5 Ways You May Be Ruining Super Foods
Super foods are known for being the one stop solution to great health. Packed with vitamins and essential minerals and loaded with proteins and fiber, these foods seem perfect for battling the health hazards posed by the onslaught of junk food in this century. With super foods like berries, dark leafy greens, Omega 3 rich fishes and slices of lean meat, you can address deficiencies with perfection while causing multifaceted head to toe improvements in the functioning of your brain and body. Among the infinite other benefits, losing additional weight is another miraculous advantage that super foods are here to offer.
However, not many people sit back and consider the fact that even super foods can lose their nutritional value and may fail to deliver the true benefits when addressed the wrong way. Here is a list of 5 ways in which these boons to the plate can be spoilt before they reach your gut…
Overcooking – This is one of the most common ways of killing super foods without even realizing it. With infinite different taste enhancing recipes making their way to the ever curious kitchens, the importance of keeping the foods as little unaltered as possible has practically flown right out of the window. Excessive exposure to heat, deep frying and other such processes are instrumental in the wastage of essential nutrients like vitamins. Spinach can be mentioned as an example.
Storing for too long – Vegetables and fruits are best eaten when fresh. Stocking them up for way too long in the fridge can cause a gradual decline in their nutritional content. Leafy green vegetables can be mentioned as an example in this respect. If you have a kitchen garden, pluck only when you are about to cook. If you are buying, approach the freshest and cook within a day.
Excessive chopping – Cutting fresh vegetables into small pieces increases the surface area of the same which leads to enhanced nutrition loss in the process of cooking. Be it steaming, frying or even boiling, tiny chopped veggies / meat tend to lose more of its nutrients than when cut into larger chunks. When you are eating super foods, it is always better to eat whole or in large pieces than otherwise.
Ruining lean proteins – Lean meat is known for possessing all the 22 vital amino acids which is a boon to your muscles. Fish is known for being the store house of omega 3 fatty acids which is blessing for your brain and overall health. However, when you fry it, load it with lard and pile it up with salt and other such excesses, there is very little nutritional value left in these options.
Eating from the tins, cans and bottles – Berries are not just super foods but wonder foods. Tea is a powerful antioxidant with multifaceted benefits. However, when you eat them canned, tinned and bottled with infinite preservatives and other additives, you can bid nutrition and sorrowful farewell.
Treating super foods well and addressing the process of their cooking in an enlightened way can help them remain super. Lest they can be no better any ordinary packed food guaranteeing benefits that may just not exist.