Home » Diet & Health » Diet » 7 Healthy Ingredients Your Diet Needs

7 Healthy Ingredients Your Diet Needs

You don't need to radically change your lifestyle or pop a small army of supplements to get healthy. Just add these 7 ingredients to your diet

2 of 8

Cook with coconut oil

The latest "it" ingredient for healthy eating: coconut oil. Almost every nutritionist I spoke to says one of the best things you can do to maintain good health is consume 1 to 3 tablespoons of coconut oil every day. Michelle L. Butler, a holistic nutritionist in Redondo Beach, Calif., says consuming the oil every day can "relieve stress, stabilize cholesterol levels, increase immunity, and boost your metabolism and thyroid activity."

Coconut oil includes a variety of acids that are antimicrobial and antifungal, which keep your body working at its optimum level. You can "drizzle it on food, cook with it, or eat it straight," says Butler. Certified fitness trainer and nutrition guru for DailyBurn, Kate Brown, says eating coconut oil "also stimulates fatty acid oxidization, so it helps accelerate fat loss."

What's more, it fills you up. "Fat is satiating," says Brown. "So eating a spoonful of coconut oil can help you forget that what you were actually craving was a muffin or a cupcake."

See Next Page: Add some pineapple to that pork

Rate this story|Avg member rating: 9

The Simplest Way to Make Over Your Diet

Want to drop a few pounds this year? Start brown-bagging your lunch. We talked to top docs and dietitians to get the healthiest meals you can put together -- fast

10 Best and Worst Frozen Foods You Can Eat

When you're stocking up on frozen food for those no-time-to-cook nights, here's what to avoid -- and the healthier alternatives that won't wreck your diet

10 Facts Restaurants Don't Want You to Know

Going out to eat may be fun, but don't expect it to be healthful -- at least, not when restaurants are pulling tricks like these to make you eat (and spend!) more and more

absolutely love how easy most of these are!

by sportimonki13 Monday, April 30, 2012 at 06:46PM Report as inappropriate

good tips.

by lazorc Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 10:54AM Report as inappropriate

I started my day with oatmeal then saw a few cookies and couldn't resist. I need to cut these unhealthy snacks to a minimum.

by beautybody Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 11:02AM Report as inappropriate

This is great. Thank you!

by patricia89 Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 02:35AM Report as inappropriate

nice

by cielona_boco Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 09:06PM Report as inappropriate

Very informative article! Great tips as always!

by MissXu Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 01:51PM Report as inappropriate

I've bookmarked this one! Pineapple, spices, vinegar, cinnamon, good bacteria . . . here I come.

by alictasia Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 06:24PM Report as inappropriate

Very good tips! I love spicy foods, and sometimes I munch on pineapple after a meal, now I'll to it more often. And the cinnamon on coffee. I'm not sure about about the vinegar thing- I hardly ever have room for desert.

by msbrown822 Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 01:34PM Report as inappropriate