Why Should You Opt For Healthy Whole Foods?

Consuming whole foods in daily diet helps to boost the immune system and contribute to healthy living. They are a preferred choice for health conscious people, as they are consumed for their goodness in their natural state rather than unhealthy processed or refined food products.

Whole foods locally grown or organic foods are enriched with minerals, vitamins and nutrients. Consumption of whole foods is rising and such foods are available not only in upscale grocery markets, but in almost any good store in your vicinity. Given below are some of the benefits of consuming whole foods.

The Benefits of Consuming Healthy Whole Foods

Phytochemicals: The foremost importance of having whole foods is that they are loaded with minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals. Innumerable phytochemicals have been identified that help the body in a number of ways.

Some of the phytochemicals are antioxidants, which protect the cells from damage. Examples of antioxidant phytochemicals are carotenoids, lycopene and flavonoids. They include:

• The powerful antioxidant, lycopene, which is a red-colored carotenoid found in tomatoes

• Anthocyanins is a powerful antioxidant that gives deep blue color to berries

• Pterostilbene, helps in the breakdown fat and cholesterol, and is found in blueberries, Gamay and Pinot Noir varieties of grapes.

Being assured of having the necessary phytochemicals, it is advisable to consume the plant food in their unprocessed or whole form. You can also use them in ground form, if they are seeds or grains. You can purchase all these varieties of grapes, tomatoes and other whole foods in the whole food market.

Combating Nutrient Shortage: A vast majority of the population is suffering from the shortage of these vital nutrients like magnesium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber etc. that help to lower the risk of diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer and heart disease. One of the best ways to correct this shortage is by consuming whole foods which are a plant-based diet.

Acquiring Good Fats: Whole food is loaded with good fats like omega 3s, which can be obtained from plants and fishes and the mono-saturated fat is obtained from plants. Hence, by opting for whole foods instead of processed food, you can make a wise choice of not consuming bad fats, such as transfat and poly-saturated fat, present in fast food and processed food. Make your daily diet healthy by buying omega 3s and other healthy fats from a good whole foods market.

Avoiding Additives in Food: Processed food consumption not only results in loss of essential nutrients due to refinement, but also in consumption of additives, chemicals and preservatives which are used to prolong their shelf life. These chemicals are not good for health. You can avoid consuming these chemicals by having whole foods.

Fiber: Whole foods are rich in fiber. This nutrient helps to keep the GI tract healthy, helps fight diabetes and heart disease.

Consumption of whole foods has become a rage now. Purchase it from the whole foods market and make a difference to your health