10 Best Healthy Foods We Are Not Eating

When we shop at the market or go to a restaurant our first thought is to get food we like to eat and know. There are several foods out there that do not often make it into the shopping cart.

We always think that we don't want that or don't have time to fix that, but the reality is it doesn't take any more time to prepare a well balanced and nutritious meal than going to the drive through and getting something unhealthy when you calculate the time it takes to get through a line of ten cars or ten people in the restaurant.

Below you will find a list of ten foods you should be eating and reasons why.

The first item on the list is beets. Yeah, I know. I'm not one for beets either, but if you pick up a fresh beet from the supermarket rather than the can you will be getting a better taste as well as a healthy food. The beet is like red spinach it offers you a great source of folate and betaine. These are two nutrients that can help you lower your blood levels and decrease your risk of heart disease. Sounds pretty good right?

Cabbage is another source of great vitamins and you don't just have to through it in a salad. You can put cabbage on burgers, eat it in coleslaw, or even Asian style cabbage in your next Chinese dinner dish. Cabbage is just 22 calories of food and contains so many vitamins, it is one of the reason those on an Asian or European diet are healthier. You will find that cabbage contains sulforaphane, which helps boost your immunity to breast cancer. There are many healthy foods that can actually help us fight disease, so you may want to start eating a few.

Guava is not a very popular fruit in some cultures, but it is one of the best fruits to take. Guava contains lycopene, which is an antioxidant that fights prostate cancer. You will find that tomatoes and watermelon have some of the lycopene, but it isn't as much as guava. Guava actually has a sweeter flavor than other fruits. It is less acidic so it usually goes down great. For those who can't handle oranges or pineapple this is a pretty great treat. You can eat the fruit plain, make a juice, or have a fruit bowl with bananas and other fruits that also offer you some great nutrients.

Swiss Chard is not a popular item by any means, but again it is very healthy for you. Swiss Chard is a leafy green, which is found in the Mediterranean. You will find that this particular plant contains lutein and zeaxanthin along with carotenoids that help with your eyesight. The carotenoids help reduce the damage of aging to the retinas. This particular plant is good with steak or chicken after it has been steamed.

Who doesn't love cinnamon? Surprisingly many of us don't get enough cinnamon. You don't have to have cinnamon in a cinnamon roll, but you can certainly add it to many recipes. It is a great way to help reduce your blood sugar and the risk of heart disease. You can just sprinkle it on oatmeal or even in your coffee depending on what you like most.

Purslane is a vegetable found in Mexico, China, and Greece among other countries. It is a broad leaved weed. You will find this edible plant has more melatonin in it than other fruits and vegetables. This means that you will have an antioxidant in your body that naturally reduces the risk of cancer. Most often this purslane is found among salads.

Going back to juices for a minute you will find that the pomegranate juice is one of the most highly recommended juices to purchase. Everyone used to drink orange juice, but now it is pomegranate juice. The pomegranate juice regulates your body, by offering more energy as well as helping to reduce blood pressure. 4 ounces of pomegranate juices provides 50 percent of your daily vitamin C needs as well.

Goji Berries is another great fruit to help you reduce the risk of disease; specifically you will help reduce the likelihood of having diabetes when you eat these berries. The Goji Berries are a medical food from Tibet. They have been around for more than 1700 years. You will find that they have an antioxidant that helps reduce diabetes because it offers a way to reduce insulin resistance. You can eat them as a juice, plain, or with yogurt.

Plums, especially dried plums which are prunes are another healthy source of food. Prunes offer chlorogenic acid, and antioxidants that are able to reduce the risk of cancer. You will find that prunes are also a great help in regulating the body if you suffer from constipation. You can eat the prunes by themselves or sprinkle them over a prosciutto and back for a few minutes.

The last item on the list is the pumpkin seeds. While we just think about pumpkin seeds during Halloween in most cases you will find that they are a great source of natural minerals our bodies need. They contain magnesium as well as antioxidants. Pumpkin seeds can help reduce the risk of cancer in that they provide more oxygen to your cells and there is less damage. They can usually be found near the peanuts or almonds in a store.