Making simple changes to your diet, like adding a salad, can pay off with numerous health benefits. Eating a salad every day is one of the healthiest habits you can adopt. Raw vegetables and fruit add nutrients to your diet that you are likely missing from eating meats and starches alone. Here are the benefits you will notice from making a salad a part of your meal:
Increase Your Fibre Intake
It is hard to believe that a substance our bodies can't even digest can be so great for us. Eating more fiber can help prevent constipation and lower cholesterol levels. It can also help you feel fuller, which leads to eating less and losing weight as a result.
Health Benefits
If you eat green salads more often, you are more likely to have higher levels of antioxidants like vitamins C and E, lycopene, folic acid as well as alpha and beta-carotene in your blood. These antioxidants help keep your body protected from damage caused by free radicals. For years, there have been studies that have proven a link between eating enough vegetables and fruit and lowering the risk of several diseases. It has even been found to decrease the risk of developing certain cancers - even among those who drink and smoke heavily. Especially effective foods include peas, beans, peppers, carrots, tomatoes, nectarines, apples, plums, peaches, strawberries, and pears.
Cut Calories and Increase Satiety
If your goal is to lose weight, starting your meals with a green salad that is low in calories, like a green salad, can help make you feel fuller. That increased feeling of satiety means you will likely eat fewer calories during your main course.
Eat Smart Fats
Salads allow you to eat good fat like monounsaturated fat found in avocado, olive oil, and nuts. Salads are often dressed with these ingredients, which can help your body absorb nutrients from the vegetables in it.
Assembly
The number of benefits you receive from your salad will significantly depend on the ingredients you used to assemble it. Skip store-bought salad dressings and instead make your own with some oil and vinegar or lemon juice. Don't add high-calorie ingredients like croutons, cream, and cheese either as they can quickly render a healthy salad unhealthy. The more flavourful you make your salad with raw vegetables, fruit, and nuts, the more likely you are to enjoy it without fatty extras.
Let your guests enjoy the benefits of salad by including it in your next catering menu with Freshly Made Catering. We make it easy to offer fresh and healthy food options at your events. Call us today for pricing or to learn more.