Thursday, July 26, 2012

20 Fittest Foods

After reading several articles online I found the top 20 fittest foods. Here they are:


20) Turkey Breast
72 calories per 3-oz serving
Eat 3 servings per week
Buy it skinless and you get seven grams of muscle-building protein per ounce.
19) Olive Oil
119 calories per tbsp
Eat 2 tbsp per day
Olive oil is rich in good monounsaturated fat, making it an ideal food for heart health.
18) Quinoa
318 calories per half cup
Eat 2-3 servings per week
17) Black Beans
227 calories per cup
Eat 2 servings per week
Tiny as they are, beans can help you feel energized and fuller longer than almost anything else you can eat. The reason is twofold: They're incredibly high in fiber, which swells in your stomach and promotes a feeling of fullness. And, they're stuffed with a highly complex form of carbohydrate that can take your body a long while to convert into energy. Like meat, they're also packed with protein. 
16) Green Tea
2 calories per cup
Drink 1-3 cups per day
From cancer prevention to weight loss to potentially slowing the development of Alzheimer's, green tea has been shown to help fight almost every major medical ill.
15) Eggs
74 calories per large egg
Eat 3-7 eggs per week
Eggs contain a heavy-hitting 4 grams of pure muscle-building amino acids inside every shell, in addition to boasting some of the highest naturally available doses around of a vitamin called choline, which is thought to help enhance memory. 
14) Milk
118 calories per cup
Get 3 servings of dairy per day
13) Water
0 calories
Drink Eight 8-oz glasses per day
You know you need to be drinking more water, and for good reason. Water flushes toxins from your system, regulates body temp, acts as an insulator for joints, prevents kidney stones, and supplies the body with a raft of crucial minerals.
Although water helps in every way, it may be at its most powerful when it comes to weight loss. Drinking a glass or two of water a half hour or so before mealtime, for example, can help take the edge off your hunger.
Getting in all that water each day seem like a drag? Try making a half gallon of sugar-free lemonade you can sip throughout the day, or buy a pack of calorie-free flavorings to add to your water bottle at work.
12) Sweet Potatoes
100 calories per med. potato
Eat 1 per week
A four-ounce sweet potato holds more than 100% of our daily supply of beta carotene, a hefty dose of iron, and a plentiful shot of vitamins C and E. 
11) Soy300 calories per cupEat 2 servings per weekSoy nuts and the soy protein used in some protein shakes and bars not only taste great but are very guy-friendly.
10) Beef
163 calories per 3-oz serving
Eat 3-4 servings per week
It's not only high in muscle-building amino acids, it's also a powerhouse of iron and zinc, which aid circulatory health. 
9) Whole-Wheat Bread
140 calories per 2 slices
Eat 6 slices per week
White flour doesn't just rob you of fiber and protein, it also digests incredibly quickly in the body, giving you a rapid spike of energy-but one that comes crashing down just as fast. Over time, those spikes in insulin production wear on the body, damaging cells and promoting excess storage of fat. So why would you ever eat white bread?
8) Almonds82 calories per 1/2-oz servingEat 3 servings per weekHigh in protein, fiber, and vitamin E, almonds are great for your heart, digestive system, and skin. 
7) Yogurt
154 calories per cup
Get 3 servings of dairy per day
Yogurt has all the benefits of milk, plus active cultures that boost the number of germ-fighting bacteria along your intestinal walls.
6) Spinach
7 calories per cup
Eat 2-3 servings per week
What do button-down dietitians have in common with brawl-happy cartoon sailors? They all love their spinach! And for good reason. One serving of these leafy greens is loaded with fiber, calcium, and virtually your entire day's recommended dosage of beta carotene, a nutrient vital for immune-system health, good vision, but not-as far as we know-huge wrist flexors.
5) Broccoli
31 calories per cup
Eat 2-3 half-cup servings per week
It's rich with a healthy supply of iron, calcium, fiber, and vitamin C, meaning it's good for the circulatory system, bones, and fighting colds. 
4) Tomatoes
83 calories per cup
Eat 4 servings per week
This powerful antioxidant, which comes from the pigment that gives tomatoes their red color, may actually help fight off a number of diseases and ailments-most important for men, prostate cancer. 
3) Oatmeal
148 calories per half cup
Eat 3-4 servings per week
When it comes to eating breakfast in the morning, there's nothing better than a bowl of oatmeal to spike your energy levels and provide you with an hours-long supply of fuel. Oatmeal is also filled with stress-fighting and immunity-boosting zinc.
2) Blueberries
41 calories per half cup
Eat 1-2 cups per week
Of all the fruit you can eat, blueberries may be the absolute best. Whether you're getting them raw, tossed into cereal, mixed in fruit salad or a smoothie, blueberries pack more fiber, vitamins, and minerals per ounce than any other fruit in the produce aisle. 
1) Salmon
121 calories per 3-oz serving
Eat 3-4 servings per week
Salmon made out list for a number of reasons, but the biggest has got to be because its so densely stuffed with omega-3's. These fatty acids are thought to slow memory loss as you age and boost heart health by regulating heart rhythms and keeping arteries and veins supple and free of blockages.A three-ounce cooked serving contains 20 grams-making it ideal for building muscle and trimming fat. Besides helping stimulate your metabolism three to four times more than carbs or fat, protein is the absolute best food for helping fill you up, so you take in fewer calories and burn more. And that's what being a fit food is all about.



1 comment:

  1. Very great suggestions! I love using Olive oil it actually is about the only oil I use besides grapeseed oil. I found out eggs are actually good for you, and you can have one a day without a problem...great since one is a serving! whole wheat bread is a must usually the heavy can see the seeds brands... some of these are things I didn't know or think of so thanks very much for posting them... BTW the water thing really helped my sugar control so thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Caramel Carrot Poke Cake

Ingredients Cake 1  box carrot cake mix (make as directed) plus box required ingredients. Filling 1 -  12 oz jar Smucker's® Simple Delig...