World’s healthiest foods

According to several sources and surveys in North America and Western Europe, the following 10 foods are considered overall to be the healthiest.

Apples: Apples are an excellent source of antioxidants, which combat free radicals. Free radicals are damaging substances generated in the body that cause undesirable changes and are involved in the ageing process and some diseases.

Some animal studies have found that an antioxidant found in apples (polyphenols) might extend lifespans. Tests on fruit flies found that polyphenols also help them to preserve their ability to walk, climb and move about. Another study found that adult females who regularly ate apples had a 13 per cent to 22 per cent lower risk of developing heart disease.

Sweet potatoes: They are rich in dietary fibre, beta carotene, complex carbohydrates, vitamin C, vitamin B6, as well as carotene (the pink, yellow ones). The Center for Science in the Public Interest, USA, compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. The sweet potato ranked number one, when vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, protein and complex carbohydrates were considered.

Eggs: Egg yolks are home to tons of essential but hard-to-get nutrients, including choline, which is linked to lower rates of breast cancer (one yolk supplies 25 per cent of your daily need) and antioxidants that may help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts. Though many of us have shunned whole eggs because of their link to heart disease risk, there’s actually substantial evidence that for most of us, eggs are not harmful but healthy. People with heart disease should limit egg yolks to two a week, but the rest of us can have one whole egg daily; research shows it won’t raise your risk of heart attack or stroke. Make omelets with one whole egg and two whites, and watch cholesterol at other meals.