Food mixology: When eaten together, these foods can boost health

Tuesday, November 01, 2016 by: Isabelle Z.
Tags: nutrients, food pairings, turmeric

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(NaturalNews) If you are making a conscious effort to eat nutritious food, you are already stacking the odds in your favor when it comes to your health and well-being. However, eating all the organic fruits and vegetables in the world is not going to do much for you if your body is not prepared to absorb the nutrients they contain.

To be clear, eating a diet that is rich in organic produce, whole grains, and a reasonable amount of healthy fats is always preferable to a diet full of fried food, sugar and processed foods. However, if you want to maximize the benefits of your smart eating choices, you should try some of these food pairings to enhance nutrient absorption and give your health a boost.

Milk and honey

Your grandmother might have offered you a glass of warm milk with honey when you struggled to fall asleep as a child, and this tried-and-true combination has stood the test of time for good reason: it is a very effective pairing for your health. An amino acid found in milk known as tryptophan is used by the brain to make melatonin and serotonin, while the carbohydrates in honey can help with the uptake of tryptophan.

Turmeric and black pepper

The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, has anti-inflammatory properties, but it tends to be poorly absorbed by the body. Interestingly, the piperine found in black pepper can help boost its absorption significantly, which is why many supplements contain both ingredients. Try cooking a dish that contains generous amounts of turmeric, like curry, and add a sprinkling of black pepper. A tiny pinch of pepper can enhance your absorption of curcumin by more than 2,000 percent!

Green tea and lemon

If you are drinking green tea for its extraordinary antioxidant content, you might want to start adding some organic lemon juice to your cup. That's because Purdue University researchers have discovered that mixing green tea with lemon juice can significantly boost the amount of antioxidants that are available for your body to absorb. The catechins in green tea can help protect your body against cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's disease.

Olive oil and tomatoes

These two Mediterranean diet staples go hand in hand, and it's easy to see why. Tomatoes contain antioxidants that can protect your body from disease, and adding a small amount of healthy fat to carotenoid-rich foods like tomatoes can increase its absorption. Try making a simple salad of chopped tomatoes drizzled in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar to reap the benefits. The lycopene in tomatoes is also better absorbed when they are heated first, so take this one step further and make a tomato sauce or pizza sauce by cooking tomatoes and adding olive oil and www.herbs.news"="" target="_blank">www.herbs.news">fresh herbs like oregano.

Beans and cauliflower

People who follow plant-based diets often rely on beans to get iron, but this type of iron is not as easily absorbed by the human body as iron that comes from meat sources. You can increase your body's absorption of the iron from beans by consuming a food that is rich in vitamin C at the same time, and cauliflower fits the bill quite nicely. Pair cauliflower with green beans or garbanzos to give your body an iron boost. You can also try other iron and vitamin C pairings, like strawberries with oatmeal.

While all of these foods are quite healthy on their own, if you are looking to increase your intake of certain nutrients, make sure you are opting for food pairings and preparation methods that will boost absorption so you can reap the most benefits.

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

MSUE.ANR.MSU.edu

SMH.com.au

Science.NaturalNews.com