9 Healthy & easy summer recipes

The summer days are already here. It's time for long and exhaustive days where we are busy recklessly lazing around!

Something about the warm winds and bright sun in the summer season makes us crave delicious meals but at the same time drains our energy levels. We cannot deny the fact that each and every one of us are looking for an easy and quick recipe. We want it to help us stay fit and also tantalize our taste buds.

Undeniably, the majority of us feel that healthy meals aren't tasty. Well it's time to face it: healthy does not have to be boring and unappetizing! Just like escape room games, they support mental health along with fun.

A perfect combination of salt and fresh vegetables can easily make a mouth-watering meal that will be ready in 10 minutes. If you really want to be healthy, first of all, you will have to cut down on unnecessary oils and processed carbs. Instead, a diet including wholesome fresh proteins and plants would be much more beneficial.

If you're someone who's always believed that healthy foods cannot be scrumptious and finger-licking, we are here to prove you wrong!

In this article, we are going to talk about 10 quick and easy recipes that are going to become your favorite dishes in no time! Whether you are a sweet tooth or a salty tooth, we have got something in store for everyone. So just sit tight, relax and continue reading further.

10 Healthy recipes for this summer

1.  Your favorite carrot salad with fresh black grapes

Are you a fan of healthy salads that perfectly balance the sour and sweet? Well, continue reading because we have a treat for you! This recipe is a quick and luscious combination of fresh almonds, black grapes and raisins. To enhance the nutrient level, we also recommend that you add finely chopped carrots. This healthy salad will surely boost your vitamin levels and carrots will act as incredible antioxidants for your body. Moreover, the delicious combination of almonds and raisins will increase the nutritious value of this quick recipe.

Simply mix finely chopped carrots, halved black grapes, almonds and raisins into a bowl. Enjoy the treat and thank me later!

2. Delicious spinach soup with chicken balls 

This is the perfect definition of health in a bowl. For making this soup, all you need is freshly cut spinach along with finely chopped sprouts and carrots. The key ingredient that'll steal the show is tiny balls of ground chicken. To make it more appetizing, we recommend that you garnish it with lemon zest and freshly chopped coriander. There you go - your perfect meal for any day is ready!

3. Savory skewers with rainbow veggies

Are you looking for a yummy dish to make your kids fall in love with veggies? Well, we might have just the right option for you! All you need to do is fire up your grill and relish on the taste of fresh vegetables.

For this easy recipe, you will need your favorite veggies such as tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, zucchini, and whatever you love the most. Grill this combination to a T and there you go - a rainbow veggie treat for you and your loved ones.

4. Scrumptious Strawberry Caprese Pasta

This is just the perfect fusion of sweet and sour. If you are someone who only knows how to boil water, don't worry. Anyone can make this easy recipe with just 5 simple ingredients. It's the perfect meal if you're looking for a light lunch or breakfast.

Simply mix cooked and chilled pasta with fresh basil, spinach, mozzarella, and chopped strawberries. Add spices as needed.

5. Mango treat

This quick recipe is going to make you fall in love with mangoes. Cut some fresh and sweet mangoes. Mix them up with your favorite chips and do not forget the guacamole. This is a quick and easy recipe but trust us it's going to taste extremely out-of-the-box!

6. Avocado, feta and cucumber salad

This is another salad to help you reach your body goals! To make this yummy salad, you just require 3 simple and easily accessible ingredients. You will need some cucumbers, fresh avocados and salty feta. Chop them as per your preferences and mix them to make a flavorsome treat for your taste buds.

7. Succulent smoothie with melon and kiwi

Are you looking for a yummy and delicious smoothie that can energize you quickly? Well, this is the perfect option for you!

Chop some tangy kiwis and delicious watermelons. You can also add your favorite fruit such as papaya, grapes, cucumber and whatnot. Add all of this together with honey, oats, and low-fat milk and there you go! Your instant smoothie is ready to boost up your stamina.

8. Grilled broccoli with luscious buttermilk chicken

This is a delicious treat for all the salty teeth. Rich in nutrition, this is a spicy meal that can be made in no time. Marinate some chicken in buttermilk, pepper, vegetable oil, garlic, salt, and cumin powder. Lastly, do not forget the maple syrup. Cook this fusion in a hot oven and serve fresh with juicy, charred broccoli.

9. Cheese delight with a twist of veggies 

This is another veggie treat to savor on the hot summer days. You can skip the cheese if you do not find it healthy.

For this easy recipe all you need to do is put your favorite veggies in a bowl with a cheesy sauce made with buttermilk and corn flour. Add the spices as per your preferences and bake it in the oven. Lastly, do not forget to garnish this delicious treat with loads of cheese for your kids!

Wrapping up 

The summer days are quite exhaustive and boring - especially amidst the pandemic as everyone is stuck at home. This is the perfect opportunity to relish some mouth-watering dishes that are healthy and nutritious.

Charlotte Lin

Charlotte Lin is a content creator at escaperoom.com. She’s a passionate young woman, mother to an amazing nine-year-old and an avid reader. Over the years writing has helped her to explore and understand the world as well as her own self. She loves to travel, meet new people and spend quality time with her daughter. You can find her on LinkedIn.

6 Foods that slow the aging process

This article is written by Sparkle Purpose. Follow Sparkle Purpose on Twitter and Pinterest.

Foods that slow down the aging process

1. Turmeric

2. Pumpkin seeds

3. Oily fish

4. Berries

5. Coffee

6. Nuts and seeds

The brain is a big deal. It controls all of your senses, cognitive responses, memory and learning. All of your organs, including the heart and lungs, depend on it. 

It's important to keep your brain healthy and functioning. Brainstorming puzzles aren’t enough to keep your brain in top shape. They do help, but your brain also needs the right nutrients.

Every meal that you eat has a significant impact on your health. Almost every food that benefits your brain will also prevent premature aging and prolong the aging process.

Here are the foods that do both.

1. Turmeric increases lifespan

Turmeric has become very popular for its numerous health benefits. This spice offers a number of benefits for the brain, lungs, liver, digestive tract, skin and more.

Turmeric contains a very important ingredient called curcumin. This is basically the active ingredient in turmeric. It's what gives it its yellow-orange color.

Curcumin is able to cross the blood-brain barrier and enter into your brain to feed its cells. 

Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and antioxidant compound that has been linked to positive effects on the whole body.

Inflammation is thought to be a cause of all disease. Turmeric is as effective as many pain medications to reduce inflammation.

This may help to prevent, treat or slow down the progression of many diseases that can cut our lives short.

Curcumin has been a great help for people with Alzheimer’s disease. 

It may also improve their memory. It does so by clearing the amyloid plaques - which are a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. 

If you’ve been struggling with depression, drinking a turmeric latte may actually help. 

Curcumin compounds in turmeric boost serotonin and dopamine. Both of these hormones are necessary to improve your overall mood. Depression is linked to a shortage of these important neurotransmitters. 

There are cultures that strongly recommend drinking turmeric milk at night. It sounds like there’s actual benefit to this.

Your brain has a growth hormone called neurotrophic factor. It makes brain cells grow. Curcumin boosts this growth hormone and helps your brain cells to thrive. 

Drinking turmeric tea can help you to keep your belly lean. We know that body fat - especially belly fat - is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Add a pinch of turmeric the next time you make mash potatoes. Maybe even add it to your smoothie. Your body will thank you later!

2. Pumpkin seeds improve your health

Pumpkin seeds are much more than tasty snacks to munch on. They also offer amazing health benefits for your brain and your body.

Their powerful antioxidants protect both your brain and body from the damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are generated through oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress is the general wear and tear that our cells go through on a daily basis. It's what leads to cellular aging.

Antioxidants, like those in pumpkin seeds, help to counteract this process.

Pumpkin seeds are also rich in zinc, magnesium, iron, and copper. All of these minerals are essential for the healthy functioning of your body.

Zinc, magnesium and copper are extremely important for your health.

Zinc is particularly important for nerve signaling. Its deficiency has been found to cause a lot of diseases like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and depression.

You'd be wrong if you thought that magnesium was less important. You need this mineral for good brain function in areas like memory and learning capacity. The deficiency of magnesium has been linked with depression, migraines, and epilepsy.

Eat more pumpkin seeds to increase your consumption of copper because it is also essential for a healthy body. Copper helps to control nerve signals and its deficiency may cause neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.

One of the most important things that we all start to struggle with as we age is concentration. If you’ve been finding it difficult to concentrate or have regular brain fog, eat foods that are high in essential minerals like pumpkin seeds to prevent deficiency in these important elements.

3. Oily fish has nutrients that we need

Fatty fish or oily fish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines, salmon, and trout are particularly rich sources of omega-3.

About 60% of our brain is made of fat. Half of this is the omega-3 kind of fat. Omega-3 is used by the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs to work properly.

This includes memory and learning. Omega 3 might also slow age-related mental decline besides preventing Alzheimer’s disease.

Include oily fish in your diet if you want to keep depression away. Studies have found that a lack of omega-3 may trigger symptoms of depression. 

People who ate broiled or baked fish regularly had more gray matter in their brains. Gray matter plays a crucial role in your intelligence because it contains nerve cells that control memory, decision making and emotions.

Omega 3 is anti-inflammatory and therefore helps the lungs and heart to pump blood throughout your body. It thins the blood.

The anti-inflammatory effects of omega 3 explain why it is recommended that athletes take it to prevent joint injuries.

You can also get omega-3 from soybeans, flax seeds and nuts.

4. Berries reduce cellular damage

Berries are rich in flavonoid antioxidants. They are good for every cell in your body because they help to reduce oxidative stress (which occurs naturally over time and leads to cellular damage) and inflammation (which is thought of to be the root of all disease).

Berries contain four types of antioxidants: anthocyanin, catechin, caffeic acid and quercetin.

The four types of antioxidants in berries

1. Anthocyanins

2. Catechins

3. Caffeic acid

4. Quercetin

All of these antioxidants fight off damage caused by free radicals. These compounds improve communication between brain cells and help them to form new connections by increasing plasticity (the ability to change and adapt).

Berries may help you to delay or reduce age-related neurodegenerative disease. This is done by boosting memory function.

Make sure to add blueberries the next time that you make oatmeal.

5. Coffee

Who can honestly function without a nice and warm cup of morning coffee? Drinking coffee actually has many health benefits. If you’re already a coffee lover, you’ll appreciate it more after reading this.

Coffee is good for your whole body! It contains antioxidants (the same ones that prevent cellular damage) and caffeine (which helps the body to clear damaged tissues through a process called autophagy).

Both of these things assist your cognitive and physical function.

Do you know how caffeine in coffee or tea affects your brain?

Experts say that the caffeine in coffee keeps the brain alert by blocking the hormone adenosine. Adenosine is a chemical messenger that makes us feel sleepy.

Caffeine also boosts serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for uplifting your mood. 

6. Nuts and seeds 

Nuts and seeds have the omega 3 essential fatty acids that give fish its beneficial properties. They also have the antioxidants that make berries and coffee so healthy.

Eating nuts daily leads to better cognitive functioning in your later years.

Many studies link Vitamin E to improved cognitive function and lowered risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Nuts and seeds are some of the best dietary sources of this essential vitamin.

Vitamin E is known to look for and counteract free radicals that damage cells all over the body. This is why it is often used in creams to rejuvenate the skin.

Nuts like cashews, walnuts and almonds are very beneficial.

More from Sparkle Purpose:

5 Exercises to burn belly fat

What happens when you stop exercising?

18 Natural ways to get clear and glowing skin

Foods to avoid when dieting and exercising

Use food to enhance your goals.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Are there forbidden foods that you should avoid when dieting and trying to lose weight? 

If you are asking this question, you’re probably hoping there is a simple yes or no answer.

As with almost everything in life, it’s not that simple. There are a lot of grey areas here.

The answer is yes and no.

There are no forbidden foods to lose weight physiologically (physically).

There might, however, be forbidden foods to lose weight psychologically (mentally).

Foods to avoid when trying to lose weight

Before I get into this exact question, I need to clear up some misconceptions about 'bad food' and 'good food'.

Fad diets

We’ve all heard about fad diets.

A fad diet drastically limits or cuts out one of the macro nutrients completely.

Macro nutrients are carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water.

Fad diets tend to be the diets that we can’t stick with for prolonged periods of time because our health starts to decline as a result of the diet.

They should be avoided. They are not the way to go about long-term fat loss and maintenance.

Let’s take the ever-popular low carb diet. I hate to break it to you, but a low carbohydrate diet is a fad diet.

Should you monitor and limit your carbs? Yes. Should you avoid them altogether? No!

You need carbohydrates.

How to lose weight with food

Energy consumed must be less than energy used if you want to lose weight. It's as simple as that.

Energy in food is measured as calories.

You need to eat fewer calories than your body needs to lose weight.

It’s that simple; yet it is that hard at the same time.

It’s simple because the concept is simple. The science is simple.

It is hard because we really have to be disciplined to eat less than what we want, and often what we think, we need.

Discipline is a very hard muscle to flex at times.

Self-control is important.

No foods are forbidden for weight loss

There are no 'bad foods' (although there are foods that are better for you than others).

Carbohydrates give you energy. They give you energy for your whole body, including your muscles and your organs.

Your brain relies on carbohydrates exclusively for energy.

Your brain needs carbohydrates for energy

Have you ever had a brain fog on a low carb diet?

The reason for that is because your brain was running low on glucose. Glucose is a simple carbohydrate.

When you cut carbs back too much, your body will take glucose from the glycogen in the muscles and break down your muscle tissue.

This is called gluconeogenesis. This is one of the primary ways that people lose muscle when they diet.

Losing muscle is counterproductive to long-term weight maintenance. The more muscle tissue you have, the higher your metabolism will be. Muscles consume more calories.

Our diet should be around 45-65% carbohydrates. Those carbohydrates should be complex carbohydrates.

Stay healthy.

The importance of fat for health

Fat gives you energy for low intensity activities like walking. It assists in hormone production among other things. You need fat.

Saturated fat (fat from animal products) has been shown to increase the risk for heart disease and diabetes when it is over consumed in the diet.

Not all fat is bad. Unsaturated fats (from plants) have not shown to have the same effect on heart health.

As they say, everything in moderation. We don’t need to eliminate fats. Our diet should be around 20-35% fat.

Eat enough fat.

Eat enough protein for good health

You need protein for growth and repair.

Protein is generally the most over-consumed macro nutrient in an average American’s diet - even in the fitness world.

Our diet should be around 10-20% protein.

Many health and fitness trainees (and trainers) over consume protein. They think that it will make them 'grow'.

In truth, if you are deficient in protein, you won’t 'grow'. You also don’t need nearly as much protein as you think that you do.

Balanced food and calories cause muscles to grow.

If you eat too much protein, just like any other macro nutrient; you will store it as fat.

Too much protein is very hard on the kidneys.

Don't eat too much protein.

There is no such thing as a bad macro nutrient

There aren't 'bad' foods.

There aren’t bad macro nutrients, either.

Get enough of the nutrients that you need. Cut back appropriately on calories.

Those are true statements from a physiological (physical) standpoint.

We are not just physical beings. We are psychological and emotional beings as well.

The easy answer is this: Eat any food that you want in moderation!

Moderation wins the game.

Some foods are more beneficial than others

Having said that, are there foods that are more or less beneficial to you when you are trying to lose weight and/or begin a health and fitness program? Yes.

I believe that the psychological aspect of a diet is the toughest part for people to master.

When you consider that there are psychological responses to food, there are certain foods that you should avoid when you want to lose weight.

This isn’t true for everyone. For some people, food is just food. They do not get a lot of pleasure from it. They don’t the overeat foods that they like.

Whether you should avoid certain foods while dieting depends on what happens to you emotionally once you taste a 'trigger' food.

Avoid your soft spots.

Everybody is different when it comes to food

Everybody is different, but most people can be divided into two main categories when it comes to this food.

Can you eat a small serving of chocolate ice-cream and stop at just a small serving?

If you answer no, you should avoid trigger foods.

For someone else, they may have zero issues having a small treat like that every day while they are dieting and it never causes them to overeat.

Find a strategy that works for your personality

One method might work very well for somebody. That doesn't mean that it will work for you.

Only you know what is more likely to be your best strategy. I use ice cream as an example, but it could be something else. We tend to over eat carbohydrates.

It is not because carbohydrates are evil. It’s because they taste good and are easy to over eat. They are very cheap as well.

Would you rather over eat tasty rolls, or hamburger meat?

Carbohydrates set off a blood sugar rise. This creates more of an insulin spike and has the potential to increase cravings.

That doesn’t mean that carbohydrates are bad. It just means that you must be aware of how you respond to certain ones.

Simply choose carbohydrates to eat that don’t cause triggers.

As I have already said, we all need carbohydrates. Let me give you an example.

A sweet potato is a great source for complex carbohydrates. If you eat a baked sweet potato, it comes in a nice little package that makes it harder to overeat.

Rice, which is also a great source of carbohydrates, can be more of a challenge to control because it’s harder to control the serving size. How big is your serving spoon? How many scoops of rice do you put on your plate? How much rice are they serving you at a restaurant?

Do you see my point? They are almost equal in calories and nutrients (serving size to serving size), but one is harder to control the actual serving size.

Choose according to your own strategy.

Choose foods according to nutrient density

Another thing to understand is the distinction between nutrient dense and calorie dense food.

If you want to lose weight, choose as much nutrient dense foods as possible. You will get more out of every meal nutritionally - with fewer calories.

Nutrient dense foods are high in nutrients like vitamins and minerals and low in calories.

Broccoli is a nutrient dense food. Calorie dense foods are high in calories, yet low in micro nutrients. Peanut butter is an example of this.

You would have to eat a 3-pound bag of broccoli to get the same number of calories that are in one tablespoon of peanut butter.

When we eat more calorie dense foods, we tend to eat more than we need.

Can you eat a lot of calorie dense foods like peanut butter? Of course you can. But can you control how much of this you’re eating?

Only you know if you can.

Choose food that nourishes you.

Final word of advice

Be careful of 'experts' that push absolutes.

I like to think things all the way through. You should do that too. Don't avoid healthy things like fruit and vegetables because a stranger told you to.

Be wary of someone who tells you to never eat bread. Think about it. Does that make sense to you? Can one piece of bread put pounds on you? Of course it won't.

If you ate the entire loaf along with other foods throughout the day, you will put on weight - obviously.

Many 'forbidden' foods are simply easier to eat in abundance and harder to control. It’s a lot easier to binge on jellybeans than spinach.

Ask yourself if you can control yourself once you start eating a certain food. Be honest with yourself. If you can eat jellybeans in a small quantity for dessert after every lunch and you stay on course with the rest of your eating, go for it!

If you can’t do it because you can’t eat a small amount of it, that’s okay too.

Know your personality and know what works for you. Self-awareness is the key to any success when it comes to health and fitness - and probably life in general.

Don’t make food your enemy. Learn what foods do to your personality. Discover how you react to food and learn what works best for you.

Find your personal solution.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Best foods for healthy skin and hair

True beauty comes from health.

Best food for healthy skin and hair

1. Salmon and trout
2. Broccoli and spinach
3. Nuts and seeds
4. Berries
5. Spinach and other leafy greens

Beauty starts on the inside.

The food that we eat and the drinks that we drink determine how healthy we are. Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, famously said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Every aspect of our physical health is impacted by what we put into our bodies. Cells need certain nutrients to exist, generate new cells and perform their functions.

Without the right nutrients, our bodies start to deteriorate on a cellular level. Let’s jump straight into the best foods that will help you to look after the health of your hair and skin.

Which foods are good for healthy skin, hair and nails?

1) Foods high in Omega 3 

Omega 3 deficiencies are known to cause skin issues like rough, dry, oily or scaly skin. It can even cause hair loss.

Omega 3 is a fatty acid. Unfortunately, most of us don’t eat enough foods that are high in Omega 3, but eat too many foods that contain Omega 6 and Omega 9 (which come from plant oils).

Our bodies need Omega 3 to function properly. Omega 3 deficiencies can lead to hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular and circulatory problems, diabetes, depression and even dry or oily skin. 

Hormonal problems directly affect the skin – too much or too little of certain hormones like testosterone, estrogen and the human growth hormone (HGH) will directly impact how well the skin can keep itself moisturized.

Too much of one of these hormones can either flood your skin with too much oil or dry it out completely.

Hormonal imbalances explain why teens often struggle with pimples and acne when they hit puberty.

Foods that are high in Omega 3 will help the body to balance out hormonal functions. Without the right hormonal balance, your hair can also become too dry or too oily.

Good sources of Omega 3:

1. Oily fish like mackerel, herring, sea bass, salmon, sardines and trout
2. Seafood like oysters, shrimp, seaweed (spirulina is a form of seaweed) and krill
3. Seeds like chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds
4. Nuts like Walnuts and almonds
5. Beans like soybeans, edamame and kidney beans

Give your body what it needs.

2) Foods that contain fiber

Fiber is the part of plant foods that we can’t digest. It is eliminated through bowel movements.

Although our bodies can’t break down fiber, it is very important because it adds bulk to the excretion process. Without enough bulk, our bodies don’t have enough matter to eliminate toxins and impurities.

These impurities, if left to build up, can accumulate in the body and wreak havoc on the skin - and block up hair pores.

Foods that are high in fiber will help your body to eliminate these impurities and let your skin glow with perfection. Cleaner pores lead to better hair growth.

Foods that are high in fiber include

1. Fruits like apples, peaches, oranges, lemons, bananas, pears, berries, and melons
2. Vegetables like pumpkin, broccoli, carrots and tomatoes
3. Leafy greens like spinach, lettuce, cabbage and bok choy

Use fiber to stay clean.

3) Foods high in anti-oxidants

Anti-oxidants keep the body fresh by reducing the negative effects of free radicals. Think of free radical damage as the general wear and tear that our bodies go through as we age.

Normal functions like physical movement lead to free radical damage on a cellular level - and unhealthy things like pollution, unhealthy food, smoking, alcohol, illnesses and unbalanced diets increase the damage caused by free radicals.

Free radical damage leads to premature aging and wrinkles. Antioxidants reduce free radical damage. Eating a diet high in antioxidants can reduce the appearance of wrinkles and other age-related beauty problems - like hair loss.

The best way to get a healthy dose of anti-oxidants is from raw plant sources, just like the ones listed above. Tea or coffee is another great source of antioxidants.

Find healthy things that you enjoy

4) Vitamin C

Most people know about Vitamin C’s ability to support immune function, but it does a lot more than that. Vitamin C is also responsible for helping the body to heal itself from wounds.

Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant. It is also needed for the creation of collagen, which is what makes skin supple and flexible. Skin starts to sag as we age because less collagen gets produced.

A healthy diet with lots of Vitamin C will help to slow down the reduction in collagen production.

Good sources of Vitamin C include:

1. Peppers
2. Fruits like oranges, lemons, mandarins, tangerines and grapefruit
3. Leafy greens like spinach and lettuce
4. Vegetables like carrots, tomatoes and broccoli

Get enough Vitamin C

5) Vitamin E

Vitamin E is the most well-known vitamin for skin, hair and nail health. For this reason, many skin creams and hair shampoos contain this Vitamin.

Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant that helps to repair damage caused by outside factors like pollution, the sun, stress and harmful chemicals.

When Vitamin E is ingested though food sources, it will help to boost skin and hair health from the inside out. It is also really good at softening skin. Vitamins play a huge role in overall skin, hair and nail health.

Good sources of vitamin E are:

1. Seeds like sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
2. Nuts like almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, Brazil nuts, pecans and cashews
3. Fish like salmon and trout
4. Fruits like avocado, mango, kiwifruit and apricots
5. Berries like blackcurrants, cranberries and raspberries
6. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, spinach, butternut and turnips

Choose healthy food.

Top foods for hair and skin health 

After reading through this article, you might have noticed that there are some foods that will benefit your skin and hair in more than one way.

Salmon, for example, is a rich source of Omega 3 as well as Vitamin E. By combining the different ways that our bodies need different nutrients to look after our skin, we can see which foods benefit our skin in more than one way. 

This is the list of my favorite foods for skin and hair health:

1. Salmon and trout (Omega 3 and Vitamin E)
2. Broccoli and spinach (Fiber, Antioxidants and Vitamin C)
3. Nuts and seeds (Omega 3, Antioxidants, Fiber and Vitamin E)
4. Berries (Anti-oxidants, Fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)
5. Spinach and other leafy greens (Fiber, Antioxidants, Vitamin C and Vitamin E)

External features like the skin and hair reflect internal health and well-being. By looking after your health, you are helping your body to look after itself. 

Drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise, for example, are other fantastic ways to let your hair and skin shine with ageless beauty. Stay Strong!

5 Food combinations that are harming your health

There are certain foods that you shouldn't eat together.

Food combinations that can cause health or digestive issues

Some foods just don't belong together - or at least not when they're both in your digestive system at the same time.

Banana and milk

Many people eat bananas and milk together. They make great smoothies and the concept sounds great when you think about the protein, calcium, healthy sugars and fiber. People do it often after the gym or after a run to replenish lost nutrients.

The problem with combining bananas and milk

1. Digestive issues
2. Trouble sleeping at night
3. Asthma and allergies may get worse

Although both ingredients are healthy on their own, they don't seem to make a good combination. The mixture can cause bloating and troubles with your digestive system. The calcium in milk, mixed with the fiber in bananas, seems to be what gives people such a hard time on the digestive front.

It is recommended for you to wait at least 20 minutes after drinking milk before eating a banana to avoid the digestive issues that might follow. Some say that the combination can even escalate symptoms of asthma and allergies. Other sources indicate that the combo can disturb restful sleep at night.

Read more about the potential negative effects of bananas with milk.

Keep an eye out for these issues.

2. Wine and dessert

Why do I suddenly feel like the most unpopular guy in the room right now? People typically like to enjoy a glass of wine and dessert after a hard day at the office. It might flood your pleasure centers and ease up the tension from a rough day, but it could make things worse for a long run. It isn't recommended to have these two food items together because the taste of one item can completely over power or change the taste of the other.

The problem with wine and dessert

1. Weight gain
2. Insulin resistance
3. Desensitization to other healthy foods

The main reason why this combination isn't so good for you is because the desserts and the wine both contain elements that could potentially lead to weight gain. Excess sugar is converted into fat. A single gram of alcohol has almost double the amount of calories as the same amount of sugar (alcohol has 7 calories per gram; sugar has 4 calories per gram). Weight gain can cause serious heart problems and diseases related to adding excess fat.

You should try eating veggies with wine to control the fat-gaining potential of alcohol. By doing this, you’ll control your weight and potentially prevent a lot of diseases.

Choose your guilty pleasure wisely.

3. Tomato and Pasta

This one probably shocks you as it did me. I know that this combination might break the hearts of many Italian foodies; but the combo may cause harm in more ways than you know.

Have you ever noticed that after eating a tomato with pasta meal, you feel lazy and lethargic? This is why the two ingredients should never stay together. Tomatoes are acidic and therefore shouldn't be added to starchy foods like pasta.

The problem with tomato and pasta

1. Lethargy
2. Lack of energy
3. Weight gain

Tomatoes and pasta produce enzymes that are very good at breaking down the heavy starch. This is why you feel exhausted. Your body needs a lot of energy to break down the starch and hence you feel fatigued. It slows down the process of digestion, so rather than providing energy for the body, it is taking energy away. 

When your body is flooded with excess nutrients from the starch in a short period of time, it focuses on controlling the extra nutrients by converting it to fat. The body will also focus on pulling as much of the energy out of the blood stream as possible - to be converted into fat instead.

Instead of tomatoes, you can replace it with pesto. Pesto helps you to gain energy and prevent your body from feeling like a bloated balloon.

Use pesto instead of tomato paste.

4. Black tea and milk

98% of the British drink black tea with milk. 

Milk has many benefits on its own because it adds calcium and vitamin B 12 to your daily consumption, but that’s not always the case when it is combined with tea. Black tea comes with many benefits and it's very good for your heart, but adding milk can negate some of the heart-promoting effects.

The problem with black tea and milk

1. Limited absorption of minerals like calcium
2. Risk of kidney stones
3. Limited absorption of beneficial heart-health-promoting compounds in tea 

The chemicals in milk (minerals like calcium) can combine with that of the tea (tannin's) and decrease the actual benefits associated with the tea. During a survey in the USA it was noticed that those who drank black tea with added milk didn't receive a notable calcium boost - and they did not absorb any proteins from the milk either.

Many plant foods like tea limit the amount of mineral absorption that you get form normal food (like calcium and iron). In extreme cases, this may lead to kidney stones.

Add lemons to your tea instead so that your body can absorb the vitamins and essential nutrients found in the tea.

Use fresh lemon juice instead of milk.

5. Fruit and vegetables with large meals

Fruit and vegetables are one of the healthiest things that you can ever eat. It's one of the first things that I get my clients to eat more of. Unfortunately, eating fruit with meals is not as common a habit as it should be.

If you frequently indulge in the combination of fruit and vegetables with large meals, however, bloating and other digestive issues that follow might come from the fruit.

The problem with fruit or vegetables with large meals

1. Digestive issues
2. Bloating
3. Gas
4. Unshakable feeling of fullness

The reason behind that is the fact that fruit goes through the stomach fairly quickly, but it takes its time to digest in the intestines. Fruit and vegetables are full of fiber that the body cannot digest. It therefore sits in the intestines until it moves completely through. Fruit and veggies are mostly made up of water, so there is only a small portion of the food left after the water is absorbed into the bloodstream.

When you combine this with heavy foods that take much longer to go through the digestive system, it will digest even slower and you may sit with too much food in your digestive system for a prolonged period of time.

Instead of combining fruit with your larger meals, you should eat plant foods 30 to 60 minutes before a meal. This will reduce the amount of heavy food that you eat because you will still feel full. It will also allow the digestive system to prepare your digestive tract and help your stomach work its way through the amount of food that you'll be eating. 

It's always best to eat fruit in the morning as it can sometimes last for up to 10 hours in the digestive process. This will reduce the amount of food that you eat for a large portion of the day.

Fruit and veggies affect digestion.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope it helps you!

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