What are the best foods for health?

Everyone knows it today: what we eat influences our daily life. Eating well helps us feel better, have more energy and become more productive. But what does it really mean?eat well“? What foods should we favor or avoid? To answer these questions, researchers are working tirelessly to give us the best dietary advice.

Which foods have protective effects?

Recently, researchers have identified natural foods that have benefits for our health. An example is flax seed : it would help, it seems, to balance cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure. A new study published in the American Journal of Physiology: endocrinology and metabolism showed that fiber produced changes in the gut microbiota that led to a healthier bacterial population. In addition to that, it would help to increase the tolerance to glucose (sugar).

According to another research published last month, onions and garlic are also important allies for our health. We already know that garlic has antibacterial properties, which is why it is widely used to fight the flu or treat insect bites. In an article published last month in the journal Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from China Medical University First Hospital found that these two foods have anti-cancer effect. They found that study participants who ate the highest amounts of garlic and onions had a 79% reduced risk of colorectal cancer compared to people who ate low amounts.

Finally, Blueberry, often hailed as a super food because it is full of antioxidants, would have unsuspected properties. Researchers from King’s College London, in the United Kingdom, have found that the anthocyanins (pigments with antioxidant properties) present in these berries could help reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems. Study participants who ate 200 grams of it a day for a month saw a significant drop in blood pressure, which investigators say doesn’t usually happen in the absence of specialist medication.

Ultra-processed foods, to be banned from our plates

A french study conducted by specialists from the Sorbonne University in Paris and the Avicenne Hospital, published in February in JAMA Internal Medicine warns, once again, about the consumption ultra-processed foods. We are talking here about ready meals and processed meats, which could be extremely harmful to our health. They are high in fat, sugar and sodium (salt) while being low in natural fibers.

These are essential for our health. On top of all this, the researchers add, ultra-processed foods often contain artificial additives, which could increase our exposure to various diseases. Several specialists had previously warned against such foods, but the effect on mortality risk was unclear. In this new study, the authors concluded that an increase of as little as 10% in the amount of ultra-processed foods in our meals leads to a 14% higher risk of mortality. Avoid this type of food as much as possible!

Does breakfast really make you lose weight?

Popular belief says that eating a meal in the morning makes you lose weight: it would help boost the metabolism, so that calories burn faster. In addition, some studies have shown a correlation between obesity and tendency to skip breakfast. However, a new study, published in the BMJ last monthcontradicts this.

The researchers compared the evolution of the weight of participants who generally ate their breakfast and others who, most often, preferred to skip it. The researchers then discovered that people who frequently skipped breakfast actually had lower body weight than those who ate it. What to do then? We should continue to have a breakfast, but quite light, and composed mainly of fiber (seasonal fruit for example) and whole grains (unprocessed of course, oat or barley flakes are preferred) . Because what makes you fat would be breakfasts that are too high in calories and made up of processed foods.