Food Cures to Help You Stay Healthy

Staying healthy doesn't necessarily mean you have to pop a pill for everything that goes wrong. According to Dr. Stephen Sinatra - founder of the Heart MD Institute - food is the most powerful medicine on earth. So, here are four surprising food cures you might not know about:

• You'll sleep better if you take honey, because it activates the "calming" chemical serotonin in your brain. It also tells your brain to stop releasing orexin, a chemical that helps you stay alert during the day. One teaspoon of honey an hour before bedtime should do the trick. Honey is also a great substitute for cough medicine. That's because it contains antioxidants which naturally boost your immune system. You can even put it on a cut, because it contains enzymes that kill germs, amino acids that speed healing, and antioxidants that reduce inflammation.

• Another food cure: When you're blue, eat spinach. It's full of folate, and can boost your mood by raising your level of feel-good serotonin. In fact, a lot of experts believe that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin, and studies show that up to 38 percent of people who are depressed don't get enough folate. The fix? Eat at least one cup of raw spinach or other dark green leafy vegetables a day -- like kale, Swiss chard, and mustard greens, as well as pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

• Also, if you have high blood pressure, celery can bring it down as much as 12 points. How? Because celery contains chemicals that widen and relax arteries and blood vessels. They also reduce levels of adrenaline and other hormones that cause high blood pressure. For the biggest benefit, experts suggest eating five stalks of celery a day.

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