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Essential Amino Acids
Amino acids are the building blocks that your body uses to create proteins. It later used proteins to build new cells and repair existing cells. You can’t store all the amino acids that you need in your body. You also can’t make all of them on your own, which is why getting amino acids through your diet is so critically important.
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Minerals
To achieve optimal performance, your body needs 16 different minerals. You can get all of them through food and water, but it can be tricky and would require you to eat a lot of 100% organic foods. You may choose to take a mineral supplement to make sure that you are getting all the minerals that you need.
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Vitamins
The human body can’t make them, yet it also cannot perform optimally without them. The number of unique essential vitamins that your body needs is 14. As with minerals, you can get all the vitamins from the foods that you eat, but accomplishing this goal may be hard.
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Antioxidants
Antioxidants help your body balance oxidation, which is a process that can harm your body’s cells, especially if your body has a lot of toxins in it. When you walk through a produce section in your grocery store, pay attention to all the colors that you see in fruits and vegetables. You can use these colors as a guide to selecting the right antioxidants for you.
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Red fruits and vegetables
Red kidney beans, red apples, and red tomatoes all contain wonderfully healthy antioxidants. Red kidney beans have at least as many antioxidants as the berries that are known to be antioxidant superfoods. This does not mean, however, that you should skip eating other red fruits and vegetables. Cherries, raspberries, and strawberries are all healthy and good for you, too.
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Blue fruits and vegetables
The king of blue fruits and vegetables when it comes to antioxidant properties is definitely the blueberry. There is a good reason why blueberries are referred to as superfoods. They are full of vitamins and antioxidants. The darker the berries, the more healthy nutrients they have inside.
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Purple fruits and vegetables
Purple fruits and vegetables are not as easy to come by as fruits and vegetables of other colors, yet they can provide you with a lot of great benefits. Plums and dried plums, also known as prunes, make great snacks and are full of antioxidants.
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Orange fruits and vegetables
Orange fruits and vegetables are famous for having high concentrations of beta-carotene, which is what your eyes need to function properly. If you want to increase your consumption of beta-carotene, get some carrots, pumpkins, and squash.
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Greens
Green vegetables are easy to find and they should play an important role in your diet. They include peas, turnip greens, Brussels sprouts and more. Green vegetables are a source of many healthy substances, including vitamins and antioxidants.
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Raw foods
Preparation of foods often robs foods of minerals and vitamins. Applying heat to foods can be especially damaging, which is why there is no better way to get a lot of healthy nutrients, vitamins and minerals than eating raw fruits, vegetables and some of the grains.