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Dynamic Duos: Food Pairings for Better Health

You know what they say, you are what you eat. Paying attention to the quality of your food and keeping a healthy balanced diet are should be essential parts of your wellbeing plan.  Which is why, knowing how to combine your food for optimum nutrition levels can be a game changer.

Pairing food badly can make digestion difficult, causing drowsiness, headaches, bloating and hampering your fitness weigh loss efforts. Interested? Keep reading below to find out more. However, please remember to always consult with your doctor before making any dietary changes.

Dynamic Duos

Avocado and Carrots

Carrots are one of the best sources of beta-carotene, which your body transforms into vitamin A – important for skin, bone and muscle health and for good eyesight. Avocados are rich in healthy monounsaturated fats. Combine these two foods to absorb more beta-carotene and boost your vitamin A intake.

In the kitchen: Prepare a fresh avocado, mango and carrot salad as a unique colourful and tasty dish, rich in vitamins and minerals, perfect for a quick lunch or dinner.

Eggs and Vegetables

Eating eggs and vegetables together aids the absorption of carotenoids from vegetables. Vegetables and carotenoid-rich fruits include carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, cabbage, cabbage, melon, tomatoes, and watermelon. Carotenoids include alpha and beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxantin nutrients which some studies consider beneficial in preventing cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, as well as helping reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50.

In the kitchen: Add chopped hardboiled eggs to a tomato salad or finely chopped vegetables to your omelette.

Spinach and Oranges

Spinach is rich in iron; however, the absorption of iron is inhibited without the presence of vitamin C. Oranges and other citruses have high levels of vitamin C – these improve the absorption of iron by facilitating its transformation at digestion. Beans and lentils are also rich in iron. Pair with foods rich in vitamin C, including citrus fruits, broccoli, green and red peppers and tomatoes to avoid iron deficiencies.

In the kitchen: enrich your 'spinach salad' with orange slices. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the cooked spinach, or use the spinach in tomato sauces.

Salad and Vinaigrette

Increase the nutritional power of your salad with a tasty vinaigrette.

Vitamins and nutrients, are better absorbed if the salad is seasoned with a good quality oil rich in unsaturated fats, such as extra virgin olive.

The word vinaigrette, from the French "vinaigre", is a salad dressing native to France. It is an emulsion of oil and vinegar, to which you can add other ingredients such as salt, spices and herbs.

In the kitchen: To a classic vinaigrette add a teaspoon of raw cocoa (powder or beans): this will not only elevate flavour, you it will also add additional minerals, antioxidants, magnesium, calcium and vitamin C to your salad.

Nuts and Oats

These two elements combined give you a powerful dose of iron and copper, which aid the formation of haemoglobin, the molecule that "transports" oxygen to cells.

Nuts and oats are a high-protein mix, rich in good fats and vitamins, which stimulates the sense of satiety, as it keeps blood sugar levels stable.

In the kitchen: prepare a nice bowl of warm porridge and walnuts, maybe complement this dish a nice dusting of cocoa.

Broccoli and Sardines

Perfect for taking in large quantities the Q10 Coenzyme needed for the production and distribution of cellular energy that also acts as an antioxidant, protecting cell walls from the actions of free radicals.

In the kitchen: use broccoli and sardines as the base for your pasta sauce or add to a delicious bruschetta to be served as a starter.

Legumes and carrots

Not sure how to eat legumes for a rich and healthy dish? When in doubt, add carrots. Both foods contain large amounts of vitamin K which is essential for its anti-haemorrhagic action, which can stem blood loss. Small precaution: Use extra virgin olive oil as a seasoning because vitamin K is absorbed only in combination with fats.

In the kitchen: prepare a robust side dishes made from lentils and carrots, perhaps a warm bowl of lentil dahl or a legume soup, enriched with carrot cream.

Meat and Sesame Seeds

An alternative seasoning for meat? Sesame seeds! Adding black sesame seeds to meat provides you with two essential amino acids, lysine and methionine, needed for the production of carnitine; a key molecule for the metabolism of long-chain fatty acids.

In the kitchen: add to your minced beef to make Asian inspired burgers, or add to your chicken with teriyaki sauce.

Remember, your diet has a significant impact in your wellbeing but you also need to stay active for optimum results. If you are not part of the Curves community yet, what are you waiting for? Find your nearest club today!

 

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