Boost Your Health with These 5 Winter Foods

Although there are not that many options of produce in the winter, there are winter foods that boast some surprising health benefits. Below are 5 of the healthiest foods you should be eating during the winter.

Pomegranate

Pomegranates are commonly eaten in Israel. They are one of the most popular ingredients in most Middle Eastern dishes.  Most people have tasted pomegranates in the form of juice.  And from a heart-health perspective, that's probably a good thing. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants just a cup daily might help to keep free radicals from oxidizing "bad" LDL cholesterol, according to a preliminary study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Oxidized LDL contributes to plaque buildup in the arteries.  Another study showed that drinking pomegranate juice might improve blood flow to the heart in people with myocardial ischemia, a serious condition in which the heart's oxygen supply is compromised because the arteries leading to it are blocked.

Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, chard and collards, thrive in the chill of winter when the rest of the produce section looks bleak. In fact, a frost can take away the bitterness of kale. These greens are particularly rich in vitamins A, C and K. Collards, mustard greens and escarole are also excellent sources of folate, important for women of childbearing age.

Citrus Fruit

Citrus fruits, including lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit, are at their juiciest in the wintertime and can add sunshine to the dreary winter. Citrus fruits are loaded with vitamin C--one medium orange delivers more than 100 percent of your daily dose. Citrus fruits are also rich sources of flavonoids. The predominant flavonoid in these fruits--hesperidin--is credited with boosting "good" HDL cholesterol and lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides.

Potatoes

Potatoes are often thrown in the same category as white bread, or white rice as being a white starch containing starches with a lot of carbohydrates. But unlike those other starches, which have indeed been stripped of healthful nutrients, potatoes are a whole food containing several beneficial nutrients.

Potatoes are an excellent source of two immunity boosters--vitamins C and B6, delivering 25 percent and 29 percent of your daily needs per medium potato, respectively. They're also a good source of folate, which is especially important for women of childbearing age, and they deliver fiber. Purple potatoes give an added health boost; they are rich in anthocyanins, antioxidants linked to a host of health benefits, from lowering cancer and heart disease risk to quelling inflammation.

Winter Squash

 Winter squash is available in many varieties --including butternut; acorn, delicata and spaghetti squash. They’re all excellent choices in the winter. One cup of cooked winter squash has few calories (around 80) but is high in vitamin A (214 percent of the recommended daily value) and vitamin C (33 percent), as well as being a good source of vitamins B6 and K, potassium and folate.