The latest "it" ingredient for healthy eating: coconut oil. Almost every nutritionist I spoke to says one of the best things you can do to maintain good health is consume 1 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. Michelle L. Butler, a holistic nutritionist in Redondo Beach, Calif., says consuming the oil every day can "relieve stress, stabilize cholesterol levels, increase immunity, and boost your metabolism and thyroid activity."
Coconut oil includes a variety of acids that are antimicrobial and antifungal, which keep your body working at its optimum level. You can "drizzle it on food, cook with it, or eat it straight," says Butler. Certified fitness trainer and nutrition guru for DailyBurn, Kate Brown, says eating coconut oil "also stimulates fatty acid oxidization, so it helps accelerate fat loss."
What's more, it fills you up. "Fat is satiating," says Brown. "So eating a spoonful of coconut oil can help you forget that what you were actually craving was a muffin or a cupcake."
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Add some pineapple to that pork
When you think meat, you don't exactly think fruit. But having a side of pineapple with your steak (or chicken, or pork) dinner does a number of helpful things for your digestive track.
"Protein takes the most digestive work, as the foods have to be broken down into amino acids from complex chains," says Kimberly Snyder, celebrity nutritionist and author of "The Beauty Detox." Instead of cancelling your cookout, Brown suggests adding some pineapple slices to your meat.
"Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which helps to break down proteins," says Brown. "It's like a meat tenderizer in your stomach. If you are going to eat a high protein meal like steak or chicken kabobs, make sure to add a few pineapple slices to each skewer."
If I read another article telling me to drop the Twinkie and replace it with a carrot stick, I'm going to hurl my cream-filled cakes at the computer screen.
I know I should pick hummus over doughnuts and pita chips over potato chips. But as anyone who's ever tried to watch their diet knows, it's not always so easy. While staying healthy and trimming some fat is a noble goal, who wants to subscribe to a strict veggie-chomping and gym-rat lifestyle?
Of course, I know the secret to six-pack abs isn't in a pill or "30-second" workout (although that would be amazing). But there's got to be a happy medium between the quick fixes and the no-sugar, no-carbs, no-fun plan.
That's why I asked dietitians, fitness gurus, and wellness experts for their advice on the small changes that add up to big results. They told me that adding these 7 healthy ingredients into my diet will get me the maximum health payoff for the minimum effort. Now we're talking.
