5 of the Most Nutrient-Dense Foods You Can Eat

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First, you’ll need to limit or avoid highly processed foods with many calories but little nutritional value. Some of them even increase inflammation and negatively affect your health.

Then, start adding nutritious foods to your eating plan. The foods in this list contain beneficial nutrients that may:

  • help reduce inflammation
  • reduce oxidative stress and cellular damage that can contribute to cancer and other diseases
  • help regulate the body’s essential functions like digestion
  • support healthy organ function
  • lower your risk of or help manage diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and dementia

Keep reading to learn which foods are most nutritious and how they support your health.

1. Salmon

Oily fish, such as salmon, is high in omega-3 fatty acids. These are essential nutrients, which means you can only get them from foods. Every cell in your body needs omega-3 fatty acids. They are necessary forTrusted Source the correct functioning of your:

  • brain
  • eyes
  • heart
  • blood vessels
  • lungs
  • immune system
  • endocrine system

A 100-gram serving of wild Atlantic salmon contains about 2.2 grams (g)Trusted Source of omega-3s and 25.4 g of high quality animal protein. It also provides vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, potassium, selenium, and B vitamins.

Salmon tastes good and is fairly simple to prepare. It also tends to make you feel full with relatively few calories.

When buying fish, always check it comes from a sustainable source.

2. Sardines

Sardines are small, oily fish that you can eat whole, including the organs, bones, and other nutritious parts. They containTrusted Source a little of almost every nutrient your body needs.

Like other fatty fish, they’re also high in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Plus, they’re low in mercury compared to larger fish.

3. Kale

Kale is a green, leafy vegetable rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and various bioactive compounds. Brassicas like kale and cabbage also containTrusted Source cancer-fighting compounds.

It provides vitamins C, A, K, and B6, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, and manganese. A one-cup serving has only 9 caloriesTrusted Source.

4. Seaweed

There are many types of seaweed and ways to use it in food. Nori, for instance, is used to wrap sushi.

Seaweed providesTrusted Source minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and manganese.

It is also high in iodine, a mineral your body uses to make thyroid hormones.

Some test tube and animal studiesTrusted Source suggest that polysaccharides and other nutrients in seaweed may also have antioxidant properties. This means they could help protect against oxidative stress, which contributes to inflammation and other health issues.

5. Garlic

Garlic is both tasty and healthy. It’s highly nutritious and contains bioactive compounds that have confirmed disease-fighting properties.

Garlic providesTrusted Source:

  • vitamins C
  • B1,
  • B6
  • calcium
  • potassium
  • copper
  • manganese
  • selenium
  • allicin, a sulfur compound

While more research is needed, some evidenceTrusted Source suggests allicin and garlic may help reduce the risk of heart disease by:

  • lowering blood pressure
  • reducing total and LDL (bad) cholesterol
  • raising HDL (good) cholesterol

A high intake of vegetables from the garlic family has also been linked to a lower riskTrusted Source of gastrointestinal cancer.

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