| Healthy Food And Drink

6:21 AM |

List of the Best Healthy Foods & Drinks to Have

Nonfat Milk

While water represents the best low-calorie drink for routine thirst quenching, 1 cup of milk provides a large amount of the calcium -- 30 percent -- and vitamins A and D that you need daily. According to USDA, most Americans don't get enough calcium because they drink beverages other than milk. Getting your calcium from this food source rather than from a supplement provides the additional vitamins that you might otherwise not get that day.

Fortified Breakfast Cereal

The ratio of good nutrition to fat and calories in low-sugar breakfast cereals is so positive that cereal makes a healthy diet selection for any meal. The USDA encourages choosing more whole-grain food sources for their high natural fiber, a nutrient in which many Americans risk deficiency. Manufacturers also fortify many wheat, oat, corn and rice cereals with additional iron, calcium and essential B vitamins.

Spinach

Cooked spinach illustrates the good nutrition that a single nutrient-dense food can add to a healthy diet. Just 1 cup of spinach contains significant amounts of calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and dietary fiber to help meet your daily requirements. The American Diabetes Association notes that the calorie and carbohydrate contents of spinach are so low, you can't eat too much.

Berries

Getting the extra fiber you need from food sources adds good nutrition such as vitamins and antioxidants to your diet, the ADA reports. Raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries provide a wider variety of nutrients than plant-based fiber supplements, which remove nutrients in processing. Unsweetened berries add color and flavor but few calories to meals and snacks.

Soybeans

Cooked soybeans and other dry beans, peas and lentils satisfy many of your dietary needs, supplying high levels of protein, iron, potassium and fiber. The USDA includes them as meat substitutes in healthy diets that seek to limit fat and cholesterol. Soybeans extend their nutritional benefits to soy milk and tofu products.

Salmon

Another way to limit fat and cholesterol while maximizing nutrition is to eat fish instead of meat at least twice per week, as the American Heart Association advises. Fresh or frozen salmon contains beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, protein, iron and other nutrients. Canned pink salmon includes edible bones that boost your calcium levels.