I just love when the foods I WANT to eat have bonus benefits like lowering inflammation, improving gut health, boosting brain power, or blocking nutrition to cancer cells. Here are a few of my favorite healthy food combinations in Morgan Hill CA.

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Best Healthy Combinations in Morgan Hill CA

Honey and yogurt: A sweet duo for gut health (from Chris Kresser)

Plain yogurt is fantastic for gut health thanks to its probiotic content. I love the sour taste and don’t need to add a sweetener. But if you’re one of the many folks who find plain yogurt too sour, you’ll be happy to hear that a recent study revealed that adding a spoonful of honey to your morning bowl might do more than satisfy your sweet tooth. Researchers found that yogurt paired with honey, particularly clover honey, helped probiotic bacteria survive the harsh conditions of digestion better than yogurt alone or yogurt with sugar. Participants who consumed yogurt with clover honey showed increased probiotic survival in their gut compared to those who ate pasteurized, heat-treated yogurt. I’m not surprised by these results. Honey (especially raw) is a remarkable food with numerous healing properties. It is truly one of nature’s most potent superfoods.

Green Tea/Matcha and Lemon Juice

Citrus juice gives a boost to green tea antioxidants. A study from Purdue University has shown that adding lemon juice to green tea enhances beneficial antioxidants’ availability. Green tea contains the bioactive epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), praised for antioxidant benefits, including heart health and cancer prevention.

Turmeric, Black Pepper, Olive Oil and Heat

Turmeric contains a powerful antioxidant, curcumin, which helps fight inflammation. But it is not easily absorbed in the body. Piperin, a phytonutrient in pepper, and the fat in olive oil both act to enhance curcumin absorption. Roasting turmeric also increases bioavailability.

Carrots and Olive Oil

The fat in olive oil helps with the absorption of vitamin A in carrots. A bonus, the bioactives in carrots (lutein, beta-carotene, falcarinol and more) remain active with cooking.

Avocados and Red Peppers

Avocados are another healthy fat, and red peppers are another vitamin A source, so the same principle holds with increased vitamin A absorption when they are combined. Vitamin A-rich vegetables are often orange, such as sweet potatoes and winter squash.

Spinach and Lemon Juice

Get more iron from your foods! Vitamin C boosts the iron we can get from food. The iron in plants such as spinach is blocked from absorption by naturally occurring compounds. Vitamin C helps change the situation so that more of the plant-based iron (non-heme) is absorbed. A generous squeeze of lemon juice or a serving of broccoli or other vitamin C-rich food will do the trick.

This is especially helpful for vegetarians because the body does not absorb plant-based iron as readily as it does the iron found in meats, known as heme iron. Adding vitamin C-rich foods to meals will help you absorb iron from any food on your plate.

Olive Oil and Tomato

The Italians are onto something! While all tomatoes have a good amount of lycopene, cooking them increases bioavailability, and olive oil increases absorption. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant with benefits to the skin, heart health and cancer prevention. Lycopene is also found in watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava.

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Ultimate Synergy

The ultimate food synergy may be a balanced plate with lots of colors. Research has repeatedly shown that our eating habits influence our health. The Mediterranean-type diet is an eating style that repeatedly does well in studies. It has a balance of healthy fats, colorful fresh and local vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and a combination of plant and animal proteins.

Yours in Health,
Dr. Nicole