5 Superfoods to Supercharge Your Paleo Diet
Don’t forget your greens when you’re beginning the Paleo lifestyle. (Photo by CCat82/iStock/Getty Images)
For a diet that’s often misconstrued as bacon-centric, devotees of the ancestral health movement seem far more concerned with getting the most nutrition possible from their food choices. (Even if that means putting bacon on the back burner.)
So what are the best food choices for someone wanting to upgrade their diet, Paleo or otherwise?
Nettles
A prime example of food as medicine, a nettle plant is packed with nutrition and has been long used to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), allergies, arthritis and inflammation.
Related: How Eating Organic Affects Pesticide Levels in Your Body
How to get some nettles in your day? Steep this herbaceous sprig for a tea, simmer with bone broth for soup or blend into a raw, vegetarian pesto. Worried that heating will cause the loss of its nutritional quality? This incredible herb is so nutrient dense that it will still be effective even after heating.
Note: If using a nettle to treat hay fever, work it into your routine a few months before allergy season so that the benefits will be in full effect once allergens run high.
Camu Camu
This Amazonian berry is loaded with vitamin C. Loaded. It has 10 times the amount found in an orange. You could eat 10 oranges or just one teaspoon of camu camu. And you’ll skip the 30 grams of fructose that comes with navels!
Beyond vitamin C, camu camu juice has unique properties that have been shown to reduce inflammation and is being studied as a food that could help prevent immune-related diseases.
Reishi
A giant mushroom, reishi is absolutely supercharged with healing benefits. Perhaps its effectiveness over the last 10,000 years is why it’s considered a holy, spiritual food. Modern research supports that this plant could be valuable in cancer treatment because it has the ability to reduce tumors. Additional studies have also revealed it as an immune modulator that can reduce both chronic and acute inflammation.
Taken as a tea, tincture or soup, this fungus can be as delicious as it is nourishing. Make a batch for the next flu season.
Blue Green Algae
Humans have been consuming blue green algae (BGA) for more than a thousand years. Its health benefits are as real today as they were for the Chinese 1,600 years ago or for the Aztecs in the 14th century. Modern researchers have found BGA to be rich “in essential amino acids, B vitamins, calcium, phosphorous, iron, B-carotene and chlorophyll.”
Related: 10 Sweet Treats You Won’t Believe Are Gluten-Free
This potent superfood has demonstrated “antiviral, antitumor, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antidiabetic and antibacterial properties” in medical studies. And perhaps best of all: Supplement capsules make this an easy superfood to work into your diet.
Oysters
An oyster produces 10 times as much zinc as any other food. (A trivia note: The next closest? Pumpkin seeds.) This dense concentration of the mineral is great for healthy hair and nails. Oysters also provide a great alternative to over-the-counter cold medicines because zinc is a potent immune booster. And speaking of potent, the jury is still out on oysters as aphrodisiacs, but it couldn’t hurt to give ‘em a shot and conduct your own research.
The original article “Supercharge Your Paleo Diet With These 7 Superfoods“ appeared on LIVESTRONG.COM.
By Mary Cunningham
Read more from LIVESTRONG.COM:
Crush Dinner With These 7 Simple Buddha Bowl Recipes
Is an Elimination Diet Right for You?
How to Make Healthy Food Decisions at Work
