Good for you foods

By Staff
Suzanne Langcuster
Franklin County Times
You want to eat foods that are good for you, right? Very often we hear through the news media about foods that are helpful to us. Many of them are high in antioxidants (helps you fight infections), some help keep your potassium regulated, others help your thought processes and many more important functions of the human body including keeping or heart healthy. Try to eat your foods when they are at the peak of their season. They are not only more nutritious but healthier.
Below is a list of some of the world's healthiest foods:
Blueberries, walnuts, almonds, Brussels sprouts, olive oil, apples, yogurt, bananas, garlic, black beans and other dried beans, chocolate (hard dark chocolate in moderation), figs, purple onions, beans, black and green olives, and salmon.
Eating nuts everyday in moderation helps your heart. They are full of minerals. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia, and other nuts help lower your cholesterol when eaten as part of a balanced diet. They contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients and make a great snack food. They are inexpensive and easy to store. Nuts lower LDL (bad cholesterol). High LDL is one primary cause of heart disease.
Nuts also reduce risk developing blood clots that can cause a fatal heart attack and they improve the lining of the arteries. Be careful of nuts covered with chocolate, sugar or salt. You might cancel out the heart healthy benefits if you eat too many of these. We eat our almonds, walnuts, and pecans every morning. Walnuts were more recently added when we heard they would also help the brain! Be sure you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, broiled meat servings, salmon and tuna.
Don't forget those hardy economical dried beans. We hope you keep this list of healthy foods and take it to the grocery store when you shop. Stick to healthy selections for you and your family and witness the change in how you feel.