Aiming to make 2010 slightly healthier than 2009? Here’s a few foods to get you on the right track.

1. Goji berries

The red goji beriies contains incredible amounts of antioxidants, that will help you stay fit, strengthen your immune system and keep your body from aging. Goji berries also have a low glycemic index.

2. Quinoa

Quinoa is really a super food. It has a very high protein content and contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a popular choice among vegetarians. It’s high in calcium, minerals, vitamins, antioxidants (if you chose the dark quinoa) and fiber. No wonder the Aztecs called Quinoa “the mother of all foods”.

3. Acai

Acai is a dark berry from South America. Studies have shown both good and bad vitamin values, but luckily that’s not what makes it so amazing. What makes acai a true super food is rather its extremely high content of antioxidants – in fact one of the highest of all foods on this planet.

4. Shellfish

Shellfish is a great source for the omega-3 acids EPA and DHA, that among other things will prevent heart disease. It’s also a great source for protein.

5. Almonds

Almonds contain a lot of protein as well as a lot of good monounsaturated fat that will help you lower you LDL cholesterol. Almonds increase your metabolism, and studies have shown that adding a handful of almonds a day to your diet actually will help you lose weight, even though your total calorie intake will go up.

6. Walnuts

A great source for omega-3. Even if it’s not the same kind of omega-3 that you can find in fish (it’s a kind of omega-3 called ALA, instead of EPA and DHA), you will still gain great health benefits from it.

7. Salmon

Another good source for omega-3, as well as protein.

8. Dark chocolate

Thought chocolate was bad for you? Well, it is. If you eat too much, that is. However, if you can restrain yourself and avoid over-eating, dark chocolate is a great source for antioxidants.

9. Garlic

Garlci is one of the oldest known medicinal plants. It’s very good for fighting colds, as well as heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. It’s truly nature’s own antibiotic.

10. Green tea

Green tea is a very good source for flavonoids, a type of antioxidants. However, don’t drink it with milk, as the milk will stop your body from metabolizing its flavonoids properly.

11. Blueberries

Blueberries have a very high content of antioxidants (anthocyanins). They also help preventing Alzheimer’s and brain damages. Consumption of blueberries help to lower cholesterol as well as total blood lipid levels. Their low glycemic index will help you keep your weight as well as your energy levels on top.

12. Cinnamon

An averagely high consumption of cinnamon will provide you with loads of manganese, iron, calcium and vitamins C and K. It also contains insane amounts of antioxidants – even far more than acai. It will also help you boost cognitive function and memory.

Got any other great foods that should be on the list? Share your thoughts.

Related posts:

1. 14 Foods That Will Boost Your Brain Power
2. 5 of the Best Sources of Antioxidants In the World

For many teenagers and young adults, acne is a serious problem. It can cause lower self-esteem, confidence and even depression. The interesting thing about acne is that it is a typical western problem. Acne does not exist among members of primitive cultures that get their food by gathering and hunting, except for members that have devolved to a more modern lifestyle.

Among doctors it seems to be very common to talk about how to treat the symptoms of acne, but not how to treat the actual problem. The result of this is that people suffering from acne end up paying lots of money for drugs with lots of unpleasant side-effects.

I’ve decided to list six alternative ways to get rid of acne. Some of these are methods that people whom I’ve spoken to have said worked, and some are methods that have worked great for me.

• De-stress

Stress is the most common cause for acne among adults. It may be hard to give precise advice for how to de-stress as the source of the stress is very individual. However, one important thing is to not burden yourself too much and let other people’s problems become weights on your shoulders.

• Reduce your consumption of fast carbs

Fast carbs, or more correct carbohydrates with high glychemical index (often abbreviated as GI), can be found in many modern foods, such as white bread and refined sugar. Consumption of foods with high GI cause your body to produce a hormone called insulin, that apart from makes you fat also increases your body’s production of testosterone. Too high levels of testosterone cause a hormonal imbalance. That imbalance causes acne.

You can avoid this imbalance by switching foods with high GI for foods with low GI. Here’s a table of the GI of different foods.

• Reduce your consumption of dairy foods

Same as above. Dairy foods contain two kinds of protein called casein and whey protein. These proteins cause your body to produce huge amounts of insulin that leads to high testosterone levels and eventually a hormonal imbalance.

• Take supplements of zinc

Zinc is said to help many people suffering from acne. Supplements of zinc are cheap and the risk of overdosing is low. When you take supplements of zinc, your acne may become worse for a few days before it starts going away.

30 milligrams per day will do.

• Take supplements of vitamin B5

When I was seventeen, I suffered greatly from acne. I had suffered from it for several years, when I one day read about someone suffering from acne taking a supplement of vitamin B5 (a.k.a. panthotenic acid). I decided to try it out. Two weeks later I was acne-free, and then I had only used one fourth of the recommended dose.

2,5 gram per day did wonders for me, but the recommended dose was 10 grams per day. Some claim that taking high amounts of vitamin B5 can cause an imbalance in other B vitamins. I never noticed anything, but if you want to do it the safe way, complement it with a B vitamin complex.

Good luck!

Know any other way to treat acne? Share your tips.

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