Healthy Foods to Add to Your Summer Shopping List!
By Sara Butler
Every season has its gems when it comes to food, but summer provides an abundance of options found in no other season. You have a ton of fresh and nutritious choices in the summer months, so take advantage of them and try fitting in some of these foods into your summertime diet!
Corn
Fresh sweet corn is the epitome of summer to a lot of folks, but it does a lot more for you than just taste good. Fresh corn contains two powerful antioxidants -- zeaxanthin and lutein. These antioxidants help your eyes to deal with some of the damaging rays of the summer sun. They also help lower your risk of age-related macular degeneration, which happens to be the leading cause of blindness in people over 60. So, shuck that ear of corn and eat up for eye health!
Cherries
Cherries provide many benefits to your health including helping you to get better rest at night and helping muscle pain after a workout. They may also help you to burn fat, so next time you’re looking for a snack try some cherries!
Tomatoes
When you’re out in the blazing summer sun you need sunscreen, but adding tomatoes to your diet can help add an extra layer of protection from the sun. The substance that makes tomatoes red, lycopene, also might just help protect your skin from sunburn. So, grab a tomato and add it to your salad or sandwich for some extra protection.
Watermelon
In the dog days of summer, watermelon can be refreshing. Not only does watermelon help to keep you hydrated in the heat, it also helps your body to stay cool. And the lycopene contained in tomatoes? Watermelon has that too. So it helps keep you hydrated and may just help to protect your skin at the same time – that’s a win!
Iced Tea
Nothing says summer more than sitting on your porch with a cool glass of iced tea. Drinking tea regularly may help to protect you from diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Its antioxidants also help to improve the health of your gums and teeth. The only tip to keeping a pitcher of tea in your fridge is to add a little lemon juice to it. The Vitamin C and citric acid in lemon juice helps to keep the healthy flavonoids in tea preserved.
Take advantage of the bounty of the summer season and stay healthy all at the same time!