Superfoods: seven foods for every day

Because without it, the plate stops being a meal and turns into a piece of meat.

Three hundred grams of greens provide the volume that creates the feeling of a complete meal with few carbohydrates. Plus fiber, which is usually a problem on a low-carb diet: grains and fruit are gone, and there is nothing to replace them with.

The dressing is simple: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and salt. It also covers part of the daily fat intake.

They provide a different type of fiber and address something people do not usually talk about: changes in bowel movements during the first weeks.

Two or three spoonfuls a day is a practical guideline. Chia is soaked in water or added to cottage cheese; flax is best ground immediately before eating. Both require sufficient fluid intake: fiber without water has the opposite effect.

Start with 30 g, gradually increasing to 100.

A large amount at once causes bloating, and the person concludes that fermented foods do not suit them. Usually, the issue is the speed, not the food: use the same approach as with fats—halve the amount and increase it slowly.

If it is not tolerated, replace it with bell pepper dressed with apple cider vinegar.

No. This is a selection for building a normal week, not a daily checklist.

Fish is eaten several times a week, not every day. Nuts are not mandatory for anyone. It makes sense to have salad and greens, avocado, and seeds daily: they cover fiber and potassium, exactly the gaps that usually cause poor well-being during the first month.

With chronic kidney disease, potassium may need to be restricted, so the advice to “eat more avocado and greens” is not universal here—the amount is determined by a doctor.

With irritable bowel syndrome and after gastrointestinal surgery, fermented foods and large amounts of fiber should be introduced cautiously and with professional guidance. If you take anticoagulants, discuss the amount of greens with your doctor: vitamin K affects how these medications work.

Replace by function, not by name.

Avocado provides potassium; spinach, greens, and broccoli work instead. Flax and chia provide fiber; a large serving of greens and cabbage can partly replace them. Sauerkraut can be replaced with bell pepper and apple cider vinegar if the issue is intolerance.

Fatty fish is the hardest to replace: plant sources of omega-3 work less effectively. It is easier to change the type of fish—mackerel and herring are almost always available.

It is cheaper than it seems if you do not chase labels.

The most expensive items on the list are salmon and avocado, and both have budget alternatives: mackerel and herring instead of salmon, greens and spinach instead of some of the avocado. Flax, chia, and sauerkraut cost very little and are used slowly.

What you definitely do not need to buy is exotic powders and “superfoods” from the health-food section. They are not and never have been on this list.

No, and that is not the goal here.

This selection covers specific dietary gaps: fiber, potassium, magnesium, and omega-3. Everything else comes from ordinary food—meat, fish, eggs, and vegetables.

If a deficiency is suspected, check it with tests and discuss it with a doctor rather than compensating with a double portion of seeds.