36 Potent Foods to Lose Weight & Live Healthy
Potent Foods
It would be unrealistic to think you could successfully lose weight and enjoy what you’re eating with a mere
handful of foods, no matter how delicious, nutritious and satisfying they may be. So we’re going to add an
extra roster of fat-fighting foods you can eat along with the great foods mentioned in the last section.
They’ll lend different tastes and textures to every meal and provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals,
proteins and other vital nutrients. Naturally, each one is high in fiber, low in fat and safe when it comes to
sodium content, too.
Many have crunchiness and flavor we’ve come to desire in snack and nibbling foods. If you’re like most of
us, you may have a real junk food snacking habit – a habit you’re going to have to change in order to slim
down. Many of the foods in this section may be worthy substitutes.
Barley
This filling grain stacks up favorably to rice and potatoes. It has 170 calories per cooked cup, respectable
levels of protein and fiber and relatively low fat. Roman gladiators ate this grain regularly for strength and
actually complained when they had to eat meat.
Studies at the University of Wisconsin show that barley effectively lowers cholesterol by up to 15 percent
and has powerful anti-cancer agents. Israeli scientists say it cures constipation better than laxatives - and
that can promote weight loss, too.
Use it as a substitute for rice in salads, pilaf or stuffing, or add to soups and stews. You can also mix it with
rice for an interesting texture. Ground into flour, it makes excellent breads and muffins.
Beans
Beans are one of the best sources of plant protein. Peas, beans and chickpeas are collectively known as
legumes. Most common beans have 215 calories per cooked cup (lima beans go up to 260). They have the
most protein with the least fat of any food, and they’re high in potassium but low in sodium.
Plant protein is incomplete, which means that you need to add something to make it complete. Combine
beans with a whole grain – rice, barley, wheat, corn – to provide the amino acids necessary to form a
complete protein. Then you get the same top-quality protein as in meat with just a fraction of the fat.
Studies at the University of Kentucky and in the Netherlands show that eating beans regularly can lower
cholesterol levels.
The most common complaint about beans is that they cause gas. Here’s how to contain that problem,
according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): Before cooking, rinse the beans and remove
foreign particles, put in a kettle and cover with boiling water, soak for four hours or longer, remove any
beans that float to the top, then cook the beans in fresh water.
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