april2007

The 12 Power Foods

These 12 foods make up a large part of your diet. The more of these foods you eat, the better your body will be able to increase lean muscle mass and avoid storing fat.

They have been proven to do one or more of the following:

Builds muscle

Helps promote weight loss

Strengthens bone

Lowers blood pressure

Fights cancer

Improves immune function

Fights heart disease

Though you can base entire meals and snacks around these foods, you don’t have to. But do follow these guidelines.

Incorporate two or three of these foods into each of your three major meals and at least one of them into each of your three snacks. Diversify your food at every meal to get a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Make sure you sneak a little bit of protein into each snack.

1) Almonds and Other Nuts

Eat them with skins intact.

Superpowers: Building muscle, fighting food cravings

Secret weapons: Protein, monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, folate (in peanuts), fiber, magnesium, phosphorus

Fight against: Obesity, heart disease, muscle loss, cancer

Sidekicks: Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, avocados

Impostors: Salted or smoked nuts. High sodium spikes blood pressure.

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2) Beans and Other Legumes

Including soybeans, chickpeas, pinto beans, navy beans, kidney beans, lima beans.

Superpowers: Building muscle, helping burn fat, regulating digestion

Secret weapons: Fiber, protein, iron, folate

Fight against: Obesity, colon cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure

Sidekicks: Lentils, peas, bean dips, hummus, edamame

Impostors: Refried beans, which are high in saturated fats; baked beans, which are high in sugar

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3) Spinach and Other Green Vegetables

Superpowers Neutralizing free radicals (molecules that accelerate the aging process)

Secret weapons: Vitamins including A, C, and K; folate; beta-carotene; minerals including calcium and magnesium; fiber

Fight against: Cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity, osteoporosis

Sidekicks: Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts; green, yellow, red, and orange vegetables such as asparagus, peppers, and yellow beans

Impostors: None, as long as you don't fry them or smother them in fatty cheese sauces.

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4) Dairy Products

Fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese.

Superpowers: Building strong bones, firing up weight loss

Secret weapons: Calcium, vitamins A and B12, riboflavin, phosphorus, potassium

Fight against: Osteoporosis, obesity, high blood pressure, cancer

Sidekicks: None

Impostors: Whole milk, frozen yogurt

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5) Instant Oatmeal

Unsweetened, unflavored.

Superpowers: Boosting energy and sex drive, reducing cholesterol, maintaining blood-sugar levels

Secret weapons: Complex carbohydrates and fiber

Fights against: Heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, obesity

Sidekicks: High-fiber cereals like All-Bran and Fiber One

Impostors: Sugary cereals

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6) Eggs

Superpowers: Building muscle, burning fat

Secret weapons: Protein, vitamins A and B12

Fight against: Obesity

Sidekicks: Egg Beaters, which have fewer calories than eggs and no fat, but just as much of the core nutrients

Impostors: None

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7) Turkey and Other Lean Meats

Lean steak, chicken, fish.

Superpowers: Building muscle, improving the immune system

Secret weapons: Protein, iron, zinc, creatine (beef), omega-3 fatty acids (fish), vitamins B6 (chicken and fish) and B12, phosphorus, potassium

Fight against: Obesity, mood disorders, memory loss, heart disease

Sidekicks: Shellfish, Canadian bacon, omega-3 rich flaxseed

Impostors: Sausage, bacon, cured meats, ham, fatty cuts of steak like T-bone and rib eye

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8) Peanut Butter

All-natural, sugar-free.

Superpowers: Boosting testosterone, building muscle, burning fat

Secret weapons: Protein, monounsaturated fat, vitamin E, niacin, magnesium

Fights against: Obesity, muscle loss, wrinkles, cardiovascular disease

Sidekicks: Cashew and almond butters

Impostors: Mass-produced sugary and trans fatty peanut butters

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9) Olive Oil

Superpowers: Lowering cholesterol, boosting the immune system

Secret weapons: Monounsaturated fat, vitamin E

Fights against: Obesity, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure

Sidekicks: Canola oil, peanut oil, sesame oil

Impostors: Other vegetable and hydrogenated vegetable oils, trans fatty acids, margarine

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10) Whole-Grain Breads and Cereals

Superpowers: Preventing your body from storing fat

Secret weapons: Fiber, protein, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc

Fight against: Obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease

Sidekicks: Brown rice, whole-wheat pretzels, whole-wheat pastas

Impostors: Processed bakery products like white bread, bagels, and doughnuts; breads labeled wheat instead of whole wheat

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11) Extra-Protein (Whey) Powder

Superpowers: Building muscle, burning fat

Secret weapons: Protein, cysteine, glutathione

Fights against: Obesity

Sidekick: Ricotta cheese

Impostor: Soy protein

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12) Raspberries and Other Berries

Superpowers: Protecting your heart, enhancing eyesight, improving memory, preventing cravings

Secret weapons: Antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, tannins (cranberries)

Fight against: Heart disease, cancer, obesity

Sidekicks: Most other fruits, especially apples and grapefruit

Impostors: Sugary jellies

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Do a Realistic Time Audit

Time management experts stress that before you can make needed changes in the way you manage time, you need to look at how you spend your time now. What activities or tasks are taking up the biggest chunks of your life? What items do you hate or put off most? Are you allowing others to dictate uses for your time that aren’t productive or don't fit your agenda? By doing a brutally honest assessment, you can begin to change the way you manage yourself in relation to time.

Personalize your to-do list

Some people thrive using a daily to-do list, which they construct either at the end of the previous day or first thing the next morning. Some people combine a to-do list with a calendar or schedule. Others prefer a "running" to-do list that is continually being updated. Or, you may prefer a combination of both, whatever method works best for you. Don't be afraid to try a new system — you just might find one that works even better than your present one!

Don't waste waiting time

Waiting is inevitable, but you can find ways to put even a few minutes of waiting to good use. Whether holding on the phone or waiting for play practice to end, you can make lists, sort mail, go over your schedule, and complete other small but necessary tasks. At home, sort the laundry or the mail while catching up on the news, talk on the phone while preparing dinner, etc.

Stock up as much as possible

Save time by keeping items on hand so that you don’t have to make constant special trips to purchase them. Examples include not only items such as postage stamps, greeting cards (buy several at a time with assorted themes), and wrapping paper but also nonperishable groceries and household goods in quantities to last at least 2-3 months. Your supermarket visits will be reduced to quick trips to pick up fresh items, and you’ll be surprised at how much time is saved.

Have a system

Whether cleaning house, cooking, or making sure homework gets done, you'll be ahead of the game—maybe even ahead of schedule—if you have a system for getting things done. Include your family in a friendly competition to see who has the best ideas for accomplishing things quickly and efficiently-- you might be surprised at what they come up with! Run several errands at the same time. Have a morning "launching pad" as a place to collect backpacks, briefcases, papers, money, etc. the night before. Carry a list of current sizes for everyone in the household when shopping. Do as much routine shopping (bedding, underwear, footwear, etc.) as possible by phone or online, and buy all your kids’ seasonal clothing in one trip. Use "sticky notes" on the bathroom mirror or by the door to remind you and other family members of schedules, or other things you need to remember.

Multi-task when feasible

When supervising baths or homework, dovetail with other activities such as cleaning cabinets, checking supplies, mending, list making, ironing, washing dishes, or doing personal grooming. Group routine medical/dental/haircut appointments for household members, and try to schedule them first thing in the morning or right after lunch, when you're more likely to be seen right away.

Don’t be a perfectionist

Some things are worth perfecting, but often good enough is just that— good enough. What’s more, perfectionism—paying unnecessary attention to detail—can be a form of procrastination.

Learn to say ‘No'

Most of us have trouble saying this little word. But if you focus on the goals that are important to you— like incorporating a fitness routine into your life— saying no to the unimportant gets easier. It may even just be a matter of timing— as in saying, ‘Not now.’

*Information taken from sparkpeople.com, menshealth.com and joelosteen.com