Tag Archives: Superfood

Maca Powder: The Best Thing You’ll Find in the Supplement Aisle

If you’re looking to decrease stress, stabilize your hormones, boost your sex drive, neutralize the acidity of your body, and blast your system with nutrients, look no further than that section at the health food store you always ignore: the supplement aisle.

I know what you’re thinking: Supplements? Aren’t those the often untested, unapproved sorta drugs that always seem too good to be true. For the most part yes—I largely avoid most of the powders, pills, and formulas available in this section of the health food store. But there’s one supplement that’s definitely worth picking up for any of the above conditions: Maca powder.

Maca-what?
Maca powder has also been called “Peruvian ginseng”. Although it’s thought of as a supplement, researchers suspect this South American staple has been consumed for around 2,000 years. The Incas considered maca to be a gift of the gods, due to its superior nutritional value, and it’s one of the only plants to thrive in the tough conditions of the Andes mountains. Maca powder comes from the root of the plant. (more…)

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Katie McGrath

How to Cook with Spinach

Spinach is seen both as a life force and a cause for sheer rebellion, depending on whom you ask. The enthusiast might be the token health nut in your friend circle and the pessimist is likely your 7-year-old daughter and most grown men. However, whichever side of the spinach argument you fall on, there’s no denying it’s insanely healthy for you.

Health benefits: Spinach is one of the best foods you can add to your diet as it’s loaded with essential vitamins and nutrients like iron, vitamin C, niacin, calcium and vitamin B. It’s also an excellent source of free-radical fighting antioxidants, and contains folate, fiber, lutein and potassium, which are all essential for maintaining a healthy heart.

Helpful tip: Did you know that microgreens can pack up to 40 times more nutrients than their mature counterparts? For this reason, stick to baby spinach when possible. And if you really want to be an over-achiever, organic is best since the whole green in consumed. (more…)

Posted on January 27, 2024 by Dana

Four Superfood-Packed Breakfast Dishes

Most nights as I’m drifting off to sleep, I’m thinking about breakfast the next morning. Although my mind often wanders to pancakes and waffles, my body is usually telling me smoothies and veggie omelets. Thankfully, though, pancakes win out on the weekends.

But when we get in breakfast routines and ruts, it’s easy to forget about the importance of having balanced meals with complete nutrition. On a recent appearance on The Today Show, Bob Greene – Oprah’s personal trainer and author of the new book “20 Years Younger” – gave some great tips on what we should look for in a breakfast, as well as four meals containing superfoods to help ‘super-start’ our day.

Greene reminds us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that the four things we should look for in well balanced breakfast are whole grains, antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids and calcium. We should aim to get these components in every meal, and especially at breakfast. And a good calorie range to stay within is 400 for females, and 440 for males. (more…)

Posted on April 27, 2024 by Dana

Acai Berry Supplements for Weight Loss May be a Waste

There comes a certain point in some people’s weight loss journey where they start to get frustrated and desperate. They may turn to options other than diet and exercise to kick start results and if it’s something quick and easy, they’ll take it. One of those options most frequently includes diet pills and supplements. One particular little fruit has become increasingly popular for fast and easy weight loss: the acai berry. But, does it live up to the hype?

Acai berry came onto the American market when it was promoted as a superfood for age-defying beauty by Dr. Nicholas Perricone on the Oprah Winfrey show. The fruit is grown in Brazil and tastes like a cross between wild berries and chocolate. Acai in berry form contains significant amounts of healthy fats and fiber and the juice contains antioxidants making it a smart addition to any diet.

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Posted on September 4, 2024 by Sarah

Choose the Right Acai Supplement for Your Health

If you haven’t heard of the Acai berry by now, then you haven’t been paying too much attention to the latest in health news. Dubbed as a Superfood from everyone from Dr. Oz to skin guru Dr. Perricone, this tiny purple berry (pronounced like ah-sigh-ee) comes from the Amazon rain forest and packs tons of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids into its small compact package. In fact, the Acai berry has more than ten times the anthocyanins (or antioxidants) of red grapes and more than 10-30 times that in red wine.

Acai berries

Antioxidants are so important because they help to prevent the risk of certain diseases like cardiovascular diseases and degenerative conditions like Alzheimers. In addition, antioxidants help slow down the aging process making our skin look and feel better. Amino acids are vital for muscle growth and the Acai berry’s near perfect combination of essential fatty acids help promote heart health. It also contains fiber, which helps to keep your digestive tract healthy and regular. But because of the popularity of this berry, which tastes like a mixture of chocolate and berries (yum!), supplement manufacturers are producing enough Acaiproducts to feed every living creature in the Amazon rain forest. So, if you’re in the market for a convenient way to get the benefits of Acai without traveling to Brazil, here is a summary of some of the most popular products on the market.

1) MonaVie: MonaVie is part business, part health product. Rather than a capsule supplement, MonaVie is a liquid blend of 19 juices and herbs, with the Acai berry being the primary ingredient. Because of its multi-level business design, you must purchase MonaVie through a licensed distributor. It also comes in gel form.

2) Sambozan Acai: Lauded for using only the pure form of Acai Berry, Sambozan Acai includes a number of signature products that contain Acai. Juices, smoothies, sorbets, and supplement forms are all intended to bring you the benefits of the Acai in a convenient way that suits your lifestyle.

acai 3) Acai Berry Power 500: Another capsule form of the Acai berry that is supposed to flush out excess pounds, reduce water bloat, slim your stomach, reduce water retention and jumpstart any weight loss plan. This specific supplement is one of the more popular Acai supplements on the market.

4) PureAcai: This capsule form of Acai includes a long list of the potential benefits from using this product. From weight loss to reduced water retention and to the regulation of cholesterol levels, it promises a lot! No scientific studies have seen a link between weight loss and the Acai berry, despite many claims made by supplement makers.

5) Acai Berry Boom: This supplement is supposed to contain theenormous health benefits of pure Acai berry. A one-month’s supply costs about $60, but the manufacturer offers scant information making it hard to tell exactly which ingredients are in Acai Berry Boom.

Just remember- some supplements’ “free trial” offers automatically enroll you in their auto-shipment program. Be sure to read the terms before purchasing. Also, make sure you read the “Terms and Conditions” before you hit the “Purchase” button. Also, as with any dietary supplement, if the claims made by the product seem to be a bit too-good-to-be-true, they probably are. Your best bet it to look for products that contain pure Acai berry in either a pulp or freeze-dried form. Capsule forms can also contain the Acai fruit in these pure forms so just make sure you read the product label before making a commitment to buy.

Posted on September 22, 2024 by heather