Almonds, salmon, blueberries and 17 more foods that will make you more alert, energetic and ready to take on the world.

It’s three in the afternoon, your energy is flagging and all you want to do is take a nap, but instead you have to sit through a boring meeting. While you could just have a second – or seventh – cup of coffee, you could also have some pumpkin seeds, an apple, a few red bell pepper slices with hummus or a piece of dark chocolate. These 20 foods can help relieve fatigue, sharpen your focus and give you the jolt of energy that you need to avoid falling asleep at your desk.

Leafy Greens

Spinach, kale, arugula and chard. Virtually every variety of leafy greens is flavorful, packed with vitamins and minerals, and a low-calorie addition to your meals. Not only do they contain vitamins C and A, which are important for energy levels, they also contain depression-fighting folate.

Nuts

Nuts like almonds, walnuts, pecans and cashews contain protein for endurance and coenzyme Q10, a nutrient that helps produce energy inside our cells. This combination makes them an ideal fuel choice for both a quick energy jolt and long-term endurance.

Lean Meats

Skinless chicken, turkey and other lean cuts of meat contain the amino acid tyrosine, which helps fight fatigue. They also have lots of iron, B-vitamins and the protein your muscles need for endurance whether you’re working out, competing in an athletic event or just trying to get through a hectic day.

Salmon

Salmon has two grams of essential fatty acids per four-ounce serving, and these EFAs do more than just regulate insulin and facilitate healthy brain function. They also help ease inflammation, so stiffness in your joints or muscles won’t slow you down.

Eggs

There are plenty of foods that provide the protein vegetarians need, but perhaps none do so in such a powerful, compact package as an egg. Eggs offer many of the same benefits as lean meats, including protein, B-vitamins and iron.

Whole Grains

It’s common knowledge that consuming carbs will give you a quick energy boost, which makes them great before a long workout. But the pick-me-up from refined carbohydrates like white bread and white rice won’t last; within 30 minutes you’ll be feeling sluggish again. Choose refined carbs like brown rice, oats or whole-wheat bread instead.

Coffee

This one’s a no-brainer. The caffeine in coffee is perhaps the most powerful and well-known energy-booster there is, and millions of people rely on it every morning just to get out the door. But when you combine some of these other pick-me-up foods in each of your daily meals, you may find you don’t need coffee as much as you used to.

Tea

Like coffee, black tea and green tea both contain caffeine, but they’ve also got the amino acid L-theanine, which can aid in alertness and memory.

Beans

Lean protein, iron, B-vitamins and amino acids make beans an obvious go-to for energy, but another big benefit comes from their fiber content. Fiber slows digestion, giving your body a longer-term source of energy.

Apples

Fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants have a lot of energy-boosting power on their own, but apples also contain fructose, which is quickly and efficiently processed by our bodies for energy.

Bananas

A favorite of bodybuilders, bananas offer potassium, which helps muscles contract properly, as well as the fruit sugars fructose and glucose. Glucose is rapidly digested and turned into energy, so that you’ll start feeling more alert right away.

Pumpkin seeds

Like nuts, pumpkin seeds contain muscle-sustaining protein, vitamins and healthy fats. They’re also full of magnesium, which helps convert food into energy.

Water with lemon

When you’re feeling a little slow, take the time to drink a glass of water, preferably with a slice of lemon for a little bit of added vitamin C. Dehydration can sap both metabolism and energy levels. Try coconut water, too, which contains electrolytes and potassium.

Watermelon

It may seem like mostly – well – water, but watermelon is a surprisingly good source of energy-boosting B-vitamins, potassium and fructose. And thanks to its high water content, it’s hydrating, too.

Blueberries

Blueberries are often listed among so-called “superfoods” for a reason. Antioxidants in blueberries can help improve cognition, and were even found to have an anti-aging effect in a 2007 study on rats. Pair them with walnuts, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and you’ve got ideal brain food.

Red Bell Peppers

You can get 380% of your daily recommended value of vitamin C just by eating one red bell pepper. Vitamin C helps the healing process, so your body feels less fatigued.It also contains the phytochemical lycopene, fiber and vitamin B6.

Dark Chocolate

Not only does dark chocolate boost metabolism by lowering stress levels, it also increases alertness and sharpens cognitive skills for a short-term period after eating it. A study found that flavanols in dark chocolate increase blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours, helping to fight fatigue.

Low-Fat Yogurt

The same amino acid that makes lean meat such a good choice for relieving fatigue and sluggishness can also be found in yogurt. Choose fat-free or low-fat greek yogurt to eliminate added sugar and get even more protein.

Green Smoothies

Take the energy-packing power of leafy greens, greek yogurt, apples and bananas, and combine it with any other fruits you like, and you’ve got a wake-up call in a glass. Spinach and kale are favorites for green smoothies because their mild flavor is masked or even complemented by the flavors of the fruit.

Hummus

Hummus combines the protein of chickpeas and sesame-based tahini with vitamin-C-packed lemon juice and the essential fatty acids in olive oil. Eat it with strips of red bell pepper and some baby carrots for triple benefits.

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Photos:   juliegibbons, bobjudge, ralphandjenny, woodleywonderworks

Delicious, nutrient-dense foods like chocolate and avocado can help you lose weight.

When trying to lose weight, we tend to fixate on the foods we aren’t supposed to eat. We salivate over cheesecake at the coffee shop, eyeball our partners’ pizza and dream about cheese, glorious cheese. Instead, shift the focus to the delicious and healthy foods that actually speed up metabolism, aiding in weight loss and preventing the storage of more fat. You might just get so hooked on green tea, yogurt, avocado and hot peppers that you find yourself cheating on your former favorites, not on your diet.

Green tea

If you want to get your metabolism revving, choose green tea over black tea or coffee. Studies have found that green tea is not only packed with flavonoids and antioxidants, it also has thermogenic properties, promoting fat oxidation. That means it helps burn the calories from the food you’re eating while you’re eating and digesting it.

Apples

That oft-repeated adage about apples and doctors is backed by solid science. Apples are a low-calorie, nutrient-dense source of fiber, so eating them with meals or as snacks can help you feel full longer. Eating an apple each day can also help prevent metabolic syndrome, a disorder associated with abdominal fat, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Low-fat yogurt

Probiotics in products that contain live bacteria, like yogurt, help beneficial bacteria in the gut process food more efficiently. Low-fat or fat-free yogurt (skip the flavored versions, they’re full of sugar!) is a great source of protein and calcium, and studies have found that eating yogurt as part of a reduced-calorie diet can help burn fat faster than going without.

Celery

You’ve probably heard of the “negative calorie diet” which claims that some foods, like celery, take more calories to eat and digest than they contain. That’s only partially true, but eating celery can still help you lose weight. It’s made up of mostly water and undigestible cellulose, so including it in your meals may help you eat less than you would otherwise.

Cinnamon

Did you know that cinnamon is a natural blood sugar stabilizer? After lots of speculation about the effect of this spice on insulin levels, a 2007 study confirmed that a teaspoon of cinnamon added to a dessert helped temper blood sugar spikes. Researchers are still trying to determine whether cinnamon could be an alternative treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Grapefruit

There’s a good reason grapefruit is so often recommended as an optimal breakfast for people who are trying to lose weight. This low-sugar, citrus fruit contains an antioxidant that has been found in studies to reduce insulin levels after eating a meal.

Broccoli

Broccoli contains two essential nutrients, calcium and vitamin C, which team up to boost metabolism – that is, as long as you have a healthy thyroid. Broccoli is also “goitrogenic,” meaning it can slow the production of thyroid hormones in people with thyroid disease.

Lean Meats and Fish

Lean protein from sources like meats and fish can help boost both your metabolism and your energy levels. Protein also helps curb hunger and ensure that the weight you lose is fat, not muscle. Having a higher lean muscle mass helps burn more calories on a daily basis, aiding in long-term weight control.

Garlic

Adding garlic to meals rich in fats and carbohydrates may keep those substances from wreaking havoc on your health. Studies have found that garlic supports blood sugar metabolism and helps control lipid levels in the blood. Of course, that doesn’t mean garlic bread is suddenly a health food, but adding crushed fresh garlic to your meals certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Oats

While many foods, like those high in sugar, can cause blood sugar spikes that cue the body to store fat, oats and other whole grains keep insulin levels low after you eat. This ensures that you burn calories instead of increasing the prominence of all your wobbly bits.

Olive Oil

Taking in fat in order to burn fat? It may not seem to make sense, but healthy monounsaturated fats like olive oil can actually aid the body in burning calories. But to get a benefit, you have to replace other types of fat – like cream or butter – with olive oil, and consume it only in limited quantities.

Hot peppers

Cayenne, chili, jalapeno and habanero – make your meals spicier, and you’ll speed up your metabolism, too. Research has shown that adding hot peppers to a meal, even just in the form of a pinch of cayenne, can boost metabolism by up to 25 percent for three hours after you eat.

Avocado
This creamy pale green fruit may be high in fat and calories, but it’s also packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. More importantly, most of the calories in an avocado come from monounsaturated fats, which help control the metabolic rate.

Beans

Another ideal source of lean protein, beans are chock full of both soluble and insoluble fiber, which help lower insulin levels after digestion, causing your body to store less fat. The process of digesting the fiber and proteins in beans burns extra calories, too.

Brown rice

The all-important fiber in brown rice and its effects on insulin levels are what makes brown rice a great metabolism-boosting food. Choosing a whole, unrefined carb like brown rice instead of white rice, white flour and other processed carbs can be a big boon for weight loss.

Almonds

A low calorie diet rich in almonds can help increase weight loss, according to a 2003 study. Researchers have speculated that the good monounsaturated fats in almonds not only have an effect on insulin levels, but also give dieters a sense of satiety, so they eat less overall.

Dark chocolate

Scientists have discovered that eating dark chocolate can actually aid in weight loss. The benefit comes from chocolate’s effect on stress hormones. Study subjects who ate chocolate each day had reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which prompts the body to store fat.

Ginger

Just like the capsaicin in hot peppers, the heat of ginger root can decrease appetite, aid in digestion, and increase metabolic rates after eating. Try adding sliced or grated ginger to your stir-fry or tea, or add it to baked recipes like banana bread.

Vinegar

A study of 175 overweight Japanese men and women found that acetic acid in vinegar may “switch on” genes that release proteins which break down fat. The study participants who drank either 1 or 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar daily for 12 weeks significantly lowered their body weight, BMI, visceral fat and waist circumference.

Water

While the rumors about your body burning more calories when you drink cold substances are a bit spurious, it’s true that drinking lots of water can help speed up weight loss. One study found that drinking two cups of water increased subjects’ metabolism by 30% for 30 to 40 minutes. Experts warn that the effect is “very, very small”, but combining it with all of these other metabolism boosters may help you get the results you seek.

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Photo: dave fayram, dan zen, oceanaris, everjean

These nutritionally dense foods are packed with fiber.

You might think that slice of bread on your plate is necessary to get the fiber you need to be healthy. Think again. Bread isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and there are plenty of foods that can give you all the fiber you need on a daily basis. These 10 fiber-filled all-stars including avocados, cinnamon, raspberries and eggplant have far more fiber and nutrition per calorie than wheat, and lots of other health benefits, too. Combine as many as you can in one dish, like black beans with oregano, mustard greens, avocados and barley, for one of the healthiest meals of your life.

Figs

Figs are a deliciously high-fiber fruit, containing 6.58 grams in an eight-ounce serving. You can get dried figs year-round but there’s nothing quite like a juicy, fresh fig. These fruits are a great source of calcium and are also high in potassium and manganese. According to a 2008 study, there’s another compelling reason to consume figs as often as possible: fiber from fruits may help prevent post-menopausal breast cancer.

Avocados

Rich and creamy, avocados can seem like a splurge. While they are dense in fat and calories, spreading a little bit on your tortilla or chopping it up for salad not only adds a lot of flavor to your meal, it also boosts your fiber intake. At 14 grams apiece, avocados contain more fiber per ounce than any other fruit. Of a single avocado’s 24 grams of fat, only 4 are saturated, so they help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL levels. They’re also rich in lycopene, beta carotene, lutein, magnesium and the vitamins B, E and K.

Beans

Beans pack the biggest fiber punch of any food, with navy beans topping the charts at over 76% of your daily value per one-cup serving. Dried peas, lentils, pinto beans, black beans and lima beans are also fiber all-stars, providing over half of your daily value. Most types of beans are high in protein, folate, iron and B-vitamins, and very low in fat. Legume consumption has been associated with increased heart health.

Barley

This grain doesn’t get a lot of love. Always in the shadow of its more famous counterparts wheat, oats and rye, barley is used more often as animal fodder or to make beer than it is in our daily diets. But barley is appealingly chewy and sweet, and when it comes to fiber, it’s right up there with beans. A cup will provide over 54% of your daily fiber requirements. The fiber in barley is insoluble, so it provides bulk as it passes through your body, improving the health of your intestines and lowering cholesterol. It’s a great source of selenium, which lowers risk of colon cancer and helps metabolize thyroid hormones.

Eggplant

This deep purple-skinned vegetable is often cooked down to such a mushy state, it’s hard to believe there’s much fiber in it. But in fact, eggplant has nearly three grams of fiber for every 19.7 calories. This means that unlike bread, which is high in calories for just a few grams of fiber, eggplant is an ultra-efficient means of reaching your daily requirements. Nutritionally dense, eggplant will provide you with lots of manganese, potassium, folate, B6, K and C per serving.

Raspberries

So plump and juicy, ripe raspberries are hard to resist – and you shouldn’t even try. With just 63 calories, a cup of raspberries will give you over half your vitamin C and manganese, and a third of your fiber. Their low calories and nutrient density make them another high-value fiber-filled food, and all those phytonutrients with antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic properties just make them taste even sweeter.

Greens

Mama says eat your greens, and you should heed her wisdom. A cup of mustard greens is one of the healthiest additions to your dinner plate, with 11.2% of your daily value of fiber, 524% of your vitamin K, 177% of vitamin A and 59% of vitamin C and just 21 calories. Collard greens have even more fiber at 5.32 grams per 49.4-calorie serving, Swiss chard boasts 3.67 grams, spinach has 4.32 and kale has 2.6. Even romaine lettuce has nearly 2 grams of fiber in a 16-calorie, 2-cup serving.

Cinnamon

Who would have thought that a spice could contain so much fiber? Sprinkling a teaspoon of cinnamon on your cereal, oatmeal or fruit will provide 5% of your daily fiber needs. Cinnamon also has anti-microbial properties and can help lessen a food’s impact on your blood sugar levels by slowing the rate at which the stomach empties, which is why adding it to a sweet treat is always a good idea. It’s also got lots of calcium and manganese, and research has found that it boosts brain function. Ground cloves come close to cinnamon in fiber content with nearly 3% of your daily value in a teaspoon.

Pears

Seasonal variations in different varieties of pears make them available year-round, and though they seem to be cousins of the apple, pears are actually in the rose family. There are 5.2 grams of fiber in a single, roughly 100-calorie pear. Try baking them into a pie with raspberries and cinnamon, or pair them in a salad with mustard greens and walnuts.

Herbs

Load up on the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, not to mention oregano, dill, coriander and fennel. Herbs are an easy way to add extra fiber to any savory meal, and oregano should be your top choice as it’s got 1.53 grams in two teaspoons. Thyme and rosemary each pack over a gram, while coriander seeds have 2.12.

You might want to check out these articles as well:

Bad Fiber: Why Bread Isn’t Best

15 Best Foods to Boost Your Metabolism

Can You Stomach Wheat? How Giving Up Grain Might Be Better For Your Health

Photos: 3liz4, bad, bad lechery brown, fotopedia

There are smarter ways to get your fiber.

Is there any food in the world more celebrated than bread? It’s been a daily staple in the human diet for thousands of years, and it’s been drilled into our heads that a meal isn’t complete without it. The words “fiber” and “wheat bran” are practically interchangeable. You know you need fiber for good health, so bring on the bread, right? The fact is, the mass of gluten you’ve got clutched in hand is not the best source of fiber at all. In fact, it’s a bad source. Here are some reasons why, along with some healthier high-fiber alternatives.

In America, we wear our love of wheat in mid-western farm fields and on our supermarket shelves. But most of the wheat grown here is only of two or three varieties that have been crossbred and hybridized over decades to become high-yield plants. This lack of diversity – known as monoculture – means that wheat requires more chemical treatment in the form of fertilizers and pesticides.

White bread products are among the junkiest foods you can put in your body, full of empty calories and practically bereft of nutrition. Worse, the chemicals used to whiten flour so that bread will look fluffy and appealing can include carcinogens like benzoyl peroxide and chlorine dioxide. Even wheat bread usually contains bromide, a dough conditioner that disrupts the endocrine system and actually slows down metabolism. The UK banned bromide in bread in 1990, and Canada did the same in 1994, but it’s still present in nearly all flour and bread products sold in the United States.

For many people, bread is difficult to digest, and for those with gluten sensitivities, it’s literally poison, causing a severe immune response. Even if you aren’t gluten intolerant, bread can have negative impacts on your health. Bread is a high-glycemic food, meaning it causes your blood sugar to spike. According to Dr. William Davis, a preventive cardiologist in Milwaukee, two slices of wheat bread increase blood sugar more than a candy bar. This results in a sugar crash, leaving you feeling shaky, foggy and hungrier than ever two hours later.

Ultimately, the most important point is that bread doesn’t have nearly as much fiber as you think it does. Refined white bread might have a single gram per serving, while even the most robust whole-grain varieties usually don’t top 4 grams. Per calorie, bread is one of the most inefficient ways to get your fiber. Does that mean bread is totally bad for you and you shouldn’t eat it? Not necessarily, but you definitely shouldn’t rely on it for your fiber needs, especially because there are so many other foods that kick bread’s ass in the fiber arena.

The World’s Healthiest Foods’ website notes that for pure fiber-packing power, nothing beats beans. Navy beans are the best, with 76.4% out of 255 calories coming from fiber. Dried peas, lentils, pinto beans, black beans, lima beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans and soybeans have similar nutritional value. Barley rates as high as many of these beans, which isn’t surprising given that it’s a grain. But did you know that cinnamon, turnip greens, eggplant, collard greens and raspberries are among the healthiest high-fiber foods? Other surprising sources of fiber include figs, raisins, avocado, papaya, broccoli, green peas, pears and sweet potatoes. And of course, whole grains that haven’t been processed to death are still a smart choice.

As with anything, eat bread in moderation. A diet rich with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as minimally processed whole grains, is the key to making sure you’re getting the real fiber you need.

Photo: goblinbox

‘Tis the (cold and flu) season, and it’s time to stock up on immune boosting foods like oranges, garlic and Kellogg’s Cocoa Krispies.

Yes, that’s right. Kellogg’s is claiming that all the vitamins they’ve sprinkled onto their sweetened, processed puffs will help your child’s immune system. It’s boldly emblazoned across the box, so it must be true!

Vitamins aside for a moment, has anyone forgotten the negative immune impact of sugar? I haven’t, but one wonders if Kellogg’s is exercising some selective memory techniques. The second ingredient on the Cocoa Krispies label (quickly followed by high fructose corn syrup), sugar raises the body’s general acidity, making you more prone to illnesses of all kinds.

As for vitamins: the best ones come from whole foods sources like…well, like oranges and garlic. In order to get the necessary nutrients your body needs, you can eat actual, whole foods or take vitamins from brands such, as New Chapter, ,that derive their supplements from actual food extracts (with a small dose of probiotics to help you digest them better). The vitamins you’ll find in Cocoa Krispies, on the other hand, tend to have the bad habit of washing away in the milk.

Conclusion? Cereal is not medicine, particularly the cracklin’ candy sort. Opt for serving your tots a hot, yummy bowl of real, organic whole-grain oatmeal with fresh, organic fruit for a true immunity boost this season.

Wanna be happy and kick Prozac to the curb? Start eating your fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, fish and olive oil. We’ve long known that a Mediterranean diet is good for the heart, but it turns out it’s also good for the mood.

In a study published earlier this month, Spanish researchers looked at the diets of 10,000 people and found those who mainly ate a Mediterranean diet had lower depression rates than those who did not. The study compiled data from Spanish people who reported their dietary intake on a questionnaire between 1999 and 2005.

After an average follow-up of 4.4 years, the overall incidence of depression for those who followed the diet was 30 percent lower than for those who mostly did not follow the diet. Even lower rates of depression were associated with intake of specific elements of the Mediterranean diet, such as fruits, vegetables and olive oil.

To be sure, specific foods contain components that make your body, nervous system and brain work better. From the dopamine in chocolate to the serotonin producing carbohydrates, to the healthy fats and antioxidants that can boost brainpower, there’s definitely something physiological going on here.

I’d like to see a study that includes sociological-cultural controls because I think there’s something else going on here as well.

Notice that all the foods listed are whole foods, meaning they require cooking and preparation. So the people in the study who followed the Mediterranean diet and experienced less depression were probably cooking.

If people take the time and energy to cook, it usually means they place some importance on cooking for others, sitting down in groups to eat and generally having unhurried, quality contact with friends and loved ones.

Of course, you can eat a Mediterranean meal in a restaurant, but you’d have to be frequenting restaurants that actually cook real food. These are the types of restaurants people go to with others to enjoy life and socialize. There it is again – human interaction over a meal.

What you cannot do is follow a Mediterranean diet eating fast food, eating in your car or heating up processed food in the microwave and scarfing it down in front of the television or computer. These eating behaviors are often engaged in while alone, when rushed or when stressed.

What I’m getting at is this:

The way you eat and how much you enjoy mealtimes might have just as much to do with mood as what you eat.

Whether or not depression causes social isolation, or vice versa, there is a strong correlation between the two.

One study showed that children who have regular family mealtimes are less likely to get in trouble as teens. Troubled teens are often depressed. Another researcher found that family mealtimes strengthen relationships. People with strong relationships are less likely to be depressed.

So here’s my Rx for depression prevention:

Invite some good friends or family members into the kitchen and prepare a meal of healthy, whole foods from scratch and then sit down and eat it together. Enjoy the following recipe with a moderate glass of red wine and some fresh, seasonal fruit for dessert and you should feel better by morning.

Depression Busting Mediterranean Grain Bowl

Serves 6

4 small to medium beets
1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) walnut halves, coarsely chopped
1 cup brown rice
Salt
1 bunch Lacinato or green or red kale
1 can sardines, drained, skin and bones removed and separated into filets
2/3 cup cooked and drained (or canned) chickpeas
2/3 cup homemade vinaigrette made with olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim the beets and wrap them in 1 or 2 foil packets, depending on their size, keeping like-sized beets with like-sized beets. Roast until tender and fragrant, 35 to 40 minutes. Use a small paring knife or skewer to check for doneness. Set the beets aside to steam in their foil packets. When they are cool enough to handle, peel them by rubbing the skins off with your fingertips, and cut the beets into bite-sized wedges.

Lower the oven to 300 degrees F.

Arrange the walnuts in a single layer in a small baking dish. Toast until brown and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the beets are roasting and the walnuts are toasting, cook the rice according to package instructions. Set aside until you are ready to mix the salad.

Meanwhile, trim, stem, and wash the kale and put it in a vegetable steamer set over boiling water. Steam until tender, wilted, but still bright green, about 5 minutes. Remove immediately to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and squeeze out excess moisture. Chop coarsely and set aside.

When all the rice, beets, walnuts and greens are ready, transfer them to a large bowl. Add the chickpeas and dressing and toss thoroughly. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Present each serving with a filet or two of sardines on top.

Image: ToastyKen

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate, on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.