Like millions of citizens in California and throughout the United States, I have been dutifully following stay-at-home protocols, avoiding large, social gatherings and eschewing my traditional pop-up shows and events on behalf of Mia Brazilia, my San Diego-based women's activewear and couture line. For many Americans, the stress, anxiety, and uncertainty induced by this order has facilitated an increase in alcohol consumption, binge eating, smoking, and other unhealthy, destructive habits. My recent blogs have touched on some of the stay-at-home exercises that can mitigate the closure of your neighborhood gym or fitness studio and inculcate healthy, physical exercise alternatives. In this blog, Mia Brazilia would like to offer five healthy foods to embrace during a stay-at-home quarantine to benefit both short-term and long-term holistic health and peace of mind:

1.) Salmon

A perennial favorite of mine, wild salmon and its dietary benefits are almost in a league of its own. Salmon is fabled among nutritionists for its rich array of antioxidants that help lower cardiovascular risk of stroke, heart attack, and arterial degradation by reducing levels of LDL or bad cholesterol. The source of these active antioxidants is found in the omega-3 fatty acids that exist in the salmon fillet. Since my role as owner of Mia Brazilia demands a myriad responsibilities to appear on television or onstage at special events and fashion shows to promote my collection, skin therapy is an important component of my beauty routine. Eating salmon at least two times per week is essential to my skin maintenance program as salmon encourages more vibrant, supple skin and the eradication of skin damage and even precancerous skin lesions. Several medical studies have also noted that salmon consumption is a positive indicator for catalyzing abdominal fat and fostering a leaner, physical profile in conjunction with a daily, workout regimen.

2.) Avocados

If salmon isn't one of my favorite, healthy food secrets, then avocados may be the reason why. Living in San Diego County for over twenty five years has stoked an unbridled enthusiasm for anything and everything avocado, including avocado salad, avocado toast, and everyone's favorite snack, guacamole. Like salmon, avocados are blessed with a rich assortment of antioxidants as well as vitamins C, K, and E. Each of these crucial, essential vitamins play prominent roles in restoring skin health, collagen production, and the prevention of wrinkling and extensive sun damage. For proponents of weight loss, avocados supply a metabolic stimulus and bulwark against the invasive influences of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, a growing medical epidemic in the United States over the last fifty years.

3.) Oats

As someone who revered cereal as a child, oats were a staple in my daily diet from an early age. Once you research oats and its nutritional, inherent gifts, you can see why it is often alluded to as a nutritional game-changer. No other food from the grain category of the food pyramid provides the anti-cholesterol punch that oat consumption can deliver. Due to the high-fiber intake that oats possess, the sampler naturally eats less at any, given sitting, availing one to readily lose weight and feel less sluggish throughout the day. Oats are awash in powerful nutrients including zinc, magnesium, and niacin, affording the efficient operation of the digestive and circulatory system as well as the maintenance of healthy, robust skin. Oats inhibit blood sugar spikes that can predict or exacerbate diabetic-like conditions as well as control LDL cholesterol levels. Recent scientific studies have even highlighted a possible correlation between oats intake and the reduction of colorectal cancer risk among test populations. Just be sure to start your assimilation of oats into your daily diet slowly with lower doses at first, to avoid any intestinal bloating or discomfort.

4.) Blueberries

Who hasn't enjoyed their grandmother's blueberry pie when growing up as a child? Blueberries have literally one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants among the candidates in the fruits and vegetables group of the food pyramid. Blueberry antioxidants are very efficient at eradicating your body of free radicals, often an unwelcome byproduct of the digestion process after eating. Several of these free radicals are complicit in the aging process, as the oxidizing of your body's cells can cause irreparable DNA damage that ages skin and organ function and can even encourage the introduction of several diseases including cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Blueberries catalyze and neutralize several of these free radicals, thus preserving the DNA youthfulness of your human cell. One unexpected highlight of blueberries is a growing consensus among nutritionists that brain function even benefits from the intake of blueberries, since their antioxidants can relieve oxidative stress on the brain and open up improved neuron cell signaling.

5.) Walnuts

Health experts have long advocated for a diet rich in nuts. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fats and antioxidants, deploying a nutritional moat against the pernicious dangers of cancer and heart disease. While most of us eat walnuts as a snack, they can easily be added to salads, cereals, pastas, or baked items as well. Walnuts are stacked with polyunsaturated fats including the omega-6 fatty acid called linoleum acid. These fats are great at reducing inflammation in the body and improving the structure and composition of fats in the bloodstream. They are also blessed with multiple vitamins and minerals including copper, folic acid, phosphorous, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and magnesium which regulate the endocrine, digestive, and circulatory system and repair body tissue and organs. These vitamins also improve blood vessel function by eliminating plaque buildup in the arteries and lower LDL cholesterol.

The stay-at-home orders of the last few months have certainly provoked a challenging environment for millions of people around the globe. Mia Brazilia and millions of other businesses have had to transition to remote communication and adjust to a home environment workplace. However, these adjustments do not necessitate an abdication of healthy, lifestyle habits. Rather, it is even more imperative during this stressful period to devote a renewed dedication to physical fitness and nutritional eating. Incorporating salmon, avocados, oats, blueberries, and walnuts as five healthy foods to eat during stay-at-home quarantine will restore energy, youth, and vitality to your physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

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