing right down. You will be eating less food than normal and the aim is to keep stress on the body to a minimum so adjust your routine to match how you are feeling. If you are feeling energetic and strong then partaking in a class such as Body Pump, Yoga, Pilates, or Body Balance is fine. If you are feeling weak, then some gentle walks and stretches at home will suffice. Try to do something gentle for 20-30 minutes every day.

Mediation: To distress the mind and feel emotionally centred You may want to meditate. If you don’t know where to begin I suggest downloading some meditation podcasts. My favorite is Meditation Oasis in Itunes. You can watch my video blog about it.

Choosing The Best Time to Detox

In an ideal world, you would take time off work and do your Detox in a relaxed state. That isn’t always possible so make sure you choose a time when you can do the following:

• Get 8 hrs sleep every night
• Make some time for meal preparation and food shopping
• Make some time for gentle exercise and meditation
• Cancel as many social engagements as possible and buy a good book
• Be prepared to feel lethargic in the first few days
• If you can tie your Detox in with some self reflection activities such as Goal Setting, you will feel even more invigorated by the end of your Detox

If you would like to do my Detox please email me ab@ameliaburton.com.au and I will send you more information.

Choosing the right snacks for low calorie diets can be really tricky. They need to be tasty, nutritious, filling, and easy to prepare. Here are my favourite 150 cal snacks (600kj). Please note to convert KJs into Cals divide by 4.

Nutrient Dense Whole Foods

• Fruit:
  • One banana and a peach,
  • small-med mango,
  • large orange
  • 15 x medium strawberries, ½ cup blueberries and a dollop of LF yoghurt
• Nuts: Note nuts are a risk. They are VERY high in fat and more-ish. I don’t recommend them unless it’s a sprinkle in salad.
  • 20 almonds
  • 12 walnuts (1/2 nut shaped like a beetle)
  • 15 cashew nuts
  • 40 pistachios.
• Vegetables:
  • 3 medium carrots,
  • 3 x 15cm celery sticks filled with cottage/cream cheese or ricotta + a few raisins.
  • Capsicum with cottage/cream cheese,  ricotta or a low fat dip.

Protein Rich Snacks

Protein Shakes

My Favorite protein powder is Complete as it is also a multivitamin derived solely from whole foods. Order here.  Most companies suggest two scoops but for calorie counting purposes, stick with one scoop. Be sure to measure your ingredients the first time you make it to make sure you don’t go over 150 cal.

Cherry Ripe Bomb (protein shake)

• 1 scoop protein powder,
• 1/3 cup frozen mixed berries (frozen raspberries better but can be expensive)
• ½ cup LF soy/ricemilk/ LF milk
• Water as needed
• Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Mix with a stick blender. Should be thick like a thick shake and if your protein powder is chocolate it will taste like a cherry ripe!

Banana Smoothie (protein shake)

• 1 scoop protein powder,
• ½ banana
• Dollop of LF yoghurt
• ½ cup LF soy/ricemilk/ LF milk
• Water as needed
• Pinch of nutmeg (optional)

Mix with a stick blender. Serve with ice cubes on a hot day

Protein Bars

My favorite is Aussie Bodies Protein FX (choc cherry). However I only eat half a bar as a whole bar is 377 cal. Order Here (although sometimes it’s out of stock and wont appear). Protein FX Low carb is lower in Cal (209) so either have a smaller snack for your other or give someone a bite! Order here

Yoghurt

• Valia Low fat (LF):
• Jalna LF
• Yoplait LF
• Ski Delight

Tip, choose lower sugar such as Jalna and choose the individual tubs for convenience and portion control.

Tinned foods

• Tinned Tuna: There are lots of low fat (ie tuna in brine/springwater) tuna varieties out there. My favs are lemon and cracked pepper or sun dried tomatoes. Just don’t scoff one before a one-on-one meeting!
• Baked beans: Not only an awesome snack but also a great breakfast. Be aware that they can be high in salt so if you suffer from high blood pressure steer clear.
• Be Natural Trail bars: Museli bars
• Tinned spaghetti
• Fruit (see nutrient dense whole foods)
• Toast with jam (no butter) or cottage cheese, or sliced tomato, scraping of avocado.

Carbohydrate Rich

• Be Natural Trail bars: Museli bars
• Tinned spaghetti
• Fruit (see nutrient dense whole foods)
• Toast with jam (no butter) or cottage cheese, or sliced tomato, scraping of avocado.

There are plenty more out there. What are your favorite low calorie snacks and which ones fill you up for longer?

Recently I came across a comprehensive article written by The Fitness Spotlight on Protein intake per day. If you are looking for some more detailed insights, read their article. It details techniques such as protein pulsing and intermittent fasting as well as analysing some recent data.

Why is Protein Important?

It is literally the building blocks for your entire body, from your hair to your toenails, muscles, tendons, ligaments organs, the list goes on. If you aren’t getting enough protein, your body will not rebuilt itself effectively, leading to muscle atrophy, depleated immune system, and potentially Sarcopenia. Many people train extremely hard to build muscle or get faster, however if their protein intake is inadequate they will not see the results their hard training warrents.

According to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS);

“Protein is an essential nutrient in the diet, being used to manufacture body proteins that have important structural and functional roles. Structural proteins are needed to build connective tissue, cell membranes and muscle cells. Regulatory proteins act as enzymes or transport vehicles. Proteins are made up of various sequences of about 20 different amino acids. Eight of these amino acids are essential and must come from the diet. Some amino acids are used as a minor fuel source during exercise.”

How much protein do we need?

The following table gives you the current guidelines for daily protein intake. Research for this table is taken from the AIS and CSIRO.  They are the current guidelines to help you determine your optimal daily intake of protein. It is calculated in total grams per kilo of body weight per day. Simply multiply the below figures by your body weight or click on this calculator for an easy estimation:  Note if you use imperial measurements the calculator will accommodate you.

Source: Burke and Deakin, Clinical Sports Nutrition, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, 2006 via Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)

Best sources of protein:

The ideal sources of protein comes from organic, whole foods. These are some moderate to low fat foods containing the best sources of protein. Each item/quantity contains 10g protein. Try to have something on this list in every meal:

Sample Nutrition Plan – High Protein

So how does all this look in the kitchen? Is it really that hard to ramp up your protein intake? Below is a sample diet for a 75kg person on a 1500cal/day diet. It represents 1.7g protein/kg/day. This would be ideal for someone exercising hard, trying to lose fat whilst build muscle.

As you can see it is not hard to increase your protein intake whilst keeping your calories down. But be warned many high protein products come with a higher fat content so don’t fall into the calorie trap in your quest to harden up!

Depending where you live in the world you may be swimming in tomatoes right now. Traditionally the overabundance of tomatoes leads to the process of cooking sauce and canning it for the months to come. When the more intricate process of canning is not available it is perfectly fine to freeze your sauce and enjoy it just the same. This post explores the health benefits of tomatoes and shows you how to make your own tomato based sauce from scratch.

If you don’t have a favorite sauce recipe or if this is the first time you may be considering this delightful kitchen project here is a great marina sauce recipe. It even has instructions on how to take out the seeds if this is your first attempt.

Cooked Tomatoes Powerful Benefits

There is something really special about your own homemade sauce and there is something even more special about the cooked tomato!

We have been aware of the wonderful health giving properties of the tom as it contains lycopene, the photochemical which makes them red but which also has significant antioxidant properties.

Lycopene is know as a  carotenoid with some other nutrients in this group like beta-carotene and retinol, which are both found in carrots. Lycopene, in certain foods, is the coloring agent. It also does not have the vitamin A characteristics that beta-carotene and retinol do, but is fat-soluble (so be sure you have some olive oil in  your sauce or your body won’t be able to absorb the lycopene as well) similar to vitamin A. The power of this antioxidant, lycopene is made even more powerful through cooking.

Tomatoes contain 3.1 grams per 100g and watermelon 4.1 grams per 100g of lycopene. Tomatoes also contain amounts of Beta Carotene (which can be converted to A-Carotene) and vitamin C, which fight free radicals in the system. For cancer protection and overall health benefits, tomatoes are a powerful and easy to incorporate into your meals.

What do Tomatoes contain that makes them so good for us?

• Lycopene: Powerful antioxidant that has been linked to preventing skin damage, CV disease, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes and male infertility.
• Beta Carotene: helps prevent night blindness, skin disorders, enhances immunity, slows the ageing process.
• Vitamin C: Another powerful antioxidant. Increases immune strength, repairs damaged tissues including blood vessels, scar tissue and cartilage.

Lycopene has been considered to be helpful in preventing cancers and specifically prostrate cancer. With Italian men having a low instance of prostate cancer we can see for ourselves how helpful the cooked tomato has been for them.

Promoting health with foods containing lycopene can be easy and delightful if combined with other foods containing antioxidants to make delicious meals that help fight cancer. Garlic and onions, both containing powerful antioxidants, can be cooked with tomatoes to make a healthful sauce. You can add some red peppers to a sauce to increase the antioxidant benefit.

Making your own sauce is a healthy, fun and delicious alternative to bottled/tinned sauces when many contain preservatives and excess salt. Click here for a basic  marina sauce recipe. Or do you have another sauce recipe you love???

You can read Gina’s full bio on the About page or visit her blog http://www.lunchwithouted.wordpress.com.

Much of the to do list of eating and living healthy can be achieved by simply using awareness. Paying attention to food and life style choices and actions made daily can simplify the sometimes confusing and contradictory health advice that is available on the Internet and elsewhere. Mindfulness puts the locust of control with you and your body.

What is ‘Mindfullness?’

It is with an understanding of what is meant by mindfulness when we speak of it in terms of eating. Mindfulness is clearly non-judgmental paying attention. Sounds simple and clear enough and this is a great place to stop and do it! Pay attention to what you are doing right now, do it with a noticing, a curious awareness and with out labeling it good or bad -simply notice. Yes, and then if the judgmental thoughts come up… notice that! Being aware of what is present for you in each moment physically, emotionally and physically can free you from reactive patterns and unhealthy habits. Being aware of what is actually happening right now gives you freedom of choice and a sense of balance.

Mindful eating is allowing

Allowing yourself to be with the nurturing and powerful opportunities that present themselves through preparing and eating your meals and snacks.  You begin to access your inner wisdom when you allow the choices to be made from what pleases and nourishes all your senses, by allowing yourself to savor the experience. When the awareness is on what you are doing, in this case eating, you begin to open the doors to your own inner wisdom.
Having awareness of what you like, dislike or feel not one way or the other about is a place to practice the non-judging aspect of mindful eating. As you explore the foods and flavors, textures and tastes you have the opportunity to choose, with awareness, foods that are both pleasing and nourishing.

Mindful eating is a guide

A guide to the physical cues of hunger and satiety giving the power of when to eat and when to stop eating back to the individual, back to you, not a preset time or amount that may work for one person yet not another. For an example: are you hungry just stop and feel the body, be mindful of what the body -your body is feeling. This is connecting your mind with your body and being with what is happening in the moment. The difficulty with “diets” is that many people begin to ignore or fight their own hunger and satiety rhythms. Left unchecked for long periods of time these ignored rhythms and signals leave healthy people open to an array of disordered eating behaviors and in a worse case scenario set up for a full blown eating disorder. Mindful eating is then taught once again as the guide to healthy eating and the body’s wisdom can once again be heard.

People who eat mindfully

• Respect that there are no right or wrong ways to eat but that there are varying degrees of awareness around the experience of food
• Accept the unique experience of their own meal and hunger
• Acknowledge what can happen to the unaware eater and the natural consequence of eating when out of touch with what is
• Direct their choice on a moment to moment basis by checking in with the body
• Have insight about how they can act and choose to achieve specific health goals as they become more tuned into the direct experience of eating and how health actually feels
• See their food, food choices and behaviors as all inter-connected with the earth the people of the earth and the systems used to present the food on the table

Can’t quite see yourself eating in a mindful way?

Try this: Your first drink of the day, be it a tall glass of water or a double latte from the coffee shop on the way to work, drink it with intention, with awareness, mindfully.
Be with the drink and feel it in whatever way it is feeling.
The focus is not on if it is the exact right drink or the right time -all that eventually falls into place when the effort and intention is on what is right in front of you. Drink as if it were the only drink you were ever going to have because it is the only drink you are ever going to drink at that moment!

I’d love to know your experiences of eating mindfully. Did you feel fuller for longer, enjoy the flavours more?

You can read Gina’s full bio on the About page or visit her blog http://www.lunchwithouted.wordpress.com.

Editors Note: This post is written by contributor Gina Ryan. Gina is a licensed nutritionist and Wellness coach from Hawaii. Read her Bio on the About page or visit her blog Lunch Without Ed.

Herbs (grown naturally in temperate regions) and spices (grown in tropic and subtropic regions) are an incredible and simple way to add flavor and powerful nutrients to your meals. Notice when foods are cooking and the delicious aromas fill the kitchen? The mixture of herbs and spices are releasing some of their aromatic oils to the air exciting the palate and preparing your body for digestion.

The Joy of Herbs and Spices

One of the easiest ways to get involved in your food from the ground up is to grow a simple herb garden. Food takes on a whole new and exciting feel when we have had our hands in the earth in which it was grown. Clipping your home grown dill for lunches cottage cheese or cutting basil for dinners. Pesto makes even the most resistant cook feel more like a creative chef and when we feel good and creative about preparing our food we make better food choices -naturally.

For the novice find some recipes and try and pay particular attention to the herbs and spices being called for and how they are combined . For those of you who have been cooking for a long time and enjoy it already perhaps you can experiment with some of your favorite herbs and spices and try them in an unusual combination making a signature dish to share with friends and family. Even adding a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or allspice to baked or mashed potato, yam, or squash can begin to open your palate and health up to new horizons.

The Health Herbs and Spices

Besides exciting the palate and preparing the body for digestion by stimulating the production of saliva in the mouth the culinary herbs and spices help to destroy microbes and parasites in foods. They also aid the gut for efficient digestion of the meal while adding important vitamins and minerals to the diet. Generally cleaning and toning organs and speeding the removal of waste products through the colon and keeping the immune system fully functioning .

Common Kitchen Herbs and Spices Health benefits

• Parsley- diuretic, aids edema, fluid retention, indigestion, gas, anti-parasitic, promotes healthy thyroid function
• Capsicum (cayenne)- increases thermogenesis, increases circulation, promotes heart health, aids digestion, enhances performance of other herbs
• Ginger-aids digestion and hypertension, promotes lung function, strengthens adrenal glands (often depleted by stress),relives morning sickness, nausea, gas
• Rosemary- aids strong hair growth, enhances memory function, protects brain from free radical damage, combats fluid retention, topically makes hair shine
• Garlic-has antibiotic, anti fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-viral activity, detoxifies, strengthens blood vessels, lowers blood pressure, enhances immune function
• Peppermint- aids chills, fever, nausea, colic, diarrhea, headaches (internally and externally)
• Sage- aids in mental clarity, circulation, anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties
• Basil- used to relive nervous disorders, headaches, rheumatic pains
• Dill- relives colic, indigestion, gas, promotes breast milk production
• Oregano- anti-oxidant, anti-microbial and anti-parasitic, enhances immune function
• Thyme- anti-parasitic, relives muscle pain and tightness, makes cough more productive, enhances immune function

Using the healing properties of the garden as a part of daily life can be as simple as experimenting with fresh culinary herbs and spices, a new adventure in the kitchen to bring about your own healing and well being, go on spice up your life a bit just for your health!

You can read Gina’s full bio on the About page or visit her blog http://www.lunchwithouted.wordpress.com.

Editors Note: This post is written by weight loss expert (and former couch potato) Meg McFarlane. Meg has experienced the weight loss journey first hand and has chronicled this in her blog, Spud On The Run.  She has a Bachelor of Science from Sydney University is currently working in IT.

You can read Megs full Bio on the About page or visit her blog http://spudontherun.wordpress.com

Would you like a quick fix on your diet? A few additions that will make a big impact to your energy levels? Add at least one of these in every day and watch your health levels jump up a notch or two!

1. Avocadoes

Every diet should contain healthy fats and avocadoes are one of the best sources of monounsaturated fat out there, plus they have the added benefit of helping lower your cholesterol as well.  Avocadoes are also rich in vitamin K, vitamin C and potassium. Current research has shown that the nutrients in avocados help lower blood pressure and protect you against breast and prostate cancer, so you definitely should be adding a few slices of avocado to your lunchtime salad.

2. Broccoli

Your mother always told you when you were a child to eat all your broccoli because it was good for you. Guess what, she was right.  Broccoli is one of the best foods out there. Not only is broccoli high in vitamin C , vitamin A and fibre, but it also supplies you with folic acid, iron and calcium.  Broccoli also contains a phytochemical called sulforaphane, which increases the activity of a group of enzymes in our bodies that squelch cancer-causing agents.  Therefore broccoli is a must have food that should be on your plate several times a week. Watch Gordon Ramsey prepare the most delicious broccoli soup in 3 mintues!

3. Chocolate Milk

Yes, that’s right, chocolate milk.  Instead of wasting money on expensive protein shakes, after a hard workout, have a glass of chocolate milk instead. Research from Indiana University shows that chocolate milk is as good as sports drinks for recovery after intense endurance sports. Low-fat chocolate milk has a powerful nutrient package that provides energy, protein, calcium and seven other essential nutrients including potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A, D and B12, riboflavin and niacin. Infact Milo chocolate drink, although a little higher in fat has a very high iron content!

4. Salmon

For a low calorie, low fat food, you can’t beat salmon.  It is one of the higher fat fish, but much healthier than red meat. Salmon is high in protein and vitamin B12, but more importantly it is high in Omega 3.  Omega 3 reduces the risk of unwanted inflammation and helps maintain the integrity of our immune and circulatory systems. It also helps prevent erratic heart rhythms, make blood less likely to clot inside arteries (the cause of most heart attacks and strokes) and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.  All these health benefits come from just two serves of salmon a week.

5. Eggs

Don’t throw out the yolks and just eat the egg white.  Whilst the yolk does contain cholesterol, it doesn’t contain enough to do you any harm, plus if you are skipping the yolks you are missing out on a good source of iron and lecithin, which is critical for brain health.  Eggs are also one of the only foods containing naturally occurring vitamin D which provides protection from osteoporosis, hypertension, cancer, and several autoimmune diseases.

6. Berries

Whilst most people know that berries like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries are a great tasting snack, not many people are aware of just how good they are for them.  Berries contain a huge dose of phyochemicals and flavonoids that can help reduce your risk of several types of cancers and are important for healthy vision.  Also they are rich in vitamin C, potassium and folate.  A cup of mixed berries with yogurt makes a great tasting healthy dessert.

Make sure you include these and other nutritious superfoods in your diet. What’s your favorite superfood?

You can read Megs full Bio on the About page or visit her blog http://spudontherun.wordpress.com