Why You Should Add Artichoke Hearts in Your Diet
by Selin Steinacher, Functional Health Coach
The American standard diet is filled with inflammatory foods. Many of which have oils, sugars, or GMO’s in them which literally destroy the mitochondria of your body. That’s right, remember fourth grade science class when your teacher told you the Mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell? Turns out it’s much much more than that and the foods our nation glorifies is not conducive to optimal health.
What can we do to counteract some of the inflammatory foods we are constantly coming into contact with? First of all, do your own research. It’s important that you don’t take anything at face value and you spend your own time really digging into what is and is not healthy for the human body. I don’t mean grabbing a McDonalds salad instead of a McChicken. I mean really reading evidence based nutrition articles and understanding how you can fuel your body with nutrients.
I’d like to briefly cover one of the most densely antioxidant packed vegetables there is. The artichoke. Often times, I will implement artichoke hearts into my smoothies (texture can be an issue with these so I find it easier to blend it in a smoothie). Not only is the artichoke extremely high in phytonutrients, including antioxidants (to combat some of the cellular damage) but it is also filled with fiber, Vit K, folate (see MTFHR article), Vit C, and last but definitely not least magnesium (which by the way is involved in more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body). At the end of the day the choice is yours, but I would strongly recommend implementing some antioxidants into your diet to ensure you are achieving optimal health. If you have struggled with managing your lifestyle previously, then it might be in your best interest to set up a free consult with Nutrition Dynamic and see if this program could be a fit for you.
