If you are like most health-minded, diet-conscious adults, then you are sure to have scourged the internet and every written article in magazines that talk about fad diets, regimens that work, and power foods, without ever tiring of the topic. While for the short-term, most of us are happy with simple weight loss, it’s the long-term goals of combining health and fitness that plague us. What kinds of foods keep our heart healthy? What must we include in our breakfast to keep us feeling fuller for longer? Are there food items that can relieve us of stress and keep depression at bay? What must be eaten if we want to build more lean muscle? The answer to most of these questions lies in food combining. Food combining is a diet based on smart decisions, where one food item compliments the other, and when eaten together, our body reaps the best of both their benefits. Here, we have listed 9 power food duos that prove the logic behind advantageous food combining.
1. Oatmeal and apple
Let’s start with breakfast. All of us know that oatmeal is a wholesome choice to begin our mornings with. It is packed with protein and fibre, and helps us feel full until lunchtime. But did you know that combining oatmeal with apple, which contains some terrific antioxidants, is a great gift to your heart? To keep your pumping machine healthy, throw in a cut apple into your bowl of oats. The skin of the apple contains many nutrients that are good for your health, so keep it on.
2. Green tea and lemon juice
We have heard so much about the benefits of drinking a couple of cups of green tea every day. With inflammation-zapping antioxidants to cancer-fighting properties, the green tea craze is fast spreading. While that’s a lot of good news, only 20% of all that goodness is actually absorbed by your body after the dynamics of the digestive process. But, experts have revealed that you can absorb upto 13 times more of a cuppa green tea’s vitality, by just squeezing the essence of a lemon into it. Looks like the tea just got greener!
3. Pasta and balsamic vinegar
Keeping your blood sugar at a decent level at all times is the most effective way of keeping hunger and resultant binge-eating at bay. Eaten your heart’s fill of pasta and feeling hungry just a little while later? This is because of a surge in your blood sugar from the digestion of your meal. Add a dash of balsamic vinegar to your plate of pasta the next time. The acetic acid in the vinegar helps slow down the process of breaking down the glucose, thereby stabilizing your blood sugar levels and helping you keep better tabs on your cautious diet.
4. Avocado and salsa
Many of us with a family history of cancer are always looking to eat food that helps us avoid the deadly disease. One such food item is tomato, which contains a cancer-fighting antioxidant called lycopene. Pairing salsa- which contains a generous amount of tomatoes, along with avocado which aids better absorption of lycopene into your blood, is a great power food duo, that helps you fight bladder and lung cancer. Given the pollution levels in most cities, this one ought to get popular!
5. Chickpeas and red pepper
You are eating healthy and getting enough portions, but at the end of the day, you are tired and fatigued to the core. Most of us in our quest for good cholesterol and proteins, ignore the need of our body for the humble nutrition of iron. Pair your serving of chickpeas- a good source of plant-based iron, with the vitamin C-rich bell pepper. Especially the red ones. The vitamin-C helps your body absorb the iron better.
6. Broccoli and eggs
Stress getting to you and causing you too much blues to have fun? Not to worry! The mood-lifting food combination of broccoli and eggs to the rescue! Broccolis are powerhouses of calcium. Calcium helps improve mood, fight depression, and even rids women of PMS to some extent. Pair it with eggs that promote calcium assimilation, and your bones and friends will be sure to thank you for the great time.
7. Rice and beans
The vegetarians among us rarely get enough biosimilar proteins. To get a wholesome meal of proteins that is adequately absorbed by the body, eating rice and beans at a single go is an excellent choice. It gives you complete nutrition as the starch in the rice gives you energy and breaks down the protein in the beans. Brown rice and black beans are a star combination.
8. Yogurt and ground flaxseed
We all known that yogurt provides you with some much-need beneficial bacteria that does a whole load of good for your guts. But the probiotics in the curd, require prebiotics like the fibre-rich flaxseed to strike a healthy balance in your tummy. Just add some ground flaxseed to your cup of yogurt and drink it up to good health.
9. Nuts and beer
These two pub staples are actually great for health. The cholesterol-fighting power duo foods go great together, as the nuts pushes good cholesterol into your bloodstream and the alcohol levels in beer act as blood thinners to keep your heart in fighting-fit condition. Also, the nuts have been found to slow down the alcohol absorption, helping you remain sober and agile.
So there you go! Eat up these great foods in the said combinations for a better life and a healthier you. Here’s to good health!