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Everyone wants to be more vital, right? Vitality means you are vibrant, energetic, and feeling and looking good. Well, technically vitality means you are alive, but for our purposes, vitality means you are thriving and feeling great. What to eat for maximum vitality and anti-aging? Here is my superfood list.

kale from my local farmers' market

kale from my local farmers\’ market

1. Greens! Leafy greens, greens, greens. Kale, chard, collards, spinach, dandelion greens, mustard greens, arugula, beet greens. Good source of minerals like calcium, magnesium, and iron so lacking in our diets. Also good source of vitamin K, folate, and fiber. Easy to prepare: just wash, chop, saute with garlic. Eat at least one serving of leafys daily. I also recommend you consider adding a concentrated green superfood to your routine–add a tablespoon to smoothies or unsweetened juice at breakfast. I like Amazing Grass brand or VitaMineral Green. They contain oxygenating and alkalinizing chlorella, spirulina, and often wheatgrass and other superfoods.

2. Wild Salmon. Salmon and other cold water higher-fat fish are high in vital omega 3 fatty acids and low in toxins like mercury. Omega 3s promote cardiovascular health and keep your skin elastic and your hair shiny. Always buy wild! Farmed can contain unsavory toxins.

3. Lamb. Lamb is high in zinc, a vital antioxidant that boosts your immune system. Zinc is almost non-existent in vegetarian diets, save for pumpkin seeds, so if you are vegetarian or vegan, you should take a supplement. Lamb is seasonal now, in the spring, is also high in B vitamins (also sorely lacking in veg diets) and iron.

4. Beets. It took me a while to like beets, because they do taste a bit like dirt, but if you prepare them properly, they can be delicious. And they are one of my top choices for health: a vegetarian source high in iron and GOOD FOR THE LIVER! Your liver works very hard — it must detoxify everything you breathe, eat, drink, and apply to your skin and is also in charge of hormone and cholesterol production. Support your liver and see improvements in overall health! Better skin, better elimination, better moods. Beets are great roasted and tossed with ginger and goat cheese, or shredded with carrots atop arugula salad. Don’t forget to saute the beet greens.

5. Sea veggies. Super high in trace minerals that are, again, so lacking in modern diets. Minerals are easily flushed from our bodies in times of stress and necessary for blood pressure & cardio function. Try kelp, my favorite, sea palm fronds, wakame, hijiki, or nori. You can often find them toasted, which is a yummy (and healthy) alternative to chips.

6. Nuts and seeds. These little buggers pack a good punch into a small package: fiber, protein, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids. Walnuts are great brain food and have omega 3s; brazil nuts are high in selenium (an essential antioxidant); almonds are high in vitamin E; and pumpkin seeds are high in zinc. Choose raw nuts and soak for 12 hours in water and sea salt (almonds and cashews especially) for better digestability.

7. Cultured veggies like krauts have beneficial enzymes and probiotics from the fermentation process that help feed the good bacteria in your gut. Kefir is good if you tolerate dairy, but yogurt is overrated. Good digestion is the cornerstone of health, so probiotic foods are a must. Eat these as a condiment with meals.

8. Blueberries are my pick for best fruit. Very high in antioxidants, low in sugar, excellent for the health of your eyes and heart and veins (vascular health), low in calories and great in smoothies.

9. Chocolate!! There are so many studies saying chocolate improves cardio health, reduces blood pressure, etc etc. Choose 70% or higher organic dark chocolate and eat a square or two a day. I do! It’s low in sugar and is deee-licious. Also improves mood.

How many servings of these foods are you having weekly?

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