Healthy
Summer Foods to Add to Your Diet
Find out which healthy foods to add to your diet this
summer.
It’s summer—that amazing time of year when fresh produce
abounds. As a dietitian and nutrition editor I love that there’s an abundance
of fresh, delicious and healthy choices. Better yet: many of summer’s fruits
and vegetables are brimming with secret health benefits. Here are some of my
favorites and why they’re a particularly good choice in the summer
1. Corn:
Nothing says summer like fresh sweet corn. And did you know
that two antioxidants—lutein and zeaxanthin—in corn may act like natural
sunglasses, helping to form macular pigment that filters out some of the sun’s
damaging rays? It’s true. The same antioxidants may also help lower your risk of
developing age-related macular degeneration—the leading cause of blindness in
people over the age of 60 (though much of the damage occurs decades earlier).
2. Iced Coffee:
An iced pick-me-up is a great way to start your summer
mornings. Better yet: drinking a single cup of coffee daily may lower your risk
of developing skin cancer. In one study of more than 93,000 women, published in
the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, those who drank one cup of
caffeinated coffee a day reduced their risk of developing nonmelanoma skin
cancer by about 10 percent. And the more they drank—up to about 6 cups or so
per day—the lower their risk. Decaf didn’t seem to offer the same protection.
3. Tart Cherries:
They deliver a host of health benefits. You may have heard
that drinking tart cherry juice can help you get a better night’s sleep and
quell post-workout pain (read more about that here). But did you know that
compounds in tart cherries may also help you slim down and get leaner? When
scientists at the University of Michigan Health System put rats on a high-fat
diet supplemented with either a tart-cherry powder (equal to 1% of the weight
of their total diet) or the same number of calories from carbohydrate, those
that got the cherry powder gained less weight and body fat. Why? The
anthocyanins in tart cherries activate a molecule that helps rev up fat burning
and decrease fat storage.
4. Tomatoes:
There’s no question that sunscreen should be your first line
of defense against the blazing summer sun. But eating tomatoes could give you a
little extra protection: consuming more lycopene—the carotenoid that makes
tomatoes red—may protect your skin from sunburn. In one study, participants who
were exposed to UV light had almost 50 percent less skin reddening after they
ate 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste (or drank about 1 2/3 cups of carrot
juice daily), in addition to their regular diet, for 10 to 12 weeks.
Supplements, however, weren’t as effective: in the same study, those who
received a lycopene supplement or synthetic lycopene weren’t significantly
protected against sunburn.
5. Watermelon:
Staying hydrated keeps your memory sharp and your mood
stable. It also helps keep your body cool (by sweating) during hot summer
months. The good news is that you don’t just have to drink water. You can eat
it, too: in addition to delivering skin-protecting lycopene, watermelon is 92
percent water (hence the name). Another boon? Research shows that eating foods
that are full of water helps keep you satisfied on fewer calories. (Interestingly
enough, drinking water alongside foods doesn’t have the same effect.)
6. Raspberries:
Raspberries are a great source of fiber—some of it soluble
in the form of pectin, which helps lower cholesterol. One cup of raspberries
has 8 grams of fiber—and a study in the Journal of Nutrition suggests that
eating more fiber may help prevent weight gain or even promote weight loss.
Over the course of a two-year study, researchers found that when study
participants boosted their fiber by 8 grams for every 1,000 calories, they lost
about 4 1/2 pounds. Try it for yourself. If you’re consuming 2,000 calories per
day, aim to increase your fiber by 16 grams
7. Iced Tea:
Sure, a tall glass of iced tea on a hot day is refreshing,
but did you know it might also do your body good? Studies show if you drink tea
regularly, you may lower your risk of Alzheimer’s and diabetes, plus have
healthier teeth and gums and stronger bones. How? Tea is rich in a class of
antioxidants called flavonoids. Regardless of the variety—black, green, oolong,
white or herbal—maximize the power of tea’s flavonoids by drinking it freshly
brewed. If you want to keep a batch of cold tea in your refrigerator, “add a
little lemon juice,” recommends Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., director of the
Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on
Aging at Tufts University in Boston. The citric acid and vitamin C in that
squeeze of lemon—or lime, or orange—help preserve the flavonoids.
8. Blueberries:
Fresh blueberries straight from the berry patch are a
special treat! Turns out the antioxidants in them may help ward off muscle
fatigue by mopping up the additional free radicals that muscles produce during
exercise, according to recent research out of New Zealand.
