They say that nothing tastes as good as healthy feels, and while it’s an adage that not everyone might subscribe to, it’s still important to take your nutrition as seriously as possible. Many of the common diseases that we suffer from around the world, such as heart diseases and cancer, have been skyrocketing over the last few decades, and more nutritionists and doctors are linking these increases to diet.

Our body is able to heal from a lot of damage, whether it’s from smoking cigarettes, eating junk food, or drinking a little bit too often – but it’s only able to heal if it has access to the right nutrients and minerals. These are the top five foods that you should be giving your body every day if possible.

Dark, Leafy Greens

We’ve been evolving for around 20 million years, and much like our ape cousins, our ancestors’ diet would have mostly consisted of a wide variety of leaves. This is what makes vegetables like kale so good for us, we were designed from the bottom up to consume them, and they’re absolutely packed with nutrients.

Legumes

Legumes are important to maintaining as healthy a diet as possible, and we should ideally be consuming around three portions a day of legumes. This branch of vegetables covers such foods as chickpeas, kidney beans, butter beans; almost any kind of bean. Not only are they some of the healthiest foods available, with more than enough protein to keep the human body at its peak.

Fruit

It’s a very common misconception that consuming too much fruit is a bad habit, as it leads to excess sugar in the body. And while there is a lot of fructose that can be found in fruit, our body is easily able to process it thanks to the other compounds that come along with eating a whole piece of fruit, such as the fibre. Refined fruit juices, like clear apple juice, are not good for us at all – along the same lines as a can of soda – but eating a whole apple is something we should try and do as often as we can.

Nuts

Another popular misconception is that eating too many nuts causes a person to gain weight, because nuts are mostly made out of fats. Just like the fruits myth, this is another one that holds no water. Nuts are incredibly healthy, and studies have shown that regularly consuming nuts can decrease the chance of heart disease by up to 30%. Research has shown nuts actually contribute to weight gain in that they fill us up more efficiently than refined foods such as white breads, so they’re great for eating as a snack while watching TV or checking out the latest horse racing betting NZ options online.

Whole Grains

Whole grains include a wide array of different grains and cereals, but it’s vital that you try and eat around three helpings of whole grains every day. Rolled oats, barley, buckwheat, rye, and quinoa are just some of the examples of whole grains we need to aim for as part of our daily nutrition.