need a little nutrition wake up call that's super easy? check out these tips!
- Toss pink grapefruit segments into smoothies – Mixing this refreshing fruit in a blender breaks down its cell walls, which makes cancer-fighting lycopene more available for your body to absorb. Toss in some spinach too; the vitamin C from the grapefruit (or any citrus fruit) will help you absorb the iron in dark, leafy greens.
- Tear your lettuce in advance – A study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that cutting romaine and iceberg lettuce a few hours before serving it can double its antioxidant content.
- Buy canned tomatoes instead of fresh – The most nutritious tomatoes aren’t in the produce aisle! Processed tomatoes, like tomato purée, are incredibly rich in lycopene—a carotenoid correlated with lowered incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration—because of their altered state.
- Pick dark chocolate over other kinds – Numerous studies have shown that dark chocolate (more than 70 percent cacao) can lower bad cholesterol, decrease blood pressure, and aid in weight loss. In one study, volunteers who ate 3.5 ounces of it every day for a week raised their “good” (HDL) cholesterol by nine percent.
To read the full list of 10 ways to power up nutrition, please visit: http://www.rd.com/slideshows/secrets-make-food-healthier-without-even-trying/.
