10 Healthier Food & Drinks Alternatives

 Some rights reserved by Philippe Put

You always have a choice to pick the healthier alternative. Why not? You get more nutrition and additional health benefits from a similar food or drink. We'll give you the idea and you make the choice!

Light Beer to Dark Beer
We are not advocating taking up to drinking but if you want to sit down and relax with a cold bottle of beer, go for dark beer instead of light beer. Why? Dark beer is much richer in flavanoids than light beer, and flavanoids possess powerful antioxidant properties.  Also, Vitamin B6 levels in dark beer prevent the build up of an amino acid called homocystenine, which has been linked to heart and vascular diseases in humans.

Honeydew Melon to Cantaloupe
Instead of honeydew melon, choose cantaloupe. Or, when you're having honeydew melon, you may also add some chunks of cantaloupe. Why? Because cantaloupe has double the vitamin C  as honeydew and has about 67 times more beta-carotene.

White meat chicken to Dark meat chicken
Dark meat chicken (thigh/leg) is not as bad as you might think it is. It is the higher levels of saturated fat that made dark meat unpopular. But in the case of poultry, this can be easily removed by getting rid of the skin. And the truth is, dark meat is richer in nutrients than white meat and contains 3 times the iron, 245 % more zinc, which is responsible for growth and reproduction and also supports immunity and wound healing. Dark meat is also rich in vitamins A, K, B6, B12, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid and minerals like selenium and phosphorus.

Iceberg lettuce to Spinach
Here are the reasons why you should swap your lettuce with spinach: Spinach has over twice as much protein, almost twice as much fiber, five times more calcium, more than five times the amount of iron, eight times more magnesium, two and a half times more phosphorus and potassium, over seven times more vitamin C, and over twenty times more Vitamin A than lettuce.

White wine to Red wine
Resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, bad cholesterol and blood clots. It is more abundant in red wine because it is made from the darker red and black grapes crushed with their skins and are fermented for one to two weeks.

White rice to Brown rice
When compared with white rice, brown rice has twice the manganese and phosphorus of white, 2.5 times the iron, 3 times the vitamin B3, 4 times the vitamin B1, 10 times the vitamin B6. It has also 30% more of the antioxidant selenium, which is known to substantially reduce the risk of colon cancer.

Table sugar to Maple syrup
White sugar is typically highly processed in order to remove impurities, while maple syrup is not processed, therefore it contains higher levels of potentially beneficial minerals including calcium, potassium (100 times more than sugar), sodium and copper.

Potato to Sweet potato
Sweet potatoes also have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes, meaning, it does not cause a quick spike in blood sugar, thus do not overwork the pancreas and it makes you feel full longer. It has 2.5 times the calcium, and 50 % more fiber.  Iit is also rich in beta-carotene, vitamin C, pro-vitamin E, anthocyanins and sporamins.

Milk chocolate to Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate contains more cocoa, reason that it contains more antioxidants. It has less sugar, more fiber, more magnesium, more copper, and 3.5 times the iron in milk chocolate.

White mushroom to Crimini mushroom
Crimini mushrooms or Baby bellas contain 6 times the calcium, 40% more potassium, and almost triple the selenium of white mushrooms. Although, white mushrooms are a better source of vitamin C and contains slightly more fiber, you might just wanna throw in some to your diet, as well.