What if I told you that the root of most chronic diseases—up to 80% of them—could be traced back to one single hormone? That hormone is insulin. When your insulin levels are constantly high, a condition known as insulin resistance, your body is in a state of chronic stress that leads to a cascade of health problems. The good news is that you have the power to control your insulin levels through your diet. The foods that raise insulin are detrimental to your health, while the foods that keep it low are your greatest allies.
In this article, we’re going to dive deep into the seven absolute healthiest foods you should be eating daily, plus three incredible bonus foods that will round out your diet perfectly. The common thread among all these foods is their ability to keep your insulin levels stable. There are no other foods on the planet that can match the health benefits of the ten we’re about to discuss. By incorporating these into your daily routine, you can take a massive step toward reclaiming your health and feeling better than ever.
Key Takeaways
- Control Insulin: The foundation of a healthy diet is choosing foods that do not spike your insulin levels. This list focuses exclusively on such foods.
- Nutrient Density is Key: These foods are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and powerful phytonutrients that your body craves.
- Embrace Healthy Fats: Fats, especially omega-3s, are crucial for brain health, reducing inflammation, and keeping you full without raising insulin.
- Probiotics for Gut Health: Fermented foods like sauerkraut and certain cheeses provide beneficial microbes that are essential for digestion and overall immunity.
- Micronutrients Matter: Specific nutrients like selenium, vitamin K2, and vitamin U play powerful, targeted roles in preventing disease and promoting longevity.
1. Sauerkraut
You might think of sauerkraut as a simple condiment, but raw, unpasteurized sauerkraut is one of the most powerful health foods you can eat. If you buy it off a store shelf and it’s not refrigerated, it’s likely been pasteurized, which kills the beneficial microbes that make it so special. Real sauerkraut is a probiotic powerhouse, far superior to yogurt or kefir. It’s teeming with good bacteria that support a healthy gut microbiome.
Beyond its probiotic benefits, sauerkraut is a nutritional giant. A single cup contains a staggering 700 milligrams of vitamin C—that’s ten times the recommended daily amount! It’s also incredibly low in carbs, with just 1.9 net carbs per cup. Sauerkraut is loaded with glutamine, an amino acid that helps heal an inflamed gut lining, and vitamin K2, which is produced by the microbes during fermentation. Vitamin K2 is crucial for directing calcium out of your arteries and soft tissues and into your bones where it belongs. But perhaps its most unique component is Vitamin U, a compound that has been shown to heal ulcers throughout the digestive tract by strengthening the protective mucous layer.
2. Arugula
When building your daily salad, you should absolutely reach for arugula. This peppery green is not only delicious but also incredibly low in oxalates, which can be a concern for people prone to kidney stones or joint pain. The real magic of arugula, however, lies in its ability to boost your body’s production of nitric oxide.
Nitric oxide is a vital compound that acts as a vasodilator, meaning it relaxes and widens your blood vessels. This effect helps lower blood pressure, improves circulation throughout your entire body, and protects the inner lining of your arteries from inflammation. Better circulation isn’t just good for your heart; it can also improve conditions like erectile dysfunction. Of all the foods on the planet, arugula is the richest source of nitric oxide. I love to toss it with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor and an extra dose of B vitamins.
3. Wild-Caught Salmon
Fatty fish is a cornerstone of a healthy diet, and wild-caught salmon is the king. Choosing “wild-caught” is like choosing organic; you’re avoiding the antibiotics and artificial colorings often used in farm-raised operations. Just three ounces of wild-caught salmon provides about 2,000 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids. These essential fats are a combination of DHA, which is critical for your brain and eye health, and EPA, a potent anti-inflammatory.
If you suffer from any condition ending in “-itis”—arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis—you need more omega-3s in your life. Many people worry about mercury in fish, but salmon is a safe choice because it’s also rich in selenium. This mineral binds to mercury and helps your body safely excrete it. When you eat salmon, be sure to eat the skin. The layer just beneath the skin is packed with omega-3s and collagen, adding even more nutritional value to your meal.
4. Cod Liver
While many people are familiar with cod liver oil, the cod liver itself is a forgotten superfood. You can easily find it canned online, and it’s a food you should seriously consider adding to your diet. Cod liver is even more concentrated in omega-3 fatty acids than salmon. In a world where most people consume an excess of inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids from seed oils, flooding your body with omega-3s is one of the best things you can do to fight inflammation.
Some people are turned off by organ meats like beef liver, but cod liver has a surprisingly mild, pleasant taste and a smooth, pâté-like texture. It’s a fatty food, but the fat is precisely what your brain, nervous system, and heart need to thrive. And don’t worry about the canning process; I personally sent canned fish products to a lab for testing, and the results confirmed that the heat from canning does not destroy the precious omega-3s.
5. Grass-Fed Hamburger
This one might surprise you. When you think of a hamburger, you might picture fast food, but a high-quality, grass-fed hamburger is an incredibly nutritious and easy-to-digest food. I recommend choosing a fattier blend, like 80/20, rather than lean ground beef. Why? Because fat consumed with protein helps blunt the insulin response. Lean proteins, like egg whites or whey protein powder, actually spike insulin more than their full-fat counterparts.
Eating protein with its natural fat slows down digestion, allowing for better absorption of amino acids and keeping you fuller for longer. Grass-fed beef is a fantastic source of bioavailable B vitamins, zinc, iron, and copper. It also contains powerful compounds like carnosine, an anti-aging antioxidant, and creatine, which supports muscle growth. The claims that red meat causes cancer are based on flawed observational studies; high-quality red meat is one of the most healing foods you can eat.
6. Brazil Nuts
You don’t need many of these to reap their benefits—just one or two per day is enough. Brazil nuts are, by far, the richest food source of selenium on the planet. Selenium is a trace mineral that is often deficient in modern soils, and therefore, in our food supply. This deficiency has serious consequences for our health.
First, selenium is essential for proper thyroid function, as it helps convert the inactive T4 thyroid hormone into the active T3 form. More importantly, selenium is a non-negotiable for a strong immune system. Your T-helper cells, the command center of your immune response, cannot function without it. A selenium deficiency makes you vulnerable to everything from viruses to autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto’s, lupus, and MS. It’s also vital for hormone production, fertility, and preventing hair loss.
7. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
High-quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is liquid gold. It’s not just a cooking medium; it’s a potent health food. A true EVOO will have a peppery, biting sensation in the back of your throat, which is a sign of its powerful phytonutrients—compounds that are 20 times stronger than those in green tea! Be wary of cheap, adulterated oils and invest in a good brand.
EVOO is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It’s fantastic for your heart, your cells, and your mitochondria (the energy factories in your cells). Crucially, it also has anti-clotting properties. About 90% of heart attacks and strokes are caused by a blood clot, not by plaque buildup alone. Making EVOO a staple in your diet is a simple and delicious way to protect your cardiovascular system.
Bonus #1: Quality Cheese
I’m not talking about processed cheese slices. I’m talking about full-fat, raw, aged cheese, often imported from countries with traditional cheesemaking practices. Cheese is a fermented food, making it another great source of probiotics and butyric acid, which feeds your colon cells. It’s also loaded with vitamin K2, the anti-aging vitamin that prevents calcification of your arteries and joints. Cheese also contains CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a unique fat that can help your body burn more fat.
Bonus #2: Dark Chocolate
Yes, chocolate can be a health food! We’re talking about dark chocolate (85% cacao or higher) or raw cacao powder. It’s packed with polyphenols and can increase nitric oxide, just like arugula, improving your circulation. While some worry about the oxalates in chocolate, it’s also one of the best sources of magnesium. Magnesium binds to oxalates, neutralizing them. It also helps control calcium, relax your muscles, lower stress, and improve sleep. That chocolate craving you feel might actually be your gut microbes asking for this beneficial food!
Bonus #3: L. Reuteri Yogurt
This is a special type of yogurt you can make at home. Lactobacillus reuteri is a key microbe that is missing from most people’s guts today, especially if they’ve taken antibiotics. Reintroducing it can have profound effects. It helps increase muscle mass, improve sleep, and, most fascinatingly, triggers your body to produce more oxytocin. Oxytocin is the “love hormone” that lowers stress and increases feelings of social connection and well-being. It’s a powerful tool for combating the effects of chronic stress.
Conclusion
Most people are eating the exact opposite of the foods on this list—refined, processed foods that constantly spike their insulin and drive inflammation. I challenge you to incorporate these ten foods into your diet for just seven days. Prepare for it, commit to it, and prove it to yourself. You will feel better than you have in years. Your body has an incredible capacity to heal when you give it the right fuel. Start today.
Source: Dr. Eric Berg