How to Eat for Max Nutrition
Get to know these five high-performance food pairings
Rice and beans, guacamole and salsa, olive oil and tomatoes: Traditional food pairings that date back thousands of years may seem like simple culinary staples, but to food researchers, they’re prime examples of food combinations that promote maximum nutrition.
“Modern science shows us some amazing things with food pairings,” says Wendy Bazilian, a dietitian and doctor of public health.
Eating certain foods together can enhance vitamin absorption, help the body get the nutrients it needs, and heal and rebuild muscle after exercise. Take the Italian staple of Caprese salad: The healthy fats in olive oil can increase how well the body absorbs the carotenoids — powerful plant nutrients — in tomatoes.
Learning how to pair food for the greatest nutritional punch is by no means a prerequisite to healthy eating. Much of the magic happens naturally through consuming a balanced, varied, nutrient-dense diet, says Bazilian.
That said, if you want to amp up the nutrition on your plate, these five food pairings have science behind them, delivering even more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals than if you broke them apart.
