Healthy Foods

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Foods That Fight Fat

When you’re trying to lose weight, along with an amped-up exercise routine, the foods you choose play a big role. Nutrition research shows that some foods are much better than others at keeping you full and raising your body’s metabolism, which can help you win the weight battle. See four foods below that will help you banish the bulge:


1. Berries: Bright, fresh berries like raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are a low-cal food full of fiber and antioxidants. Research suggests that berries may contain flavonoids that help increase the production of a fat-burning hormone.

2. Eggs: Protein is key to controlling hunger and eggs are chock-full of it. A large egg provides 6 grams of protein. Try starting your day the right way with filling eggs to curb cravings later.

3. Greek Yogurt: Nonfat plain Greek yogurt is a great diet food. It has twice as much protein as regular yogurt and half the sugar. Add berries for a double dose of fat-fighting power.

4. Pistachios In-shell pistachios are a great source of protein and a low-cal snack. Grab the nuts that are still in their shell, as research shows that the nuts' shell tricks your brain into thinking you've eaten more than you actually have.

 

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4 Healthy Benefits of Eating Garden-Fresh Produce

1. More Servings, More Benefits Eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day is one of the most important things you can do for your health. Research continues to show that many essential nutrients in fresh produce may protect you from cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes, and they also give you more energy, help reduce weight gain and may even reduce the effects of aging.
2. Mighty Phytochemicals Phytochemicals are powerful food factors that elicit profound effects on human health maintenance and disease prevention. Usually related to plant pigments, they are the reason we promote eating your colors. Yellow, orange, red, green and purple fruits and vegetables generally contain the most phytochemicals, with more than 900 found in plant foods.
3. Keep It Crunchy Once you cook produce, you quickly lose the beneficial qualities. If you want to cook your veggies lightly sauté or steam them – you want to keep them crispy and crunchy. Once veggies lose their crunch, they have also lost their nutritional value.
4. Growing Inspires Eating Gardening not only provides you with fresh fruits and vegetables, it also encourages you to eat them. Once you are blessed with a bushel basket of tomatoes, you will have newfound interest in finding recipes for tomatoes. What’s more, picking fresh produce from your garden is a great way to get children to eat fruits and vegetables. It is fun for them to pick their own lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers – and then eat them.

Dr. Sue Hamilton, director of the UT Gardens, writes the gardening column for Tennessee Home & Farm.