Whenever someone says something about food the first thing that comes to my mind is grocery shopping. Filling the cart with all sorts of green vegetables, skimmed milk, oatmeal, and fruits, is the picture I imagine. Never in my life, I thought of getting up and looking into the already available options. What food could improve my health other than a bowl full of green vegetable salad?
Assuming you are anything like me, you do the same. I am here to save you some money and time, still, help you achieve what you always desired. This not to undermine the importance of proper nutrition and consulting a nutritionist. But to give you a way to take your first step.
Here are some gems that are more than likely already present in your pantry
Turmeric
Yes, this simple spice can do wonders. This golden spice indigenous to the Subcontinent and nearby areas is a superfood. Turmeric has such great properties that it is now sold in the form of dietary supplements that can help in reducing inflammation.
Turmeric owes most of its health benefits to its active ingredient called curcumin.
- It is a powerful antioxidant and can prevent your cells from oxidative damage.
- Curcumin is a natural anti-inflammatory compound. It can help in quick healing,
- It is not only an antioxidant itself, but increases the antioxidant capacity of your blood.
- It also boosts cognitive function and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor.
- It not only prevents you from heart disease but has the ability to reverse it. It does so by improving the function of the endothelium of your blood vessels.
- Curcumin can help in preventing cancer. Some studies suggest that it can even treat cancer. It contributes to the death of cancerous cells.
- If you or any person around you are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, curcumin is here to rescue. Alzheimer’s is untreatable so the best bet is to prevent it.
- It can help in combating arthritis because it has remarkable anti-inflammatory properties.
In short, this single golden spice can change your health game. You can add it to your curry or in your milk.
Cinnamon
You only remember cinnamon when you want to have cinnamon rolls, that too if you don’t buy them ready to eat or ready to bake. This tastes like heaven spice have innumerable health benefits.
- It shows strong anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. This protects your body from disease and inflammation.
- It also shows prebiotic properties. This can drastically improve your gut health which shows a direct effect on your overall health.
- Some studies suggest that cinnamon consumption can reduce short-term blood pressure.
- Cinnamon is a carminative that helps in digestion. This property makes it an essential component of many ayurvedic medicines.
- It can also play a role in glycemic control and aid in controlling blood sugar levels.
The best thing about cinnamon is that it tastes so good that you don’t need any other claim to make you add to your food.
Yogurt
This is another staple present in every fridge but often ignored. We undermine yogurt so much that only use it to marinate something. Only if we knew the health benefits of it, we would be eating bowls full of it.
- Just one cup of yogurt will 49% of your daily calcium needs.
- It will give you a good quantity and quality of protein, which is an essential nutrient in your diet.
- Yogurt is famous for being the best probiotic food, and rightfully so. This will improve your gut health.
- Probiotics in yogurt can also strengthen your immune system.
- Yogurt contains almost all the nutrients essential for bone health. So it can prevent and treat osteoporosis and other bone diseases.
There is one downside to yogurt that if you are lactose intolerant it might not suit you. Mind you, that yogurt is more tolerable than milk but in severe cases, yogurt too can cause harm.
Ginger
Even if you never knew the benefits of ginger before you were availing all of them. Because there is hardly a dish that does not contain ginger. Gingerol is the main active compound of ginger. You can say that gingerol is to ginger what curcumin is to turmeric.
- Ginger has very powerful medicinal properties making it an essential element of many Ayurvedic medicines.
- It can kill your morning sickness and general nausea.
- Ginger supplementation has been proven to show drastic effects on weight loss. This shows that natural ginger has at least some properties that may cause weight loss.
- It can lower your blood pressure as well.
- As ginger reduces inflammation it can help in dealing with arthritis.
- Although very little research is available regarding this ginger is suspected to have anti-diabetic properties.
This shows that if you really want to work for better health you can start with baby steps. Take baby steps towards your kitchen and come back with golden milk instead of packed fruit juice. It is also important to know that if you have a particular goal such as weight loss or weight gain these little things might not do it for you. For that, you will need a proper diet that can only be designed by a nutritionist. So book an appointment now and consult a nutritionist through Marham.pk.