The 19 Best Foods for Health and Happiness

The food you eat affects your weight, your mood and your allergies.   A diet of just one or a few foods can leave you nutritionally deprived.   It is best to eat a wide variety of foods.   Here are a few foods that should regularly make it into your shopping cart.

Legumes (Peas, Beans, Peanuts) — are a great source of magnesium.   Magnesium is a mineral that helps in your body’s energy production.

Spinach — a great source of iron.   Iron delivers oxygen to your cells.

Quinoa — contains all nine of the essential amino acids your body can’t make on its own.

Tomatoes — cooked tomatoes are great for allergy sufferers.   Lycopene reduces inflammation and mucus secretion.

Vitamin-D-Fortified Milk — helps those suffering from asthma.

Apples — contains quercetin an antioxidant that is a natural antihistamine.   Eat the skin!

Walnuts — great source of serotonin, the chemical that makes us calm and happy.

Salmon — eating salmon can reduce irritability and worrying.

Cereal — enriched cereal will provide you with the recommended amount of folic acid.

Berries — help stave on brain aging.   Can I have two servings, please?

Eggs — the yolks are high in choline which also helps your memory neurons.

Clams — are a great source of B12, which is also important for brain function.

Oranges — are full of vitamin C which is needed for collagen production.   And collagen is what keeps our skin looking good.

Cayenne Pepper — this will boost your digestion and curb your appetite.   Anyone need to lose weight?

Parsley — is a great source of vitamin K, which reduces inflammation, promotes strong bones and helps clot blood.

Turmeric — could help against memory loss.   Often found in curry powder.

Green Tea — slows weight gain. Hurray!   Hang on while I get a cup.

Red Wine — helps protect against the sun’s aging effects.

Coffee — clears the brain fog.   That is why so many of us start our day with a cup.

Key Points:

  • 1Peas, beans and peanuts are stand-up sources of magnesium, a mineral that plays a core role in your body’s energy production.
  • 2Walnuts are one of the richest dietary sources of serotonin, a chemical in your noggin that helps create calm and happiness.
  • 3Your breakfast cereal is the easiest way to get 100 percent of the daily amount of folic acid (the synthetic form of the B vitamin folate).


.
“Diet has tremendous effects on our short-and long-term health, especially when it comes to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,” says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine at Harvard Medical School. Just remember, he adds, to “eat a variety of healthy foods, rather than focus on one magic bullet.”
Share

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

User Reviews

Reply

Your email address will not be published

13 + ten =

Written by HealthStatus
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

View all post by HealthStatus