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Dietician Sheela Seharawat

Common foods with unusual benefits

What could be more satisfying that eating the regular food and yet deriving amazing health benefits out of it at the same time. We do everything we can to lead a healthy life. One such thing is choosing to lead our plates with fruits, veggies and lean meats. Foods that are healthy and nutritious have phenomenal advantages on our health. But, saying all these we might not be knowing that there are certain common foods that we generally miss and many a times knowingly miss them thinking they are the common lot.

Take a look here on some these common foods that has surprisingly unusual and impressive advantages that you might not be aware of:

Coconut
Is a better and healthy choice for those who seek richness in their taste? Do you know that adding a little coconut water to rice and allowing it to cool can reduce its calorie contents. Loaded with the goodness of high potassium, it helps curbing stroke risks. It is also high in saturated fats, which boosts fat burning and provided the body and our brain with energy doses. It also raises the good cholesterol levels (HDL) in the blood reducing the risks of heart diseases. One of the most interesting facts about these healthy fats in coconut is that they can reduce hunger.

Ghee
It is clarified butter, which is made by melting butter and skimming of some of its fats. It has high smoke point which means it can easily be used for cooking without the risk of losing important vitamins present in it. It is an excellent mean to add some extra fat-soluble vitamins in your diet. It helps in the intake and absorption of vitamin A, E and K, the important nutrients that is important for everything starting maintaining healthy vision to keeping your skin glowing. One of the biggest benefit of ghee is that it is free of lactose and casein proteins. Butyrate, or butyric acid present in ghee is a type of fatty acid that plays a vital role in gut health.

Tofu
A rich plant based source of protein is super high in calcium, iron and proteins along with all the eight essential amino acids and other minerals like manganese, selenium, phosphorous magnesium, copper, zinc and vitamin B1. Tofu, also called bean curd is a popular and common food derived out of soya. It is made by curdling fresh soya milk, pressing them into the shape of solid blocks and then cooling it, almost a similar way traditional paneer or dairy cheese is made. It is a helpful against breast and prostate cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, low kidney functionality, osteoporosis, deterioration brain health because of age, menopause symptoms and liver damage.

Snap Peas
High in nutrients and fibers makes for an ideal snacks on the go. Are also high in vitamin C. K. A, B vitamins and minerals. These small veggies are at their best when moist and tastes good. They turn into starchy tastes as thy dry up. The vitamin A and beta carotene of snap peas increases the growth of immune cells thereby promoting immunity. Vitamin K in snap peas is a fat soluble vitamin that helps in preventing excessive blood loss by adding blood clot. It improves bone and heart health, improves eyesight, prevents diabetes, reduces anemia and helps in lowering cholesterol levels in the blood. It has been known for improving digestion and aiding weight loss also.