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Last Updated: Oct 23, 2019
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Five Healthiest Winter Foods

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Dr. Aabid Altaf WaniGeneral Physician • 11 Years Exp.Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (B.U.M.S), PGDHHM
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Keep healthy in winter by including plenty of these 5 foods in your diet. Although there are fewer foods that are in winter season than in summer. Here are 5 of the healthiest winter foods you should be eating.

1. Pomegranates - Chances are you have tasted pomegranates in their newly popular juice form. And from a heart-health perspective, thats probably a good thing. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants (more so than other fruit juices), just a cup daily might help to keep free radicals from oxidizing ldl bad cholesterol, according to a preliminary study in the american journal of clinical nutrition. Oxidized ldl contributes to plaque buildup in the arteries. Another study showed that drinking pomegranate juice might improve blood flow in the heart in people with myocardial ischemia, a serious condition in which the hearts oxygen supply is compromised because the arteries leading to it are blocked.

2. Dark leafy greens - Dark leafy greens, such as kale, chard and collards, thrive in the chill of winter when the rest of the produce section looks bleak. In fact, a frost can take away the bitterness of kale. These greens are particularly rich in vitamins A,  C and K. Collards, mustard greens and escarole are also excellent sources of folate, important for women in childbearing age.

3. Citrus - Citrus fruits, including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, are at their juiciest in the wintertime and can add sunshine to the dreary winter. Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin, one medium orange delivers more than 100 percent of your daily dose. Citrus fruits are also rich sources of flavonoids. The predominant flavonoid in these fruits hesperidin is credited with boosting good hdl cholesterol and lowering bad ldl cholesterol and triglycerides.

4. Potatoes - Potatoes sometimes get a bad rap for being a white starch, thrown into the same category as white rice or white bread. But unlike those other starches, which have indeed been stripped of healthful nutrients, potatoes are foods that contain several beneficial nutrients. They are an excellent source of two immunity boosters .vitamins C and B6, delivering 25% and 29% of your daily needs per medium potato, respectively. They are also a good source of folate, which is especially important for women in childbearing age, and they deliver fiber (4 grams in a medium potato, women need 25 grams daily and men need 38 grams). If you can find purple potatoes, you will get an added health boon as they are rich in anthocyanins antioxidants that are linked to a host of health benefits, from lowering cancer and heart disease risk to quelling inflammation.

5. Winter squash - There are many varieties of winter squash including butternut, acorn, delicata and spaghetti squash and they all are excellent choices in the winter. One cup of cooked winter squash has few calories (around 80) but is high in both vitamin a (214 percent of the recommended daily value) and vitamin c (33 percent), as well as being a good source of vitamins B6 and K, potassium and folate.

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