With autumn upon us, our seasonal menu has already begun to change. At farmers markets in most areas of the country you can see the abundance of the Fall season. Hearty root vegetables are everywhere and can offer your body an array of healing benefits as prepare for the winter months ahead. The roots of any plant are its foundation; roots support and nourish the plant. Root vegetables offer you these same properties, making you feel grounded both emotionally and physically and increasing your stamina and endurance. Roots are a source of nutritious complex carbohydrates, providing long lasting energy and helping to regulate your blood sugar levels. Root vegetables also help us to absorb and assimilate the nutrients we eat, just as they absorb and assimilate vital nutrients for plants.
Long roots include carrots, parsnips, burdock and daikon radish. Some of these are excellent blood purifiers and can help improve circulation in the body and increase mental clarity. Round roots include turnips, radishes, beets and rutabagas. Round roots are nourishing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and can help regulate blood sugar, moods, and alleviate cravings.
Read more for a delicious Meatless Monday Vegan Roasted Root Vegetable recipe.
We are bombarded everyday with images of what we are supposed to think is beautiful. A young, super skinny, airbrushed model is what many of us compare ourselves to on a regular basis. In a world where youth is idolized and aging is seen as something, well, less favorable, we are all searching for that magical fountain of youth. How about writing off the plastic surgeon for a while and starting from the inside out. According to the Real Age website, maintaining your weight and body mass index at a desirable level can make your Real Age as much as 6 years younger. What you put in your body can not only help to maintain a healthy weight, but can slow down the aging process and even reverse the damage that has already been done. Based on that, I’d say Nutrition is the real fountain of youth.
Most of us know that we are supposed to eat our greens in order to stay healthy. However, eating fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow is the real key to making sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. By eating a colorful palette of produce every day, you’ll be giving your body phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are a plant-based substance that is shown to help prevent disease, cancer and the effects of aging. The brighter and more intense the color, the stronger the phytonutrients are. Each color group provides us with different important nutrients. How many colors did you eat today?
Every week the “experts” are adding new foods to the list of what we must eat for health benefits; or taking away our favorites by telling us that this month they might make us sick. Its no wonder most of us hear a term like super-foods and throw our hands up in exhaustion. Can’t they just make it simple for us? I have good news; it’s not as complicated as it may seem. Food is the fuel our bodies need to run; the more premium the fuel, the better the body will work. It’s as simple as that. Eating the right foods, like super-foods can help ward off the typical wear and tear that comes along with aging and prevent future damage.
Super-foods are termed super because they are said to have the ability to cure, heal and prevent a variety of aches, ailments and disease; not to mention, they keep your body working for you without needing extra tune-ups.
With autumn upon us, our seasonal menu has already begun to change. At farmers markets in most areas of the country you can see the abundance of the Fall season. Hearty root vegetables are everywhere and can offer your body an array of healing benefits as prepare for the winter months ahead. The roots of any plant are its foundation; roots support and nourish the plant. Root vegetables offer you these same properties, making you feel grounded both emotionally and physically and increasing your stamina and endurance. Roots are a source of nutritious complex carbohydrates, providing long lasting energy and helping to regulate your blood sugar levels. Root vegetables also help us to absorb and assimilate the nutrients we eat, just as they absorb and assimilate vital nutrients for plants.
