How You Can Combine Foods For Optimal Nutrition

By Anand Kumar

Combining foods makes eating more interesting and gives room for creativity. However, there are great nutritional values in combining foods and how they are combined matters a lot. There are some food nutrients that may not be easily absorbed by the body but when you blend them with other foods, they become available to the body with ease. Here are some of these combinations.

Broccoli and Mustard

Raw broccoli contains a cancer fighting compound known as sulforaphane but when you cook your broccoli, you are exterminating the enzyme known as myrosinase which renders sulforaphane accessible to your body. So, when you blend your broccoli with mustard, you will be making use of the extra dose of myrosinase in mustard to aid your body in absorbing more sulforaphane from broccoli.

Tomato and Avocado

Taking tomato and avocado together, either as a salad or sandwich, will boost the nutrients intake of your body. Tomatoes contain antioxidants known as carotenoids and these antioxidants are easily absorbed into the body when used with safe fats. Researchers discovered that the combination of tomato and avocado has the ability to boost the absorption of antioxidants in tomato by 15 times more than when the tomato is taken alone. If you don't like avocados, you can make use of other safe fats like flaxseed oil or olive oil.

Onion and Whole Grains

Your body needs zinc, a vital trace mineral that helps in appropriate growth as well as sustenance of your body and its immune system. Whole grains are good sources of zinc and boosting your whole grain sandwich with sliced onion will ensure that sulfurous compounds are introduced which help in increasing the uptake of zinc by the body.

Banana and Yogurt

Have you ever taken banana and yogurt together before? If you have not, you better try them. The combination is great for your body after a workout. The banana provides the carbohydrate that your body needs while the yogurt provides the protein that will repair your worn out cells. The protein in this blend reduces the absorption of liquid carbohydrate which in turn leads to the reduction of your post-meal rapid blood glucose rise. In addition, when these two foods get into your stomach, the nutrients from banana will feed the good bacteria you drank in the yogurt in order to enhance your immunity.

Spinach and Olive Oil

Vitamins A and K in spinach are fat-soluble vitamins that are not easy to absorb when there is deficiency of fat. The best combination for spinach is olive oil because it contains high mono-saturated fat content, which is good for the prevention of heart diseases. If you are not a fan of olive oil, you can make use of sesame oil, flaxseed oil or any other nut oil.

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