“If you ever feel tempted to go for a cheeseburger, fries, and a soft drink, consider this: along with the fast food, you are ordering up an increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.”  S.L. Baker

How many servings of fruits and vegetables are you eating each day?

So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the rich foods and wines. (Daniel 1:16; NLT)

You hear it continually and I’ve written about it on numerous occasions.  We can fight obesity with eating the right foods.  We all know that eating fried foods, fast foods, and soft drinks (soda) causes dis-ease.  However, a new study from the University of Florida has revealed that the opposite is also true. If a person avoids the “health robbers” and instead eats lots of veggies, fruits, nuts, and legumes (beans), this prevents and reverses harmful metabolic processes in the body, giving better health and slimmer bodies.  Who doesn’t want that for a Christmas present?

One important advantage of eating an abundant plant foods diet is the high amount of phytochemicals found in plant foods.  These phytochemicals prevent oxidative stress — a process linked to being overweight and to the onset of inflammation and disease.  Phytochemicals include lycopene from tomatoes, beta carotene from carrots, anthocyanins from blueberries, allicin from garlic, and many more.

According to the report from the University of Florida, “Without enough phytochemicals and antioxidants to counteract oxidative stress, damaging free radicals cause inflammation and other toxic problems in the body. In overweight people, excess fat tissue and certain enzymes that are more active also trigger the production of excessive free radicals.”  Obese people need more fruits, vegetables, and legumes to counteract the many adverse metabolic processes going on.

The study concluded that people should try to eat plant-based foods such as dark, leafy greens, vegetables fruits, and nuts at the start of each meal.  The article went on to say, “Fill your plate with colorful, low-calorie, varied-texture foods derived from plants first. By slowly eating phytochemical-rich foods such as salads with olive oil or fresh-cut fruits before the actual meal, you will likely reduce the overall portion size, fat content and energy intake. In this way, you’re ensuring that you get the variety of protective, disease-fighting phytochemicals you need and controlling caloric intake.”

For a list of obesity-fighting, phytochemical loaded foods see Today’s Link which features our Superfoods list.

Prayer Power
Thank You Father for so many good and wholesome foods to eat.

Link of the Day
The Coaching Pair’s God-Foods List

Blessings on you as you choose more vegetables and fruits to eat.

Photo by ccharmon