Food Synergy: Top 10 Food Melds for a Healthy Lifestyle
We might have seldom heard of friendships, acquaintances and relationships which have a transformative influence on the mutual’s. Metaphorically the same, Certain foods are known to complement each other so well that they seem to make each other taste better! When put together, the amalgamation of the two, blended with each other in a synergistic pattern, bestows within us a relishing experience. I call such food meld’s– “The Perfect Food Couples”.
What if we were to tell you that certain food combinations not only amp up the flavour coefficient but also improve their overall nutritional value? It does feel rewarding! Well, certain ingredients when used together, transform themselves from regular dishes to healing superfoods. These superfood combinations can help to provide better nourishment by improving the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, a process called bioavailability.
This concept of “food synergy” can be considered as nature’s own meal plan to enhance our healthy lifestyle. Below is a list of must try food combinations, synergised for a healthy you.
Lemon & Green Tea
Squirt some fresh lemon juice into your morning cuppa to add a citric element to your hot sip. The Vitamin C in lemon facilitates the absorption of the antioxidants called catechins in green tea. Beverages like green tea have caffeine contents in them which may cause the body to turn acidic. Lemon helps to make the body PH level alkaline. And hence adding lemon juice to green tea is advisable for cushioning against acidity.
Fish & Garlic
Garlic contains sulphur compounds which help to boost immunity and help reduce bad cholesterol levels. On the other hand, Fish, being rich in protein & Omega 3 also boosts immunity & reduces inflammation in the body. Adding garlic to your fish marinade will help activate the therapeutic properties of fish and reduce the LDL & triglyceride levels. This combination of foods does the job more efficiently together than when consumed separately.
Rosemary & Steak
The robust flavour of Rosemary blends extravagantly with meat steak. Using Rosemary to marinate or flavour your steak helps to neutralise the carcinogenic compounds such as Heterocyclic Amine (HCA) that are formed when you char the
meat or cook it at a high temperature. This is due to the high antioxidant content of Carnosic acid & Carnosol in Rosemary. Apart from this, a tip for this combination would be to always make sure that you consume grass fed, organic meat.
Vinegar & Rice
Vinegar helps to improve insulin sensitivity. Combining vinegar with a rice-based meal helps to shallow out and prevent fluctuations in the blood sugar levels by 20-35%. This is particularly important for someone who is diabetic or is simply worried about their weight.
Tomato & Olive Oil
Tomatoes are rich in phytochemicals called Lycopene which help to fight prostate cancer by improving prostate health. They also help in curbing heart disease. Combining tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil can make fat soluble carotenoids more easily available for the body to absorb and benefit.
Lemon & Spinach
Spinach has high iron content. Being a plant based (non-heme) source of iron, the bio-availability of this nutrient in the body is poor. Vitamin C in the lemon helps to improve the absorption of iron into the body.
Vitamin C aids in better absorption of iron from all iron containing plant-based sources such as Garden Cress seeds & Wheatgrass. Simply add soaked garden cress seeds or wheatgrass powder to a glass of water with some lemon juice to make the iron more bioavailable.
Turmeric & Pepper
We’re all familiar with the numerous benefits of Haldi ranging from healing wounds to reducing sniffles. Turmeric also elicits a range of f benefits such as boosting immunity, lowering cholesterol, improving liver function, etc. However, Curcumin (the active component in turmeric) fails to get absorbed & passes through our systems only to be flushed unused. Consuming pepper along with turmeric increases the absorption of Curcumin multifold by making it bio-available to us.
One must look for curcumin along-with piperine, while purchasing a curcumin supplement. If you don’t have piperine added in the supplement, it is important to add a pinch of pepper to the water that you have with the pill for better bioavailability.
Vitamin E & Selenium
Selenium & Vitamin E by themselves are superfoods for boosting immunity & reducing gut and skin issues. However, combining the two nutrients seems to have a better effect on reducing inflammation. Studies have shown a decrease in proliferation markers of prostate cancer when treated with a combination of Vitamin E & Selenium.
- Some sources of Vitamin E are – Almonds, Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Green Leafy vegetables like Spinach & Broccoli and Wheat germ.
- Sources of Selenium include – Brazil nuts, Fish, Whole grain cereals, Chicken, Eggs, Mushrooms, Lentils, Banana, Brown Rice and Oatmeal.
To get the best out of both, you could have some grilled fish with steamed broccoli on the side or sprinkle your oatmeal with lightly roasted almonds & sunflower seeds or combine spinach with mushroom to enjoy these sautéed veggies with steamed brown rice. Experiment away and make your own combinations according to your taste and quest for wellness.
Calcium & Vitamin D
Vitamin D facilitates absorption of calcium in the body. When Vitamin D levels are low, it won’t be absorbed irrespective of repeated pumping. This is the reason why your calcium supplement must have a small amount of Vitamin D added to it.
Very few foods contain Vitamin D naturally, some sources such as fatty fish (like Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel), egg yolks and mushrooms are rich in it.
Combining these foods with calcium rich food sources such as Broccoli, cabbage, non-GMO soybeans, seeds like sesame, poppy, chia seeds, almonds, beans & of-course dairy products will help to improve your holistic nutritional value.
One must look for curcumin along-with piperine, while purchasing a curcumin supplement. If you don’t have piperine added in the supplement, it is important to add a pinch of pepper to the water that you have with the pill for better bioavailability.
Vitamin E & Selenium
Selenium & Vitamin E by themselves are superfoods for boosting immunity & reducing gut and skin issues. However, combining the two nutrients seems to have a better effect on reducing inflammation. Studies have shown a decrease in proliferation markers of prostate cancer when treated with a combination of Vitamin E & Selenium.
- Some sources of Vitamin E are – Almonds, Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Green Leafy vegetables like Spinach & Broccoli and Wheat germ.
- Sources of Selenium include – Brazil nuts, Fish, Whole grain cereals, Chicken, Eggs, Mushrooms, Lentils, Banana, Brown Rice and Oatmeal.
To get the best out of both, you could have some grilled fish with steamed broccoli on the side or sprinkle your oatmeal with lightly roasted almonds & sunflower seeds or combine spinach with mushroom to enjoy these sautéed veggies with steamed brown rice. Experiment away and make your own combinations according to your taste and quest for wellness.
Calcium & Vitamin D
Vitamin D facilitates absorption of calcium in the body. When Vitamin D levels are low, it won’t be absorbed irrespective of repeated pumping. This is the reason why your calcium supplement must have a small amount of Vitamin D added to it.
Very few foods contain Vitamin D naturally, some sources such as fatty fish (like Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel), egg yolks and mushrooms are rich in it.
Combining these foods with calcium rich food sources such as Broccoli, cabbage, non-GMO soybeans, seeds like sesame, poppy, chia seeds, almonds, beans & of-course dairy products will help to improve your holistic nutritional value.
One must look for curcumin along-with piperine, while purchasing a curcumin supplement. If you don’t have piperine added in the supplement, it is important to add a pinch of pepper to the water that you have with the pill for better bioavailability.
Vitamin E & Selenium
Selenium & Vitamin E by themselves are superfoods for boosting immunity & reducing gut and skin issues. However, combining the two nutrients seems to have a better effect on reducing inflammation. Studies have shown a decrease in proliferation markers of prostate cancer when treated with a combination of Vitamin E & Selenium.
- Some sources of Vitamin E are – Almonds, Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Green Leafy vegetables like Spinach & Broccoli and Wheat germ.
- Sources of Selenium include – Brazil nuts, Fish, Whole grain cereals, Chicken, Eggs, Mushrooms, Lentils, Banana, Brown Rice and Oatmeal.
To get the best out of both, you could have some grilled fish with steamed broccoli on the side or sprinkle your oatmeal with lightly roasted almonds & sunflower seeds or combine spinach with mushroom to enjoy these sautéed veggies with steamed brown rice. Experiment away and make your own combinations according to your taste and quest for wellness.
Calcium & Vitamin D
Vitamin D facilitates absorption of calcium in the body. When Vitamin D levels are low, it won’t be absorbed irrespective of repeated pumping. This is the reason why your calcium supplement must have a small amount of Vitamin D added to it.
Very few foods contain Vitamin D naturally, some sources such as fatty fish (like Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel), egg yolks and mushrooms are rich in it.
Combining these foods with calcium rich food sources such as Broccoli, cabbage, non-GMO soybeans, seeds like sesame, poppy, chia seeds, almonds, beans & of-course dairy products will help to improve your holistic nutritional value.
One must look for curcumin along-with piperine, while purchasing a curcumin supplement. If you don’t have piperine added in the supplement, it is important to add a pinch of pepper to the water that you have with the pill for better bioavailability.
Vitamin E & Selenium
Selenium & Vitamin E by themselves are superfoods for boosting immunity & reducing gut and skin issues. However, combining the two nutrients seems to have a better effect on reducing inflammation. Studies have shown a decrease in proliferation markers of prostate cancer when treated with a combination of Vitamin E & Selenium.
- Some sources of Vitamin E are – Almonds, Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Sunflower Seeds, Green Leafy vegetables like Spinach & Broccoli and Wheat germ.
- Sources of Selenium include – Brazil nuts, Fish, Whole grain cereals, Chicken, Eggs, Mushrooms, Lentils, Banana, Brown Rice and Oatmeal.
To get the best out of both, you could have some grilled fish with steamed broccoli on the side or sprinkle your oatmeal with lightly roasted almonds & sunflower seeds or combine spinach with mushroom to enjoy these sautéed veggies with steamed brown rice. Experiment away and make your own combinations according to your taste and quest for wellness.
Calcium & Vitamin D
Vitamin D facilitates absorption of calcium in the body. When Vitamin D levels are low, it won’t be absorbed irrespective of repeated pumping. This is the reason why your calcium supplement must have a small amount of Vitamin D added to it.
Very few foods contain Vitamin D naturally, some sources such as fatty fish (like Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel), egg yolks and mushrooms are rich in it.
Combining these foods with calcium rich food sources such as Broccoli, cabbage, non-GMO soybeans, seeds like sesame, poppy, chia seeds, almonds, beans & of-course dairy products will help to improve your holistic nutritional value.
Whole eggs for breakfast with a glass of A2 organic cow milk make for a perfect breakfast & a super food for healthy bones. Egg yolks being rich in Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium from milk. This is important for the cure of brittle bones & osteoporosis.
In case of lactose intolerance, you can also go for nut milk such as almond milk with egg for your calcium needs or add some chopped spinach to your egg omelette.
Now that we are familiar with Vitamin D & Calcium’s synergetic relation, we must also appreciate the power of Magnesium & its importance in facilitating Calcium to function efficiently. Not many are aware that we need magnesium to help your body absorb & retain Calcium. It has now been established that magnesium is the key to the body’s effective assimilation & use of Calcium.
Magnesium is found in whole grains, cacao, nuts, seafood, legumes, peas, carrots & green leafy vegetables. Having said that, too much calcium without adequately balancing it with magnesium, may cause a magnesium deficiency or malabsorption & can have adverse effects on the body. The body tends to hold on to calcium & either store it or recycle it. Magnesium on the other hand, is either used up or excreted from our body & hence needs to be replenished on a regular daily basis.
Cereal and Pulse
With a majority of the population being vegetarian or lacto-vegetarian, our Indian diet lacks the consumption of meat. A conventional Indian thali is a well-balanced combination of some lentils with rotis or dal & rice or khichdi which is an ideal cereal & pulse combination.
This combination in the right ratio enables us to get the required complete protein that we need, which a vegetarian diet lacks otherwise. ,
We require complete protein to boost our immunity, for repair & recovery of cells & for muscle building.
This beautiful synergy of ingredients which is an intrinsic part of our native culture is what we need to put into practice when it comes to eating healthy & gaining maximum nourishment from everything we eat.
Good food is made great when eaten thoughtfully. By understanding how our incredibly complex bodies work, we can adjust our diets to best suit our requirements and customise it along our way towards wellness and good health.
Synergies are meant to make a difference and the one’s above are for you to practice because we ‘Care’ for your ‘Lifestyle!’
