Super Foods For Weight Loss!

According to the healthy eating pyramid, fruits and vegetables should make up half of our daily diet. Does this mean that any vegetables and fruits are equally useful for your health and body? Will you be able to maintain normal weight or to lose excess pounds by eating potatoes or beans (hey, these are vegetables, right?). In fact, some vegetables and fruits are more conducive to weight loss, while the overuse of the others can lead to weight gain. Recently researchers from Harvard University conducted a study that helped to identify the most useful vegetables and fruits for weight loss.

Blueberries

Blueberries contain little of fruit acids, but a lot of vitamins A and B, manganese, fibers and flavonoids. These berries can serve as a good source of vitamin C, magnesium and calcium, too. Laboratory experiments showed that eating blueberries may prevent or help in treating eye diseases such as retinal detachment, though this therapy has not been studied clinically. However, the property of blueberry to improve blood flow in retina is widely used in ophthalmology. Besides, dark blue berries contain a significant amount of pigment anthocyanin which revealed the property to reduce the risk of heart and circulatory system diseases as well as the risk of cancer. Since blueberries have a high content of flavonoids and tannins which act as antioxidants, they can reduce inflammation.

In terms of weight loss blueberries are high in fiber, prolonging the feeling of fullness, and low in calories. In addition, the berries help to regulate blood sugar – the great combination to provide the body with useful substances and to lose weight.

Prunes

Prunes contain dietary fiber (about 7% or 7 grams per kg of product) and a large amount of antioxidants. Eating prunes you can also fill the body with vitamins (A, C, E, K and B group) and macroelements such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. However, prunes have enough calories (241 kcal per 100 g), so you shouldn't overeat them. From the other hand, a couple of prunes can successfully substitute sweets (which are usually excluded from diets for weight loss) and help to go through the lack of cakes and cookies.

Apples

Yes, it may seem to be too simple, but apples do leave other fruits behind in their weight loss properties. An apple a day keeps the doctor away – do you remember? According to some studies, eating apples can reduce the risk of cancer. Fiber contained in apples stimulates intestinal motility and helps in prevention of heart disease, in weight loss and in reduction of cholesterol. Compared with other fruits and vegetables, apples contain smaller amount of vitamin C, but have a lot of other antioxidants. In addition to A, B, C, E, K vitamins apples supply the body with calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc.

Pears

Pears are known for the high content of vitamins (C, A, E, B, K), folic acid, potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. The caloric value of this fruit is quite low – about 50-60 calories per 100 grams and the fruit sweetness depends not on glucose, but largely on fructose. Due to the high fiber content pears satisfy hunger for a long time. Besides, essential oils contained in pears help to resist depression – this is a contributing factor at struggle with excess weight.

Strawberries

Strawberries include sugar, fruit acids, nitrous and pectin acids, tannins, fiber and vitamin C. Due to the high content of water strawberry has a light diuretic effect helping to remove excess fluid from the body, which in turn reduces water retention and promotes weight loss. And owing to pectin and fiber the berries contribute to good digestion and cleansing of bowels from decay products. 100 g of strawberries give about 30 calories and so you can eat them almost in unlimited quantities without fear to gain weight.

Grapes

Grapes and raisins can beat such famous dietary products as pineapple or grapefruit allowing you to lose more pounds. Grape and its products have valuable gustatory, therapeutic and nutritional qualities. It contains tartaric, malic and other organic acids, minerals (especially phosphorus, iron, calcium), protein substances, pectin and vitamins (carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, ascorbic acid, adermin, citrine). Red grape is known as a source of resveratrol which is a natural phytoalexin, secreted by some plants as a protection against bacteria or fungi. In experiments with mice and rats many useful qualities of resveratrol were found such as antitumor, antiinflammatory, cardioprotective effects along with the ability to lower blood sugar.

Surely, grape is an excellent dietary product, but you should keep in mind that it contains large amount of glucose and fructose which are easily absorbed by the body. The energy value of grapes is about 70 kcal.

Tofu and soy

Soy products are famous for the high-quality vegetable protein and polyunsaturated fatty acids including essential linoleic acid (it plays a major role in preventing the formation of atherosclerotic plaques). The distinguishing feature of soy is a very high content of phospholipids compared with other cultures. Phospholipids contribute to regeneration of membranes, increase the detoxification ability of liver, reduce insulin dependence in diabetics, prevent degenerative changes in the nerve cells and muscles, strengthen capillaries and have an antioxidant effect. Seeds of soybean belong to a group of few foods containing isoflavones (they show strong metabolic properties). Besides, tofu and soy are the sources of B vitamins, β-carotene and vitamin E as well as iron, calcium and potassium. Soy products are low-calorie and don't contain cholesterol.

Cauliflower

When it comes to the nutritional value, dietary properties and taste, cauliflower is superior to all other Brassica oleracea species. It has a higher content of protein and ascorbic acid than cabbage (2 and 3 times respectively). The nutritional value of cauliflower is associated with a high content of vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, PP, A and macroelements like sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron. In addition, there are sugars, starch, fiber and crude protein in cauliflower – such a complex biochemical composition puts it in line of essential foods for those who want to lose weight and stay healthy. And the most pleasant thing about cauliflower is only 25 kcal of caloric value per 100 grams of product.

Summer squash

It turned out that even broccoli is not as good for slimming as summer squash. It's highly digestible and low in calories, so no wonder that summer squash is considered to be one of the most popular vegetables in diets for weight loss. Having about 27 kcal per 100 g summer squash contains potassium, iron, organic acids and vitamins (C, PP, B1, B2, B6, carotene).

String beans

You'd be surprised, but eating green beans you can lose almost 2 times more pounds than eating ripe beans. Though in protein content string beans compare poorly with other varieties of beans, they contain more vitamins like vitamin C, K, provitamin A and B vitamins. Thanks to smaller amount of fat, they are low-calorie and easy to digest. Also a good point of string beans is a wide range of minerals and rather high content of fiber.

Peppers

All varieties of peppers, including red and green, sweet and spicy, contain plenty of vitamins and minerals, protein and fat, dietary fiber, sucrose, fructose and glucose. They are high in para-coumaric acid which is known for its antioxidant properties. But if you want to get the most of pepper, choose red one: it contains 9 times more carotene and 2 times more vitamin C.

Broccoli

100 calories of broccoli give the body more protein than 100 calories of beef! This vegetable is high in micronutrient and vitamins (it beats other cabbage plants in the content of vitamin A), folic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium. Broccoli boasts antioxidant properties due to substances that can effectively suppress cancer cells.

Sources:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/specific-fruits-and-vegetables-may-prevent-weight-gain-say-harvard-researchers-20150922-gjs9hq#ixzz3mfszDagg
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515569/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3116821/