4 of the Best Foods to Eat in Your 20's

Your twenties are hectic years. Between juggling a growing career, a social life, and possibly a romantic life, we tend to start slacking on our personal health. To greet your 30's still feeling fabulous, start incorporating these foods into your diet!
Calcium (and Vitamin D) for Bone-Building
Your 20’s are your last chance to strengthen your bones. After the age of 30, you’re pretty much stuck with what you’ve got.
Your Objective: Drink two eight-ounce glasses of vitamin D-fortified, low-fat milk every day. You'll get 581 milligrams of calcium and five micrograms of vitamin D, the perfect nutrient combo to develop break-resistant bones.
Broccoli also deserves a place on your menu. It contains a respectable 43 milligrams of calcium per cup and is also home to magnesium, vitamin K, and phosphorus, all of which, research shows, play a major role in keeping your skeleton strong.
Microwave Meals for the Time-Crunched
Your 20’s is all about building your life so between careers, boyfriends, working out, and trying to maintain a social life, it seems there’s little time to eat, let alone eat healthily. {For starters, keep these staples on hand.}
The Solution: Choose microwave-friendly meals that are actually good for you. Look for those with a balance of protein, carbs, and veggies in one package (we like Kashi’s Sweet and Sour Chicken). Follow these guidelines when perusing the frozen meal aisle: 450 milligrams or less of sodium and no more than three grams of total and one gram of saturated fat per 100 calories.
Bonus: Harvard scientists found that every one-serving increase in daily vegetable intake decreases your risk of heart disease by 4 percent.
Beef for Sports Injuries
No one is sure why, but women are seven times as likely to tear an ACL as a man in this same age group. So, you’ve really got to protect yourself from sports injuries.
One way to do so: Eat more Beef! It’s a great muscle food because it’s loaded with protein and creatine, which both build muscle that will act like “bubble wrap” around tendons and joints.
Flaxseed for Undetected Depression
Those daily Red Bull’s that you down might temporarily boost your mood, but they might just be hiding a long-term problem.
Your Antidote: Eat a tablespoon of ground flaxseed daily.
It's the best source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a fatty acid that researchers say improves the operation of the cerebral cortex. That's the area of the brain that processes sensory information, including pleasure signals.
To meet your quota, sprinkle it on salads, vegetables, and cereal, or mix it into a smoothie or a shake. You can find ground flaxseed in the health-food section of your grocery store.