7 Foods You Should Start Including In Your Diet

Opening up your medicine cabinet every time you fall sick might help you recover faster, but can also leave you with several side effects. Many fruits and vegetables have incredibly potent healing properties that can treat your disease in a safe manner with zero side effects. While they can’t replace medicines entirely, they can lessen your dependence on them. Many natural foods have medicinal qualities that tackle the root cause of your disease, helping you get off your meds much quicker. If you want to live a healthy, disease-free life, here are seven foods you should start including into your diet.

# Brussels Sprouts

If you have a recent injury that still causes aches and pains, eat more Brussels sprouts in addition to your painkillers. One serving of Brussels sprouts contains almost 240 times you daily recommended intake of vitamin K. This vitamin is has very effective pain-treatment qualities that can help you cope better. It also strengthens your bones and gives you relief from chronic joint pain. If the thought of eating Brussels sprouts horrifies you, then you’ve probably just been eating them wrong. Roasted and caramelized Brussels sprouts make a delicious veggie side to any meal.

# Scallions

Brushing off scallions as just a garnish will be doing a great disservice to their health benefits. If you feel a cold coming on, nothing is as effective as a handful of scallions. Scallions can make you sweat more, ridding your body of toxins in the process. It also acts as an antibacterial and antifungal food, killing germs in your respiratory tract. If you’re suffering from a blocked nose or a sore throat, make some hot soup or hot tea with scallions for quick relief.

# Sunflower Seeds

These tiny seeds are packed with zinc, an important mineral for your skin. If your skin is breaking out in a rash, then eating sunflower seeds can clear the infection and make your skin smooth again. Sunflower seeds can also help you recover faster from a headache because it reduces your blood pressure. In traditional Eastern medicine, sunflower seeds were often used as a remedy for digestive issues like dysentery and intestinal parasites. Add a handful of sunflower seeds to your salad for clear skin and excellent digestion.

# Garlic

If there is one medicinal food that overshadows all others, it’s the humble garlic clove. Garlic is one of the most powerful foods on the planet and has a whole range of uses. Garlic has strong antibacterial properties that can treat an illness or infection. It also acts as an antifungal medicine, which can treat any fungal infection you might have developed on your skin. Eating garlic also helps boost your immunity, protecting you from many viral diseases. In the long run, garlic’s potent antioxidant properties can even prevent you from developing cancer. Ayurvedic medicine recommends you chew 2 cloves of garlic every day, but a more palatable way to use garlic is to just add a few cloves into your meals.

# Pomegranate

Most people rave about green tea’s antioxidant properties, but pomegranates actually have 3 times more antioxidants than green tea does. If you start eating pomegranates more often, you might be able to age more gracefully, have a stronger immune system and a lower risk of developing cancer. While this hasn’t been scientifically proven, pomegranates have also developed a reputation a being a power aphrodisiac. There isn’t enough research to back up this claim, but it can’t hurt to try!

# Red Cabbage

Switch out boring old white cabbage (which in its defense also has several health benefits), with the prettier red cabbage. Purple foods are quickly becoming popular because studies have shown that they contain one of the most powerful antioxidants known, anthocyanin polyphenols. This antioxidant can prevent buildup of bad cholesterol in your heart, keep your arteries clear and protect you from heart disease. It can also improve cognitive function by keeping your brain cells healthy.

# Red Grapes

Red grapes contain a powerful antioxidant called resveratrol which can do more for your skin than all the anti-aging products in the world. This antioxidant protect your skin cells from free radical damage and oxidative stress, which helps you look much younger. But apart from keeping you looking forever youthful, resveratrol also protects your heart from disease. It maintains the integrity of arterial walls and prevents inflammation. Resveratrol is at its bioavailable best in the form of red wine, so you don’t have to feel guilty the next time you unwind with a glass of red.