The Best Foods for Women Over 40! | Women's Issues

By JoLars
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Say the phrase healthy eating and you're bound to think of boring garden salads, celery and carrot sticks. They certainly are healthy, nutritious foods, of course, but nothing you'd call epicurean cuisine. As you reach you 40th birthday, though, you realize that eating healthy is more important than ever. And you're serious about changing your diet to include more nutritious choices.

Well, eating healthy may never be quite as fun as experiencing exotic entrees, delighting in delicious desserts or even anticipating an appetizer. But if you know what foods to choose, you may even find you enjoy eating them.

Trust me, healthy foods are everywhere you if you just look into them a little! And once you've tried out these foods, you'll no doubt have no problems finding more.

The Strawberry: Remember the joy of eating strawberry shortcake when you a child? You no doubt rejoiced in the whipped cream and the shortcake itself. But the real power of the dessert lies in the strawberries. Mother Nature, in fact, has created just about the perfect food in the strawberry . . . and the blueberry . . . and the raspberry . . . and every other berry as well. Eight medium strawberries contain absolutely no fat and only 49 calories. But more than that they also possess three grams of fiber (that's the substance that helps to not only keep you "regular" but also keep you feeling full long after you've eaten!)

But packed into these eight berries is a whopping 149 percent of your vitamin C for the day! What a delightful way to keep your immune system performing at its peak! You'll also receive three percent of your total iron requirements and two percent of your calcium for the day - and when you reach 40 every bit of this bone-building nutrient helps! This colorful fruit is also a great way to get your folate, potassium and manganese. These berries are attractive and healthy because they are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

The good really goods news is that there are so many ways to add strawberries to your diet. In cereals, with yogurt, in a smoothie, in salads - the list is endless. The bonus - they are one of the most potent sources of antioxidants around so keep em coming!

The Apple: The apple may not get much respect but in fact it should be considered to be a huge nutritional staple in our diets. Perhaps not quite as multipurpose as the berry, it has such a dietary punch that you just can't overlook it (and quite frankly, it does taste good!). The apple may be camouflaged as a modest, humble fruit but it is really a hero in the healthy eating world. The apple is a marvelous source of those hard-working antioxidants, which destroy free radicals. And we all know that free radicals contribute to a range of degenerative diseases related to the aging process. Theses include heart disease and cancer, especially for women. And now some experts say that antioxidants could even help keep wrinkles at bay - do I have your attention now?

Here is something else you may not know about the apple. By eating the apple peel regularly, your risk of developing cancer drops by 48 percent!

To keep your body happy and healthy they were right all these years - an apple a day WILL keep the doctor away!

Peanut Butter: Now, here's a food that gets a bad rap these days because of so many kids are allergic to it: peanut butter. However, as long as there are not allergies involved, it really is very healthy. But you do need to eat the proper kind and we recommend the all-natural varieties. You will have to stir the jar every time you use it but the benefits - and the flavor - are worth it!

Not only are peanuts a great source of those "good fats" but peanut butter can help keep you feeling fuller for a longer period of time. A recent study showed that peanut butter reduced hunger in women for up to two and a half hours. By contrast, rice cakes only staved off the hunger pangs for a measly 30 minutes!

Half a peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread with an apple makes a nutritious mid-day snack. It will keep you full and satisfied for much longer when you combine it with the bread. In addition, peanut butter is also a good source of iron, again, an all round great source of nutrients for women 40 and over.

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