Discovering super foods has truly changed my life.

It was also one of the first steps towards my recovery from eating disorders and a better and healthier life. Now, I am eating super foods every single day and they’re helping me stay healthy and have great energy.

But what are super foods exactly?

Super foods are basically foods that are much richer in vitamins, minerals, nutrients, electrolytes and phytonutrients but also much poorer in calories than any other usual foods. They are amazing to deeply nourish your body on a very deep level.

Here are my top 7 favorites to boost mood and energy levels:

1. Maca powder

Maca is a root that comes from Peru. It can mainly  be found as powder because it doesn’t grow in all climates. It is dried and powdered to be exported in the rest of the world. Maca is amazing for balancing hormones and is beneficial to both women (relief of PMS symptoms and menopause) and men (enhanced fertility). Maca is also a great adaptogen that helps decrease stress levels, enhance strength, stamina and libido as well as providing great energy and endurance. It works with the rhythms and needs of your own body.

I usually add maca powder to my breakfast muesli, smoothies, juices, chocolate, desserts, etc.

Try adding maca into your diet and notice the benefits.

Maca is rich is calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, vit B1, B2, C, E and iron. It contains lots of trace minerals like zinc and selenium and is great for menstrual imbalances, lack of libido, infertility, menopausal symptoms and stress but also for conditions such as anaemia, fatigue, depression, poor memory, tuberculosis and malnutrition.

2. Pure, raw organic cacao

Yes, chocolate is a super food! But I am not talking about the sugary packaged chocolate bars you find at the supermarket. I am talking about the real, original, raw, pure cacao. You can use the beans, which are quite bitter, or you can find it in powder in any health food store to make amazing desserts like my wonderful Love Chocolate Pie or Sour Cherry Fudge.

Pure, raw, organic cacao is just amazing and to be honest, I am enjoying it every single day in healthy, sugar free desserts or smoothies. Because what’s bad about chocolate? It’s actually all of the sugar, dairy and other additives that have been added to packaged chocolate you buy in supermarkets that make it unhealthy.

Cacao itself is great for your health and is nature’s number-one weight loss and high-energy food, according to David Wolfe, the cacao master (watch his TEDx talk about chocolate here). Chocolate is rich in antioxidants, magnesium, iron, chromium, manganese, zinc, copper, vitamin-C, phosphorus and more.

It’s also rich in tryptophan, which is a powerful mood-enhancer, crucial in the production of serotonin, which diminishes anxiety and has the same impact as love in our brain. That’s why chocolate is often associated with love and Valentine’s Day.

Add more raw, pure and organic cacao into your diet and start feeling amazing effects.

Check out my great & healthy recipes to get you started

3. Chia seeds

Chia seeds are a complete protein rich in fibre, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus and manganese. Just one tablespoon of chia seeds contains 5 grams of fibre. So adding a tablespoon of chia seeds to your breakfast (cereals, smoothies, juices, etc.) is a great way to increase your fibre intake. But chia seeds are also very rich in vitamin-C, Omega 3 and 6 and antioxidants.

They are able to absorb lots of water (about 10 times their weight). When you soak chia seeds, they will absorb lots of liquid and create a gelatine-like substance, which will clean your digestive and immune systems by moving all the toxins and impurities to the bowels.

Soaking chia seeds in coconut water or mashed fresh fruit for breakfast is great and chia puddings are also delicious and great for your health.

4. Coconut (water, flesh/meat, oil and butter)

This is one of my favourite foods and drinks ever. The water inside the young coconut is an isotonic drink full of electrolytes and can even be used in blood transfusions. It is rich in potassium, is ideal for proper rehydration and has strong antiviral properties.

It also contains kinetin, which keeps the coconut young despite the fact that it’s under the sun all day long. Kinetin has the exact same effect on our body and keeps us young. Amazing, isn’t it?

The meat of coconut is high in protein and fibre and is a great saturated fat (essential to our body). It has been proven that the saturated fat in coconut oil supports the immune system, thyroid gland, nervous system and skin.

Coconut oil and butter are also a very healthy saturated fat and are perfect for cooking as it’s the only oil/butter that stays stable when you heat it (even olive oil is not perfectly stable when you heat it). Thus, using coconut oil for cooking is much safer and healthier than any other oils.

Personally, I only use coconut oil for cooking. I still use olive, hemp and flax oil, which are all amazing oils, but only for dressings.

I also use coconut oil on my skin, as moisturiser, since coconut oil is actually a top beauty product and is sold at a very cheap price.

 5. Spirulina

Spirulina is a Blue-Green Algae, which thrives in alkaline lakes. It contains over 65% of complete protein (300% more than fish, meat or poultry, with 0 cholesterol). Spirulina is also very rich in chlorophyll, iron (about fifty eight times more than spinach), antioxidants, beta-carotene and essential fatty acid Omega 3 and 6.

Spirulina really helped me to have more strength and energy to recover from bulimia. It also fixed my anemia and I was able to get rid of my (unnatural) iron supplements.

Today, I am taking three to six grams of spirulina every morning. You can choose to use powder — which is the most powerful way as it’s directly absorbable by the body — and add it to juices and smoothies.

If you don’t juice or blend every day, then use tablets (I personally find that the taste is too strong to mix spirulina powder with water only). Change your dosage regarding your levels of energy, activity and your diet.

Spirulina is also great for people who have digestive issues as it helps improving the absorption of nutrients by the body.

I love spirulina and I really recommend everyone give them a try—I’m sure you’ll notice great improvements in your energy in just a few days.

6. Goji berries

Goji berries are a berry-fruit found in Asia and America. They are usually dried before being exported elsewhere in the world.

Gojis are probably one of the most nutritious berry-fruit found on the planet. They are a complete source of protein and amino acids, contain lots of trace mineral as well as vitamins B1, B2, B6, E and C.

They are extremely rich in antioxidant, which protects us from the ageing process and free radical. They are also well known to improve vision, boost libido, sexual function and immune system. Sounds great, right?

Try consuming them in many different ways. Add them to smoothies, breakfast, salads or use them in trail mix or in awesome chocolate desserts.

7. Hempseeds and oil

Hempseeds and oil are one of the rare complete sources of protein (33 to 37% of its weight) and are packed with life-force energy and enzymes. They are rich in Omega-3, 6 and 9 which are all very important for brain functions and considered a quality beautifying oil.

Hempseeds and oil are great to boost your immune system and bring balance in your essential fatty acids, thus are also decreasing inflammation. They deliver a balanced array of amino acids and are rich in minerals such as phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, zinc, sodium, silicon, copper and many others.

Use the oil in dressings and sprinkle the seeds on your cereals, fruits, smoothies or salads, they are delicious!

They are many other super foods that would be great to try and add to your diet such as acai, bee products (bee pollen, royal jelly, honey and propolis), marine phytoplankton, aloe vera, wheatgrass or any seaweed, but these seven are the ones I am using the most to boost my mood and energy levels!

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Assist Ed: Julie Garcia/Ed: Bryonie Wise