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mojatu .com 36 Health & Food 30 FOODS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE SUPER HEALTHY Edited by Angela Wathoni For you to be able to achieve optimum health, many health practitioners’ advice loading up on superfoods. A superfood is “a food that is rich in compounds, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients considered beneficial to a person’s health.” Superfoods bring you other wonderful health benefits such as helping you maintain a healthy heart, slow down aging, prevent oxidative stress and just basically improving your overall health. Here’s a list of the most nutrient- dense superfoods you may want to include in your next grocery list. 1. Watercress 3. Chard Chard is easily one of the best and most popular vegetables around. It can boost one’s brain function, strengthen one’s bones, and help regulate blood circulation. It can also help regulate one’s blood sugar because of its syringic acid content. Bottom line: chard is a sweet treat for your health. 4. Beet Greens Watercress ranks at the top of the nutrition density chart with an amazingly perfect score of 100. This superfood fights against DNA breakdown and blood cell damage. Bottom line: Watercress can particularly suppress breast cancer cells because of the compound phenylethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), which has significant anticancer properties. 2. Chinese Cabbage Beet greens have very low caloric content, as they have low fat and no cholesterol. It belongs in the top 5 most nutrient-dense foods in the world, according to a research done at William Paterson. 6. Chicory Chicory contains plenty of essential micronutrients such as vitamins A and K. It is also both a digestive and diuretic, although it doesn’t have caffeine. In fact, Bottom line: you’ll get a happy tummy with chicory because it can support probiotics as it contains inulin, a prebiotic that is vital for your gut health. 7. Green Leaf Lettuce Green Leaf lettuce contains high amounts of vitamins A, C, K, and B vitamins. It can significantly aid brain function as it is rich in dietary nitrate, which helps prevent deterioration of brain cells. Bottom line: Leaf lettuce has sleep- inducing properties and analgesic properties, which means it can help relieve pain. 8. Parsley Bottom line: Beet greens are the leafy parts of the beet plant while the fleshy part at the roots are called beetroots. 5. Spinach This veggie has low sodium content, meaning it can help regulate your blood pressure. It can also fight anaemia and fatigue because it has a high iron content. Spinach is low in fat and cholesterol. Spinach can efficiently protect the body from harmful free radicals. These “free radicals” are among the top causes of various health problems today. Bottom line: Chinese cabbage is rich in antioxidants, which can boost eye health and provide you with healthy, glowing skin. Bottom line: Cooked spinach has more nutrients than raw ones because cooked spinach contains a bit more iron and vitamins A, K, B2, and B6. Parsley is one superfood that is very rich in vitamins K (with 554%) and A. In addition, it also contains dietary fibre and the minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron. In fact, it contains more iron than spinach. Bottom line: Parsley promotes kidney health. It also helps relieve rheumatoid arthritis, prevents diabetes, promotes better digestion, and it is even a natural breath freshener.