If your super food rotation is stuck on repeat—spinach salad for lunch, salmon with broccoli and brown rice for dinner—it’s time to shuffle up your plate. Research shows that people who consume the widest range of foods tend to have smaller waists, lower blood pressure levels, and less risk of diabetes and heart disease than those who stick to the same old standbys, even if those standbys are healthy.
But you don’t have to seek out obscure superfoods like acai to add variety to your diet: These 10 far-more-familiar staples have stronger science showing they can actually help ease symptoms and fight disease.
Whole cranberries are a potent source of antioxidants that boost blood flow to the brain and improve neuron signaling, strengthening memory and even reversing memory loss.
These antioxidants have also been shown to slash heart attack and stroke risk by lowering blood pressure and preventing platelet buildup that causes clots. Cranberries may even ward off gum disease by preventing plaque buildup on teeth and gums.
