Superfoods don’t have to be exotic and expensive. There are many common foods in our diet that are rich in protective nutrients and provide health benefits. Furthermore, we can enhance their nutritional qualities by choosing them well and preparing them in a certain way.
Already buying seasonal and, if possible, local. In fact, this is how fruits and vegetables have a better nutritional profile. Because when they are harvested before maturity or weakened in transport, their nutrients are not developed enough or they are damaged. The longer a fruit or vegetable has been traveling, the more it will lose its nutritional qualities..
As for raw vegetables, it is good to cut or grate them. This allows for better digestion and improves the assimilation of micronutrients. But to avoid the loss of vitamin C, which is very sensitive to oxidation, we eat raw vegetables as soon as we have prepared them. We always think that eating raw is a must for vitamins, but in some cases cooking can be interesting. For example, tomatoes. It is good to alternate them, eat them raw for their vitamin C, but also cook them, because their main advantage is the lycopene content. This is a pigment that gives them their red color and is also a powerful antioxidant. However, its bioavailability increases under the influence of heat. With cooking, lycopene is released from plant cells and is further assimilated by the body.
Tomatoes and olive oil, the healthy combination
By adding olive oil or another fat, we further increase its assimilation because it passes more easily through the intestinal barrier in the presence of a fatty substance.
Fat should therefore not always be ignored because it can increase nutrient absorption. The addition of oil or butter increases the absorption of lycopene by 6 times, but also of beta-carotene, another antioxidant pigment it is found in winter squash, sweet potato, and carrot.
Eat potato salad
You can eat cooled starchy foods. Potatoes, legumes and cereals contain starch which, as it cools, changes its structure and becomes more resistant to digestion, which lowers its glycemic index. Potatoes, lentils, pasta or rice in salads therefore raise blood sugar levels less than when eaten hot.
One more thing to know about legumes: They contain phytic acid which interferes with the absorption of minerals like calcium, magnesium and iron. To avoid this, soak the legumes and add the baking soda to the cooking water..
