Dr. Jan McBarron Co-Host of Duke and The Doctor Lists Some Healthy Foods to Help Maintain an Active Lifestyle

Maintaining a healthy diet is one of the most difficult aspects of losing weight, gaining muscle, or becoming a better athlete. After all, having the willpower to stick to the same type of food can be extremely challenging. Hence why the diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar market that continues to grow relentlessly. 

In order to help with monotony and spice up someone’s eating habits, however, there are many experts who suggest a number of food choices that could be a perfect way to add variety to one’s diet. So, what are some of the healthiest food additions that can turn an average diet into an extraordinary one? 

Eggs

Although there is nothing revolutionary about eggs, most people fail to consume them as much as they should. This is because the preparation process can take a little more time than busy professionals have at their disposal. Consequently, they miss out on the innumerable benefits of this food group. For those unfamiliar, one egg averages around 60 calories with 6 grams of protein. Finding such a rich protein source that does not have a plethora of fats is quite uncommon. However, a specialized expert with many years of experience in the medical field, Dr. Jan McBarron, cautions that eating eggs should not happen on a daily basis. This is because they also have enough cholesterol to become a problem if over consumed. Nevertheless, eating an egg or two every few days would be an easy way to get an abundance of micronutrients accompanied by a lot of protein according to Dr. Jan McBarron. 

Tomatoes

Another common food that people often neglect is tomatoes. They originally came from South Africa and present one of the most popular sources of an antioxidant called lycopene. Why is this important? Well, according to Dr. Jan McBarron, there is research showing that lycopene reduces the risk of heart disease as well as cancer. In other words, doing something as effortless as consuming tomatoes at least once a day could have a lot of much-needed benefits. 

Olive Oil

Although it is hard to find a fat source that the experts will not classify as controversial, olive oil is one of the very few outstanding ones. It is rich in the healthy types of fats that are monounsaturated and also carries a decent amount of the polyunsaturated variety. When combined, these types of fat account for a whopping 25 percent of all fats offered by this food. And given that nearly all products in the market come nowhere near that figure, adding olive oil to one’s cooking can be an easy way to supplement omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. 

Dark Chocolate

By now, anyone who consumes sweets will probably have experience with dark chocolate. Moreover, it would not be a far-reaching statement to say that they might have been offered this product as a replacement for the regular kind of chocolate that carries practically no useful nutrients. So, why is dark chocolate so popular nowadays? According to Dr. Jan McBarron, a single, 100-gram bar of the traditional type will have around 80 percent of cocoa, 11 grams of fiber, an abundance of potassium, zinc, and phosphorus, and a relatively low amount of sugar. So, even though it would not be smart to eat 100 grams of dark chocolate every single day, it can be a healthier replacement for the old-fashioned type of candy. 

Kale

Unlike a lot of filler-style foods that are consumed to help one feel less hungry while eating a fairly low number of calories, Kale is rich in practically every micronutrient out there. It belongs to the cabbage family and has very little competition in the area of vitamins, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. As far as the vitamins that it comes with, below is a list that summarizes how much of the required daily it provides:

  • Over 100 percent for Vitamin C;
  • Over 200 percent of the required intake for Vitamin A;
  • A little under 10 percent for Vitamin B6;
  • Almost 700 percent for Vitamin K.

Not to mention that all of the aforementioned is packed in a tasty snack that only requires one to sacrifice around 35 calories of their daily limit. As far as the macronutrients go, an average-sized serving cup that has 65 grams will have 3 grams of protein, 6 grams of carbs, and 2 grams of fiber.