5 Power Foods for Women

SHAPE magazine

From giving your immunity a boost to fighting wrinkles, all women should add these 5 superfoods to their diet.

Parmesan Cheese Strengthens Bones
Calcium is key for preventing osteoporosis (especially in your 20s). Yogurt and nonfat milk help, but who wants them three times a day? Work Parmesan cheese into your diet; its 340 mg of calcium per ounce - compared to about 200 mg in cheddar or Swiss - goes a long way toward your 1000 mg/day quota.

Apples boost immunity
Smart and sweet, apples are rich in quercetin, an antioxidant that can bolster your body's disease-fighting abilities. In one study from Appalachian State University, just 5 percent of people who ate more quercetin came down with a respiratory infection over a two-week period, compared to 45 percent of those who didn't.

Lentils build your iron stores
Low-calorie lentils pack about 30 percent of your daily iron per cup cooked. About 12 percent of young women have low iron stores - at the extreme, that leads to anemia. But one study found that even women who were iron deficient (not anemic) had poorer performances on skill tests than those with normal levels.

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Broccoli fights wrinkles
"A cup of broccoli has 100 percent of your vitamin C-crucial for production of collagen, which gives skin elasticity," says Tammy Lakatos Shames, R.D. It's also rich in beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. This vitamin assists in cell turnover, so old skin cells are replaced with fresh (read: younger-looking) ones.

Dark chocolate stops stress and fights disease
European researchers found that people who ate an ounce and a half of dark chocolate - about 200 calories worth-every day for two weeks produced less of the stress hormone cortisol and reported feeling less frazzled. Cortisol causes a temporary rise in blood pressure; consistently high levels up your risk for depression, obesity, heart disease and more.

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