50 Foods the World’s Healthiest Women Eat Every Day

Yogurt is a great way to get calcium, and it’s also rich in immune-boosting probiotics. But the next time you hit the yogurt aisle, pick up the Greek kind. Compared with regular yogurt, it has twice the protein (and 25% of women over 40 don’t get enough).

Try it: Apple Crisp Smoothie

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 large egg supplies 27% of your daily need alongside antioxidants that may help prevent macular degeneration and cataracts. Bonus: You get 6 grams of muscle-building protein.

Try it: Spinach and Goat Cheese Egg Muffins

Salmon is a rich source of vitamin D and one of the best sources of omega-3s fatty acids you can find. These essential fatty acids have a wide range of impressive health benefits—from preventing heart disease to smoothing your skin and aiding weight loss to boosting your mood. Unfortunately, many women aren’t reaping these perks because they're deficient. Omega-3s also slow the rate of digestion, which makes you feel fuller longer, so you eat fewer calories throughout the day.

Try it: Honey-Spiced Salmon with Quinoa

Yes, milk does a body good: Studies show that calcium isn’t just a bone booster but a fat fighter too. Recent research from the University of Tennessee found that obese people who went on a low-calorie, calcium-rich diet lost 70 percent more weight than those who ate the least.

Milk is also a good source of vitamin D, which allows your body to absorb calcium. Research shows that adequate D levels can reduce heart disease risk, ward off certain types of cancer, relieve back pain, and even help prevent depression.

It’s hard to imagine a more perfect food than beans. One cooked cup can provide as much as 17 grams of fiber. They're also loaded with protein and dozens of key nutrients, including a few most women fall short on—calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Studies tie beans to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast and colon cancers. Keep your cupboards stocked with all kinds: black, white, kidney, fat-free refried, etc.

Try it: Vegetable Chili with Cannellini and Kidney Beans

Lean beef is one of the best-absorbed sources of iron there is. (Too-little iron can cause anemia.) Adding as little as one ounce of beef per day can make a big difference in the body’s ability to absorb iron from other sources, says Mary J. Kretsch, PhD, a researcher at the USDA-ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA.

Beef also packs plenty of zinc and B vitamins, which help your body convert food into energy. If you can, splurge on grass-fed beef. Compared with grain-fed beef, it has twice the concentration of vitamin E, a powerful brain-boosting antioxidant. It’s also high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Try it: Sheet Pan Steak With Beans and Broccolini

In a nutshell: USDA researchers say that eating 1.5 ounces of tree nuts daily can reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Walnuts are rich in omega-3s, while hazelnuts contain arginine, an amino acid that may lower blood pressure. An ounce of almonds has as many heart-healthy polyphenols as a cup of green tea. The key is moderation since nuts are high in calories. Keep a jar of chopped nuts in your fridge, and sprinkle a tablespoon on cereal, salads, stir-fries, or yogurt.

Try it: Tailgate Party Nut Mix

Soy-based foods, such as tofu, soy milk, and edamame, help fight heart disease when they replace fatty meats and cheeses, slashing saturated fat intake. Soy also contains heart-healthy polyunsaturated fats, a good amount of fiber, and some important vitamins. But stick with whole soy foods rather than processed foods, like veggie patties or chips. And, avoid taking soy supplements, which contain high and possibly dangerous amounts of isoflavones.

Try it: Corn, Mango, and Edamame Salad

Fiber-rich oats are even healthier than the FDA thought when it first stamped them with a heart disease-reducing seal 10 years ago. According to research, they can also cut your risk of type 2 diabetes. When Finnish researchers tracked 4,316 men and women over the course of 10 years, they found that people who ate the highest percentage of cereal fiber were 61 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Try it: Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Flaxseed is the most potent plant source of omega-3 fatty acids. Studies indicate that adding flaxseed to your diet can help reduce the development of heart disease by 46 percent. It helps keep red blood cells from clumping together and forming clots that can block arteries. Sprinkle one to two tablespoons of flaxseeds a day on your cereal, salad, or yogurt. Buy it pre-ground, and keep it refrigerated.

Olive oil is packed with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), which help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and raise "good" HDL cholesterol. It’s rich in antioxidants that can help reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, like Alzheimer’s. Look for extra-virgin oils for the most antioxidants and flavor. Drizzle small amounts on veggies before roasting; use it to sauté or stir-fry, in dressings and marinades, and to flavor bread at dinner in lieu of a layer of butter or margarine.

Try it: Baked Halibut With Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts

These smooth, buttery fruits are a great source of not only MUFAs but other key nutrients as well. "Avocados are packed with heart-protective compounds, such as soluble fiber, vitamin E, folate, and potassium," says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of 10 Habits That Mess Up a Woman's Diet. But since they're calorie-dense, be sure to watch your portion sizes. Use avocado in place of another high-fat food or condiment, such as cheese or mayo.

Try it: Salmon Salad with Avocado and Sweet Grape Tomatoes

Averaging just four weekly servings of veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower slashed the risk of dying from any disease by 26 percent among 6,100 people studied for 28 years. For maximum disease-fighting benefits, whip out your old veggie steamer. It turns out that steaming broccoli lightly releases the maximum amount of sulforaphane, the active compound in cruciferous vegetables.

Try it: Roasted Broccoli with Orange

We’ll spare you the Popeye jokes, but spinach has serious health muscles. For one thing, it's a rich source of lutein. Aside from guarding against age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness, lutein may prevent heart attacks by keeping artery walls clear of cholesterol. Spinach is also rich in iron, which helps deliver oxygen to your cells for energy, and folate, a B vitamin that prevents birth defects.

Try it: Spinach Barley Salad

Tomatoes are our most common source of lycopene, an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease and breast cancer. The only problem with tomatoes is that we generally eat them in the form of sugar-loaded jarred pasta sauce or as a thin slice in a sandwich. For a healthier side dish, quarter plum tomatoes and coat with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes, and serve with chicken.

Try it: Sauteed Cherry Tomatoes and White Beans

One of the best ways to get vitamin A—an essential nutrient that protects and maintains eyes, skin, and the linings of our respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts—is from foods containing beta-carotene, which your body converts into the vitamin. Beta carotene-rich foods include carrots, squash, kale, and cantaloupe, but sweet potatoes have among the most. A half-cup serving of these sweet spuds delivers only 130 calories but 80 percent of the DV of vitamin

Try it: Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes with Vanilla

Garlic is a flavor essential and a health superstar in its own right. The onion relative contains more than 70 active phytochemicals, including allicin, which studies show may decrease high blood pressure by as much as 30 points. Allicin also fights infection and bacteria. The key to healthier garlic: Crush the cloves, and let them stand for up to 30 minutes before heating them, which activates and preserves the heart-protecting compounds.

Citrus fruits get all the credit for vitamin C, but red peppers are actually the best source. Vitamin C may be best known for skin and immunity benefits. Although getting enough vitamin C won’t prevent you from catching a cold or flu, studies show that it could help you recover faster.

Try it: Bulgar with Mushrooms and Roasted Red Peppers

When you think of potassium-rich produce, figs probably don’t come to mind, but you may be surprised to learn that six fresh figs have 891 milligrams of the blood pressure-lowering mineral, nearly 20 percent of your daily need—and about double what you’d find in one large banana. Figs are also one of the best fruit sources of calcium, with nearly as much per serving (six figs) as 1/2 cup of fat-free milk. Serve by chopping and adding to yogurt, cottage cheese, oatmeal, or green salads.

Try it: Stuffed Figs