10 new nutrients you should be eating right away
So you eat a handful of almonds every day. Great as this way you are ensuring enough vitamin E that stimulates the production of natural killer cells, the ones that seek out and destroy germs, along with other potent nutrients from the popular nut. But now it's time to look beyond the tried and tested and expand our gamut of good foods based on some new nutrients that we now know as absolutely brilliant for us.
For example, we now know that we can get our daily dose of vitamin E from wheat germ too.
This too is full of vitamin E, and also contains a phytonutrient called L-ergothioneine, which is a super powerful antioxidant not destroyed by cooking — and one that you can add safely to your cakes, cookies, porridge et al.
This antioxidant helps conserve and maintain the levels of other antioxidants such as vitamins E and C and glutathione, and also protects us from the damaging effects of environmental UV rays.
Talking of nuts, we already know that walnut is a super star nut as it is loaded with good quality protein, and myriad nutrients like selenium, phosphorous, zinc, manganese, magnesium, vitamin E and more. But not many know that some phytonutrients found in walnuts - for example, the quinone jug lone - are found in virtually no other commonly eaten foods.
Other phytonutrients - like the tannin tellimagrandin or the flavonol morin - are also rare and valuable.
All these anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients help explain the decreased risk of certain cancers - including prostate cancer and breast cancer - that walnut consumption is linked to.
If you want to score the right omega 3, stick to animal products (including dairy) from animals that are fed on green grass (and not grains) as this way you ensure CLA (conjugated Linoleic acid) in your diet, which is brilliant at fighting weight gain, particularly around the dangerous abdomen area. So when going for yoghurt, buttermilk, meat, butter, milk, eggs, avoid the grain fed source.
Then there's lecithin present in bee pollen whose importance has lately come to light. Lecithin helps dissolve and flush fat from the body and that is how bee pollen helps lowers low-density lipoproteins (LDL) faster than any other food while also increasing the helpful high-density lipoproteins (HDL).
The missing vitamins
Very few of us know the importance of vitamin K2, which is as essential for our bones and joints as the much publicised vitamin D. That is because it is essential for activating enzymes that are involved in transporting calcium from the arterial walls to the bones.
It is also important to keep heart disease and diabetes away. Unlike Vitamin K1, which is found in green leafy vegetables, K2 is found in fermented foods, certain cheeses such as Brie and Gouda and grass-fed organic animal products (that is egg yolk, butter, dairy et al).
Biotin is a water soluble B vitamin that one can score from carrots, almonds, walnuts, strawberries, onions and egg yolk. It is needed for healthy nerve, metabolic, cardiovascular and digestive functions and also helps naturally thicken hair, nails and beautify our skin. It's a beauty vitamin.
Go fish
Ever wonder what salmon, shrimp and lobster have in common? Their brilliant red colour is a result of Astaxanthin, the multi-talented antioxidant, which is the newest super star in the realm of anti-ageing.
It protects the cells from the most damaging forms of free radicals - improves skin elasticity and reduces the appearance of fine lines.
There's another super star substance found in fish, sardines and salmon and that is DMAE (dimethylaminoethanol). DMAE is a known cognitive enhancer, that is, it helps boost memory and the body's problem-solving ability by improving nerve function.
Another bonus is that DMAE — when eaten in larger amounts — can increase muscle tone and therefore decrease the sagging of our skin too.
It's time to begin plating all new ingredients to score an even healthier body.