Due to its alcohol content, wine is often shunned as luxury in a healthy diet, a once-in-awhile enjoyment. However, next time you sip, you should do so with the added knowledge that red wine is a superfood in its own right!

Red wine is beneficial for people who have high cholesterol. In one study, those who consumed a grape supplement found in red wine witnessed a 9-percent decrease in their LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Those with high cholesterol levels experienced an even bigger drop — 12 percent. Looks like the grapes in wine are not diluted by the alcohol after all and still bear incredible benefits. The antioxidants in red wine, which are called polyphenols, contribute to a healthy heart and can prevent heart disease.

The polyphenols in red wine also bear anti-inflammatory properties, which can positively contribute to the prevention of a slew of diseases. Polyphenols may also lower the sex hormone levels and protect against breast cancer.

The benefits of red wine are also due to the compound resveratrol, which is found in the skin of wine grapes. Resveratrol has anti-diabetic effects. Studies have shown that resveratrol reduced blood glucose in animals with hyperglycemia, which may be due to the improved transport of glucose between cells.

Resveratrol has also been linked to having neuro-protective properties and may be especially helpful to those who suffer from Alzheimer’s or simply what to boost brain health. Researchers also suggest drinking one glass of red wine 3-4 times per week can starve young cancer cells, which means that red wine may play a big role in the prevention of cancer.

The benefits of red wine are plenty. Cheers to that!

Image Credit: Desegura89

Related on EcoSalon:

10 Green Wine and Food Pairings, Plus 5 Do’s and Dont’s

30 Famous Quotes About Wine

Pairing Food & Wine: A User’s Guide

The post Benefits of Red Wine (Beyond the Buzz): Dare We Call it a Superfood? appeared first on EcoSalon.

Superfoods can be quite intimidating. Aside from the regular fruits and vegetables we get from our local grocer, which are worthy superfoods in all their simplistic glory, the more exotic superfoods, such as nuts, seeds, dried fruit and powders, can be difficult to incorporate into your everyday diet.

However, it doesn’t have to be. If you look closely, there are many loopholes in your already existing diet where the addition of some superfood will either go unnoticed or only enhance the flavor of whatever you are eating. The following tips help you to bring nutritious superiority to your meals in a seamless manner.

When you want to make superfoods a meal highlight, it’s hard to imagine how nuts, seeds and dried fruit can make the cut. The thing is, a little goes a long way, so there is no reason to overdo these relatively dense, heavy superfoods because they are just as equally potent in terms of nutrition. Sure, every once in awhile a supefood burger makes for a unique alternative to its beef-based alternative. Get used to adding a handful of superfood nuts, seeds, and dried fruits to salads or eating them plain as a snack. Any nut, seed or dried fruit-based meal can clog your digestive system and be too heavy to enjoy on the reg.

For any superfood butters, simply add them to your morning oatmeal or mix into a smoothie. I like to take whole raw nuts and dried fruit, process them until grainy and able to hold together, and then eat the mix rolled up in a collard green leaf. It’s a mini, hassle-free snack!

I find powders the easiest to work with because they are easy to hide in almost any dish. I don’t particularly like the taste of spirulina or hemp on their own, so I add a tablespoon, give or take, to a morning fruit smoothie. The fruit cuts the flavor while letting the vitamins and nutrients take control. I also sprinkle the powder over salads, mix lightly into soups, add to the batter of baked goods, or even fold into veggies burger mixes to help hold the “meat” together.

However you enjoy superfoods, remember that they aren’t worth your time if they aren’t easy to fit into your lifestyle. If you keep your creations simple, you can benefit from their super powers without the fuss.

Photo Credit: Geoff Peters 604

Related on EcoSalon

Kakadu Plum: The New Superfood

Skin Superfoods: 5 of the Best Beautifying Foods

The Green Plate: Seasonal Superfoods

The post Eat Well with Ease: Superfoods Made Approachable appeared first on EcoSalon.

Eating for beauty might be the simplest way to approach looking good and feeling great about it.

Beauty comes down to two things. And it’s not chiseled cheekbones and the perfect little up-turned nose. When it’s all said and done, beauty is health and confidence. Just think about it for a minute… When do you look your best…? Exactly!

The great news is that both your health and sense of confidence are, for the most part, in your own hands. There are lots of ways you can make improvements to how you look and feel by learning how best to nourish your body. Many of us will immediately jump online spending hours searching for the latest supplements and beauty boosts…but what if the missing ingredients for soft skin, shiny hair and strong nails were literally missing ingredients from our diets?

In the pioneering beauty superfoods guide, Eating For Beauty, author David Wolfe, one of the worlds’s raw food and superfood experts, identifies how to beautify by utilizing the benefits of a raw food diet. He includes in-depth descriptions of beneficial foods and supplements that help guide us toward our fullest beauty potential.

For those who don’t want to bother with a 100 percent raw food diet or complicated routine of what supplements to take and when (not to mention the clutter of a counter top covered with vitamin bottles), adding a few beauty superfoods to existing recipes or favorite meals is a simple, quick way to provide optimal health benefits that can make all the difference to our appearance.

Here are 5 of Wolfe’s best nutrient-rich beautifying foods and some simple suggestions for how to incorporate them into your diet:

Image: Wikimedia

1. Cucumbers – Part of the melon family, cucumbers have been the favorite food of those looking to prevent bloating due to their natural diuretic abilities. Their shiny skins are rich in silicon, one of the most vital beauty minerals, so its important to buy fresh, organic cucumbers that have not been waxed so you can eat the skins. Easy to add to vegetable salads and salsas, or, add a few slices to your water bottles so you can enjoy their beautifying benefits on the go.

Image: Bionicteaching

2. Coconut Oil – Referencing Dr. Bruce Fife’s The Coconut Oil Miracle, Wolfe advises against traditionally used cooking oils such as olive oil, butter or canola oil, which oxidize in high heat and are known to be among the major causes of free radical deterioration of fats in the skin, which can show up as brown aging spots or liver spots. Due to its unique medium chain fatty acid (MCFAs) molecular structure, coconut oil is the most stable of any other oil at high temperatures, meaning it’s the only oil that should be used to cook with.

Also, coconut oil has anti-fungal properties and contains pregnenolone, a precursor to many hormones including progesterone, which improves circulation and restores sagging skin. You can sauté anything you normally would with it, use it to replace butter in baking, and add to breakfast smoothies for a blood sugar stabilizing boost that will keep you satisfied until lunch.

Image: Fairfax County

3. Radishes – A member of the mustard family, red radishes are one of the most beautifying foods available due to their high sulfur, silicon and vitamin C contents. Known as the triumvirate of beauty nutrients, they work together to form the new connective skin tissue that is responsible for making skin glow.  Add to crudite plates and salads or lightly salt for a crunch, savory snack.

Image: Howard Walfish

4. Turmeric – Gaining more attention recently for its strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric is also a first-class blood purifier. Pure blood is responsible for soft and smooth skin and helps alleviate acne and other inflammatory skin conditions. Fresh turmeric looks much like fresh ginger and can be used in just the same way. Add it to Asian-influenced recipes, salad dressings, or use it to spice up a fresh vegetable juice for an instant rosy lift to pale skin.

Image: Luz Adriana Villa

5. Papayas – In addition to being chock-full of skin-friendly vitamins A and C, papayas contain a high concentration of a unique enzyme called papain. Papain has been known to soften and dissolve dead skin layers making it a popular ingredient in topical formulations made by the skin care industry. When eaten, these enzymes work to repair elastic collagen fibers which prevent and protect against wrinkles formation.

Top Image: Mike Monaghan

The post Skin Superfoods: 5 of the Best Beautifying Foods appeared first on EcoSalon.

For the past few years, the world has been caught up in a superfood phenomenon. With an increased emphasis on maintaining health and wellbeing in today’s modern society, we are constantly looking for nutritious and healthy ingredients to give our diets that extra buzz.

Amongst all the talk of quinoa, maca powder and goji berries, there is a lesser known ingredient that is starting to gain international attention. It is indigenous to Australia and has been used by the world’s oldest surviving culture for thousands of years.

The Kakadu plum is harvested predominantly in Northern Australia and although it is called a plum, is actually more closely related to almonds.

What makes it stand out from the suite of other superfoods, is that it is the world’s richest natural source of vitamin C, making it a healthy dietary supplement, but also a potent ingredient for modern skincare and beauty products.

Without delving too deeply into the science, research has shown the Kakadu plum to have strong antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal activities and also, anti carcinogenic effects on human tissue. In addition, it contains high amounts of folate, magnesium, iron and zinc, among other properties.

Traditional Aboriginal communities used the Kakadu plum for medicinal purposes, and it is only recently that scientists and health companies are starting to work with organizations and communities to make this elixir accessible to Australians, as well as to a worldwide audience.

Kakadu plum is now available in both juice and powder form, and although it has been criticized for a higher than average price point , in many cases, it negates the need for other supplements. Making Kakadu plum that little bit easier to purchase and store, means it can be used in the same way as many other supplements, such as sprinkled onto cereals, whizzed up in super smoothies or simply mixed in with water for a nourishing, nutrient hit.

But it isn’t just the foodies getting excited about this little gem. With an increase in the use of natural and organic ingredients in skin and beauty products, the Kakadu plum is also finding its way into our bathroom cabinets. A whole raft of Australian skincare companies such as Mukti, Li’tya and Uandi Naturals are infusing Kakadu plum into their concoctions and pitching it as a new skin elixir. The vitamin C content is used to improve the visual appearance of skin, reduce irritation of dry skin and prevent future skin damage, making it a coveted ingredient for Australia’s harsh climate.

It has only been in recent times, that the world has started to take notice of Australia’s Indigenous superfoods like lemon myrtle, Davidson plum and wild rosella. The Kakadu plum may be the first to be gaining momentum in the health and beauty industries, but it may just be only the beginning of what we will uncover from Australia’s ancient wisdom.

Images:  Kakadu, Bush Food Sensations , Mukti

The post Kakadu Plum: The New Superfood? appeared first on EcoSalon.