West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Talks about How to Best Incorporate Berries into your Diet and Weight loss Plans
Delicious, beautiful, sweet, and simple—berries are as healthful as they are diverse. As a snack, in a fruit salad, or for dessert, simply pick, wash, and eat them to reap the nutritional benefits they have to offer. Recent research has focused on how and why berries are such a super food as part of healthy nutrition. They can also be very filling when you are trying to design your weight loss plan.
From high-vitamin concentrations to anticancer-fighting activity, here is the bottom line on benefits from eating berries:
- Phytochemicals and flavonoids:
- Create the beautiful colors found in berries
- Responsible for the cancer-fighting compounds and disease prevention
- Possibly helpful in the prevention of cancer (blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and strawberries)
- Vitamin C:
- Abundant in strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, and raspberries
- Responsible for immune functioning and connective tissue
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Cherries As Part of your Daily Diet
Cherries have a short season, but are a great choice dried. They are rich in fiber, vitamin C, and anthocyanins, and are associated with promoting heart health and reducing cancer risk. Cherries also are rich in melatonin, which may help with sleep!
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Strawberries As Part of your Daily Diet
Strawberries are rich in folate, which is one of several B vitamins found in food. They are responsible for making healthy new cells and preventing anemia and neural tube defects in developing fetuses.
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Blueberries As Part of your Diet
Blueberries neutralize free-radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues, which can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease, and cancer. The properties that help them do this are phytonutrients, called anthocyanidins.
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Cranberries As Part of your Diet
Cranberries are best known for their ability to help prevent and treat urinary tract infections. Recent studies suggest that they also may promote gastrointestinal and oral health, prevent the formation of kidney stones, lower LDL and raise HDL (good) cholesterol ( a big problem in obese and diabetic patient), aid in recovery from stroke, and even help prevent cancer.
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Raspberries As Part of your Diet
Raspberries are best known for their role in neutralizing free radicals and for their antioxidant benefits. They are also high in manganese, vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, and niacin. In addition, raspberries are a good source of dietary fiber, which can help you fill full and lose weight.
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors Recommend Acai and pomegranate juices As Part of your Diet
Recently people are recognizing acai and pomegranate (not a berry, but berrylike properties) juices as super foods, because of their high-vitamin concentrations and antioxidant properties. Acai is a very delicate berry and is only available in the United States in a juice form. In general, juices are less nutritious than whole berries; so, use them in moderation.
West Los Angeles Weight Loss Doctors: Some final berry tips
These tips may help when shopping for berries either as part of your daily nutrition or incorporating as part of your weight loss plan:
- Try to consume berries when they are at their peak; remember berry seasons are rather short
- Look for farmers’ markets that sell berries picked that morning, because berries begin to lose their nutrition as soon as they are picked
- Purchase berry containers that hold brightly colored, plump, and unbroken fruit
- Avoid buying containers that hold broken, stained, leaky, or moldy berries
- Choose frozen berries if fresh berries are not available; frozen berries tend to lose water and are best used in smoothies and berry sauces, or for cooking or baking.
For more information about Los Angeles' premier Medical Weight Management Center near West Los Angeles, please contact Valens Medical and come in for a One-on-One consultation with one of our specialist doctors.
www.valensmedical.com
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