Boca Raton, FL – Summer is fast approaching, and as the local gym gets more and more packed with people anxiously trying to shred and tone-up before they hit the beach, there’s one more point to remember: nutrition! But which foods can we incorporate into our diet to help us look healthy and beach body ready?
Marianna Ragoussis, nutritionist for Spoon Guru, has suggestions which have shown to boost metabolism and help with weight maintenance while keeping fit and looking good.
High protein foods
Protein helps us to maintain lean muscle during weight loss, and can help increase the energy we burn each day. This is because it takes more energy to metabolize protein compared to other macronutrients, but extra glucose from protein metabolism can end up being converted into fat if not used. Choose lean proteins such as tofu, lentils, chicken, turkey, fish, and red meats with the fat trimmed.
Fresh fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables, such as bananas, berries, spinach, and cauliflower, are plentiful in zinc, magnesium, potassium, fiber, vitamin K, and vitamin C which are important for bone health to reduce the risk of fractures. Furthermore, non-starchy fruits and vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, watermelon, and grapefruit have a low glycemic index and will therefore keep us feeling fuller for longer and help us to avoid overeating.
When it comes to having healthy skin and hair, vegetables high in vitamin A, such as carrots and pumpkin, are key. Another important vitamin found in many fruits and vegetables is Vitamin C. This helps with the production of collagen which is needed for bringing nutrients to the hair, as well as to absorb iron which is important for hair growth. So not only would we look good, but feel good too!
Wholegrains
These can include wholewheat, wholegrain rye, bulgur wheat, and whole oats. Compared to refined grains, wholegrains are less-processed. They are digested more slowly and have a gentler effect on blood sugar, which helps us feel fuller for longer.
So, what can we snack on?
Here are some healthy snacks that we can enjoy in moderation:
- Whole grain granola bars: Digested slowly, so keeps us feeling fuller for longer
- Roasted edamame beans: High in iron, fiber, and protein.
- Pumpkin seeds: Great source of protein, omega 3, antioxidants, zinc and magnesium.
- Low fat yogurt: Contains good bacteria for a healthy gut, as well as being a great source of protein and calcium.
- Small amounts of unsalted almonds and walnuts: Rich in vitamin E for healthy skin, among other valuable nutrients.
Staying hydrated is essential for our body to function. Apart from water, what else can we drink?
Green tea:
Brewed hot or made into a lovely iced-tea, green tea not only contains flavanols and flavonoids, but also catechins – which have been found to help increase our metabolism. Additionally, the caffeine found in green tea has shown to help with weight maintenance.
Stevia instead of sugar in your drink:
Rather than going for regular sugar-sweetened beverages, try to find a drink that has been sweetened with stevia instead. This natural sweetener is derived from the Stevia plant and provides at least 30 times the sweetness of sugar. Beverages high in sugar can increase the risk of weight gain, so it’s best to avoid these.
By including these foods as part of a healthy and balanced diet and exercise, we’ll be able to flaunt our healthy looking skin, hair, and body with confidence!
About Spoon Guru:
Spoon Guru is a free consumer iOS and Android app to help consumers with food allergies or following specific dietary needs.
Consumers select from 120+ dietary tags —offering the broadest coverage of dietary profiles across the market—to establish what intolerances they have (gluten, eggs, nuts, sulphites etc.), and/or lifestyle diet categories they follow (vegan, low carb, aleo, etc.). Spoon Guru addresses single and multiple user food requirements; a typical Spoon guru user selects 3.3 food preferences on average.
Using a unique combination of AI, machine learning, nutritionist expertise and consumer insights, the savvy search engine delivers hundreds of thousands of food products relevant to the individual, along with 1000s of tailored recipes. Whatever the individual food requirements may be, Spoon Guru finds food for every body. When shopping, the app’s powerful barcode scanner reads a product barcode to identify what the consumer can and cannot eat, making accurate grocery shopping enjoyable instead of a chore. The same search process has created tens of thousands of recipes.