Foods with some of the highest nutrients levels are known as "super foods," according to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Such foods provide vitamins, minerals and other substances like antioxidants that help go beyond your basic nutritional needs to help protect your health. Incorporate a few super foods into your weekly grocery shopping list and stock your home with nutrient-rich foods.
Tomatoes
Iowa State University ranks tomatoes as an excellent super food due to its high level of minerals and vitamins, including vitamin A, magnesium and zinc. It's also a source of lycopene, which the university says works as a "powerful antioxidant" that can help reduce the risks of diseases like cancer. The university loves it so much that it recommends eating tomatoes every day for maximum health benefits.
Mushrooms
The edible varieties of this fungus come highlighted by the Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute as one of the top eight most nutritious foods for enhancing your body's immune system. The institute reports that they contain some of the highest levels of immune-strengthening B vitamins, plus selenium.
Cranberries
Cranberries can be eaten alone as a snack, or mixed in with other foods like yogurt. Colorado State University picks these berries as one of the top 10 super foods, saying fresh or preserved cranberries provide lots of vitamins and help ensure the health of your urinary tract.
Garlic
Garlic is known for warding off mythical vampires, but its nutritional properties are anything but a myth. This herb is one of the richest sources of allicin, according to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. The extension states that this substance, plus the other phytonutrients in garlic, can help strengthen your immune system while also helping to reduce your blood's cholesterol numbers.
Blueberries
Chesapeake College rates blueberries as "antiaging superstars." They contain numerous phytonutrients and antioxidants, such as vitamin C and anthocyanins, which the college says can help enhance the functioning of your brain.
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