With summer here (in theory) and the holiday countdown well under way, people have gone into overdrive to achieve their ideal figure.
Despite all the hours being put in at the gym, some people could be overlooking a few dietary changes that could help give their body aspirations a boost.
It often helps to make little adjustments here and there rather than completely overhauling your regular eating habits, so in this article we’ll provide you with 10 of the best superfoods you can add to your diet from our healthy eating courses:
Blueberries
These little berries are detox gold, in fact many nutritionists believe that if you make only one change to your diet it should be the addition of blueberries.
With age defying and disease fighting antioxidants, on top of a heroic amount of vitamin C, this fruit will keep you on form to hitting your fitness goals.
Beetroot
Naturally sweet, this is the Swiss army penknife of vegetables and is a great addition to salads, soups, crisps, and even cakes if you’re feeling adventurous!
With serious antioxidants, the beet has proven to purify the bloodstream, lower cholesterol and can be used to treat fatigue, ensuring you get more out of your day.
Garlic
The small and humble vegetable that makes everything taste just that little bit nicer can also give you a huge health boost.
From combating disease due to its antibacterial properties to boosting your sex drive due to improving your blood circulation, this little ingredient will keep you on your feet and fighting fit.
Lemon
We wouldn’t recommend eating it whole, but just one of these bad boys has more than 100 per cent of your Vitamin C intake!
Adding a lemon to your diet requires a bit of ingenuity but you’ll soon find it’s one of the more versatile fruits out there – for example you could add it to your water to pep it up or drizzle it on your chicken to get the anti-inflammatory and bone strengthening goodness from the fruit.
Seaweed
One of the major problems we see with adding seaweed to a diet is confusion over what to do with it – outside of sushi and Chinese buffet’s chances are you won’t even think of regularly eating the vegetable.
Packed with vitamins such as calcium, iron and zinc, one simple way of using the vegetable as an active part of your diet is to buy sheets of Nori (the kind used for sushi) – this makes a great alternative to a wrap or bread and you can then fill it with lean meat.
Cacao
The main selling point with raw cacao is that it provides all the flavour of chocolate without the guilt, containing just 15 calories per tablespoon with hardly any of the fat inherent in dairy chocolate.
If you’re slimming down but have a sweet tooth, this chocolate-alternative is your saving grace and there are plenty of recipes available for brownies and cakes. Not only that but the powder helps with blood circulation too!
Eggs
A staple of any fridge, not only are eggs one of the most versatile foodstuff you can own but they come packed with health benefits too.
High in protein, as well as A and B vitamins, they can be used as an accompaniment to almost any meal. Whether you boil, scramble, or poach, eggs are a simple way of getting the optimum amount of protein.
Green Tea
From speeding up your metabolism and ensuring your body burns fat quicker to helping glucose regulation, green tea is a great alternative to regular tea and coffee if you find yourself craving a cuppa.
Not to everyone’s taste, to counteract some of the bitterness you can add a hint of our other superfood, lemon, to make it more palatable.
Avocado
The instinct with healthy eating is to avoid anything containing the word ‘fat’, but ask any dietician or nutritionist and they will tell you that specific types of fat are a must in any diet.
Not just happy with being packed with fibre and protein, Avocado’s contain monounsaturated fats which reduce inflammation and actually quiet your hunger throughout the day via slow digestion. That means the fat content effectively helps you lose weight!
Grapefruit
A great addition to your morning breakfast plate, this tangy fruit can help lower insulin and prevents the body from storing as much sugar as fat therefore increasing weight loss.
Not only that but the fruit is high in fibre and even has anti-pain properties due to its salicylic acid content, leaving you to gain in the gym without the pain.
So there you have it, 10 superfoods to add to your diet to take your beach body progress into overdrive. By adding these here and there into your everyday food consumption you’ll soon find yourself with boundless energy, ready for all the fun in the sun you can handle.
Nick Cooper
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