It’s easy to wonder which foods are healthiest.
A vast number of foods are both healthy and tasty. By filling your plate with fruits, vegetables, quality protein, and other whole foods, you’ll have meals that are colorful, versatile, and good for you.
It is vital to have awareness of the most healthful foods to ensure a wide a range of nutrients in the diet.
A balanced diet is the secret to healthful eating. This article will cover the 15 most healthful foods and their benefits.
In commercial activities, the effects of health foods are often described as wildly flowery, as if they can prevent all diseases, but in fact, most of the ingredients are often over-named, and the following will introduce several clinically proven effects that “really” do not lose to Functional health food for drugs
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Curcumin (Curcumin):
Curcumin is a polyphenol compound extracted from turmeric (commonly known as turmeric), and it is also the main source of curry color. Turmeric has been a common medicinal material in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine since ancient times.
After scientific research, it has been found that curcumin has excellent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects, and has preventive and therapeutic effects on various diseases, and the effect is not inferior to 14 common western medicines.
For example, curcumin can reduce inflammation in the body by inhibiting the inflammatory signal NF-kB. Therefore, it is called a natural anti-inflammatory drug with no side effects. It is found in a study published in Phytotherapy Research that curcumin can Effectively relieve Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the effect is better than anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac sodium)
Clinically, curcumin also has excellent prevention and treatment effects for cardiovascular diseases, senile dementia (such as Alzheimer’s disease), and it can be called the best natural medicine.
10 effects and side effects of curcumin
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Red yeast rice (Red yeast rice):
Red yeast rice (rice) is formed by the fermentation of red yeast rice on rice. For thousands of years, red yeast rice (rice) has been used for cooking purposes. It is also recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica that it can improve blood circulation and promote gastrointestinal health.
After scientific research, it was discovered that the human secondary metabolite produced by the fermentation process of Monascus spp.: monacolin K has the effect of inhibiting cholesterol synthesis, and the current common cholesterol-lowering drugs (lovastatin and mevinolin) are developed based on monacolin K. Formed
In clinical studies, it has been found that patients with high cholesterol can effectively reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglycerides (triglycerides) after taking red yeast rice (rice) capsules, and increase HDL (good cholesterol)
The fermentation process of red yeast rice will definitely produce citrinin, which has liver and kidney toxicity. Generally, reputable manufacturers use biotechnology to control it. Therefore, it is more secure to choose GMP certification when purchasing
3 kinds of effects and side effects of red yeast rice (the first kind is the most noticeable)
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Garlic:
Garlic is a common seasoning food in life. Since ancient times, it has been considered to have a strong and nourishing effect. The main effective ingredient of garlic, Allicin, does not exist in garlic originally, but is destroyed in garlic cells. Will be released later (such as cut and mashed)
The current research has found that allicin has anti-bacterial, anti-viral and thrombosis prevention effects, and has excellent effects on cardiovascular health and cold prevention and treatment.
In the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, taking garlic has been confirmed to have cholesterol-lowering injection 8 (average reduction is about 10-15%), and more importantly, it can lower blood pressure injection 9 (systolic blood pressure 8.4 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure 7.3 mmHg) and It is more effective than the drug atenolol, so it can reduce the incidence of heart disease and stroke
In addition, in terms of cold prevention and control, taking garlic can effectively improve immunity and reduce the chance of catching a cold by 60%. Even if you have a real cold, it can also reduce symptoms by 70%, reducing the average recovery time from 5 days to 1.5 days.
6 kinds of effects and side effects of garlic? (The first kind is impressive)
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Berberine:
Berberine is a kind of alkaloid, which is often extracted from the rhizomes of various plants (such as Coptis and Barberry). Although less common, berberine is one of the few health foods with a single ingredient and multiple functions.
For example, berberine has an excellent effect on regulating blood sugar, and can also improve insulin sensitivity, and the effect is not even lost to the hypoglycemic drugs (metformin)
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism published a study that pointed out that taking berberine (1g per day) can effectively reduce fasting blood glucose by 12% and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) by 20%. It is a very safe and effective sugar control ingredient.
Berberine also has the effect of lowering blood lipids, can regulate cholesterol and triglycerides in the body, and can also lower blood pressure, and can significantly reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases.
In addition, berberine has antibacterial and antioxidant effects. It has also been found to treat infectious diarrhea and prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.
The 5 effects and side effects of berberine (5 points of contraindications, please be careful)
to sum up:
The first prerequisite for health is to get enough nutrients from food, but it is difficult for busy modern people to do it, especially in the environment full of traps, nutritional imbalance has become the beginning of various diseases
When supplementing nutrition with health foods, remember to learn more about the quality and efficacy of the product, check possible side effects, and observe your physical condition from time to time to achieve the desired effect.
Have you eaten any particularly effective health foods? Welcome to discuss together below
Reference information:
- Activation of Transcription Factor NF-κB Is Suppressed by Curcumin
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents differ in their ability to suppress NF-kappaB activation,
- A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.
- Curcuminoids enhance amyloid-beta uptake by macrophages of Alzheimer’s disease patients.
- Efficacy and safety of curcumin in major depressive disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
- Monograph. Monascus purpureus (red yeast rice). Alternative Medicine Review. 9.2 (2004):208-10.
- Chinese red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) for primary hyperlipidemia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Effect of garlic on cardiovascular disorders: a review
- Effect of garlic on serum lipids: an updated meta-analysis.
- Preventing the common cold with a garlic supplement: a double-blind, placebo-controlled survey.
- Berberine in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Treatment of type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia with the natural plant alkaloid berberine.
- The effects of berberine on blood lipids: a systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Meta-analysis of the effect and safety of berberine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hyperlipemia and hypertension
- Influence of berberine sulfate on synthesis and expression of Pap fimbrial adhesin in uropathogenic Escherichia coli.
- Anti-Alzheimer and antioxidant activities of Coptidis Rhizoma alkaloids.