Top 5 Superfoods For Beginners

Do you often feel tired or stressed out? Do you find it difficult to muster enough energy to face the day? Do you yearn for a healthier, more fulfilling lifestyle that you can sustain for the long term?

You’re not alone!

The quality of our food has deteriorated rapidly in recent decades. In fact, its nutrient value has dropped by an average of 30 to 60 per cent over the last fifty years. The UK Government’s National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS) revealed that our intake of several vitamins and minerals are below recommended levels, putting us at risk of nutrient deficiencies. And there has been a startling increase in the availability of processed ‘convenience foods’ containing high volumes of saturated fats, refined sugars and artificial additives. Naturally this is having a dramatic effect on both our physical and mental health.

The good news is that you don’t need to drastically change your eating habits in order to nourish your immune system with nutrient dense foods. Incorporating just one superfood into your diet will have a positive effect on your nutrition levels and your overall wellbeing.

Do superfoods really work?

Superfoods are pure, natural foods from some of the finest and most remote corners of our planet. They are low in calories, yet rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes, amino acids, fibre, antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids.

As well as being a delicious complement to your current diet, superfoods deliver an infinite range of health benefits including:

• a strengthened immune system
• increased energy levels
• improved athletic performance
• heightened libido
• enhanced mental clarity and focus
• improved physical and emotional balance
• heightened spiritual connection

Harnessed correctly superfoods are also an effective aid to weight loss, can delay the signs of aging and may help prevent or provide relief from a variety of diseases.

Top 5 superfoods for beginners

According to the ‘Towards a Healthier Britain 2010’ report, you can boost your vitamin and mineral intake by as much as 45% simply by choosing foods that contain high quantities of valuable nutrients. Here are five powerful superfoods to help you get started:

1) Goji berries - deliciously sweet, red berries that can be enjoyed as a snack or as an addition to smoothies, juices and trail mix. This superfood is renowned for its immune strengthening, libido enhancing, anti-aging, anti inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and is rich in vitamins (particularly C), minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, beta-carotene and zeaxanthin, polysaccharides and beta-sisterol.

2) Mulberries – intensely sweet, honey flavoured berries that can be eaten as a snack or scattered over breakfast dishes, desserts and nut mixes. A superfood packed with powerful anthocyanins that will help keep your heart and blood vessels healthy, boost your immune system, delay the signs of aging, lower blood sugar levels and improve vision. 

3) Chia seeds – a versatile superfood that can be sprinkled into breakfast cereals, soups, salads and sauces or added to smoothies and shakes. Alternatively, chia seeds can be soaked in water to form a gel-like substance that makes an ideal base for desserts and biscuits. Crammed with beneficial antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids, chia seeds can help delay aging and boost your immunity. Chia seeds also balance blood sugar levels, making them an ideal superfood for diabetics. 

4) Raw cacao – an energy rich superfood that, unlike regular chocolate, contains no fattening sugars or milk and virtually no caffeine. Raw cacao can aid weight loss, boost energy, improve mood and concentration and heighten libido and boasts an indulgent chocolate flavour that enhances smoothies, shakes and desserts. This superfood is rich in beneficial antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, essential fatty acids, tryptophan, serotonin and PEA orphenylethylamine (aka the ‘love drug’).

5) Coconut oil – a superfood rich in vegetable saturated fatty acids that help maintain healthy skin, prevent heart disease, fight infection, strengthen the body’s natural immunity and promote weight loss. This aromatic superfood can be used for frying, stir-frying and roasting or enjoyed as a tasty spread. Coconut oil is also an extremely nourishing moisturiser that can be applied directly to hair, skin and lips or used as a massage oil for amazing results!