Back with more advice for your diet, Doctor Amir Khan, a registered GP and healthcare professional, has advised how one healthy snack is linked to lower risk of heart disease and cancer. On his Instagram page, the doctor shared how the snack contains soluble fibre called “pectin”, which does a number of things.
Firstly, pectin helps feed “gut-friendly bacteria” and, secondly, it helps to “slow down the absorption of sugar and cholesterol in the gut”; but it’s the presence of a powerful antioxidant that truly provides great health benefits if eaten as part of a healthy and varied diet – with the antioxidant being beta-carotene.
The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, which Dr Khan confirmed is good for your vision and immune system.
Not only that, the antioxidant is “linked to reduced risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer”, so what is this tasty snack?
Dr Khan revealed it’s carrot sticks, which can be enjoyed with a dollop of hummus. Alternative ways to incoporate more carrots into your diet include “slicing them into salads” as well as “stirring them into stews and casseroles”. Carrots can even be blended into soups.
But that’s not the only food Dr Khan is encouraging people to eat more of – another is oats. Dr Khan says: “They are packed full of antioxidants and beneficial plant compounds called polyphenols. Oats also have an antioxidant in them which is unique to them called avenanthramide.”
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It’s this antioxidant that works to stimulate the production of gas molecules, he says, which can help to widen blood vessels and, in turn, lower blood pressure.
But it also has another unexpected benefit: avenanthramide is additionally an anti-inflammatory, so it can often work to soothe itchy skin.
Oats are high in beta-glucan, soluble dietary fibres, which help to reduce cholesterol levels (and thereby help to ward off heart disease), and “some research” shows that eating oats regularly will help to prevent constipation.
This suggests that oats could become a healthy breakfast staple if you’re looking for an easy way to become healthier.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
