What if you could get more out of your salad and it would only take adding an additional ingredient? Salads on their own can include all kinds of fruits and vegetables which contribute to optimal health – although homemade is much better than store-bought, of course.
Salads allow for a wide variety of ingredients in a bowl that offers nutrients such as beta-carotene, lutein, vitamin C and many more which all play a role in our health.
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Even though the basic premise of a salad involves a leafy green and then additional toppings, there is one topping that can boost your absorption of all of those essential nutrients, so much so the absorption is increased 500 percent!
Skeptical? Don’t be, because that extra ingredient is a superfood in its own right already.
Get more out of your salad with eggs
So if you’re wondering what the superfood is that can truly enhance your salad, it’s eggs. Not just a breakfast staple any longer, eggs play a crucial role in ensuring you’re getting as much out of your salad as you possibly can. This new finding was presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s 2015 Annual Meeting from Purdue University.
Researchers created three different salads containing spinach, romaine, shredded carrots, tomatoes, and goji berries. One salad and no eggs, the other had 1.5 scrambled eggs and the third contains three scrambled eggs. Prior to participants eating the salads, blood work was taken as a control, and then again post-meal.
What the researchers found was in the group with three scrambled eggs in their salad, their absorption of carotenoids – fat-soluble provitamins – increased a minimum of 500 percent. That means participants received high dosages of lutein, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lycopene and zeaxanthin – all essential for good health.
The researchers did note, though, that the yolk must be used as the egg whites are fat-free and therefore will not increase absorption, so it’s best to keep the egg whole. Additionally, the same results can be found if you add avocado and oil dressings like canola oil.
Eggs for better health
Up until now you probably knew that eggs are beneficial for good health. They provide us with nutrients such as protein which can make us feel fuller and give us all-day energy. Eggs also pack iron, vitamins and minerals, and they are fairly low in calories as well – only 70.
If you were concerned about the cholesterol, don’t be; ongoing research suggests it’s not as bad as once thought, so much so that the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee lowered their concerns about dietary cholesterol.
Furthermore, as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports, eggs can help reduce the risk for illnesses like type 2 diabetes. With all these benefits to your health, adding them into your daily menu is a surefire way to improve your overall health.
The best part about eggs? They are quick and easy to make and can be carried around in a Tupperware container, so bringing them along for lunch won’t be a problem – unless someone doesn’t like the smell!
Consider maximizing the benefits of eggs by adding them to vegetables, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. No matter if they are scrambled, hard-boiled or sunny-side up, eggs deserve their place as a top superfood and you should be reaping their benefits!
Related Reading:
Eggs, butter and cheese: The newly discovered benefits
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Fat, the healthy kind, is back in vogue these days. For years, government dietary guidelines recommended reducing fat because, so it would seem, fat would make us fat. The saturated fats in particular, like those in butter, cheese and red meat should be avoided at all costs, we were told, because they clog our arteries and lead to heart disease.
Daylight lasts longer and things are warming up. Spring makes you feel a little bit happier, just because… Now you can put all that heavy, comfort food aside and start fresh with healthy superfoods for your spring healthy diet.
