Have you heard of ‘food synergy’? It’s when two foods compliment each other nutritionally. The right combinations can help you lose weight, prevent cancer, and even lower your risk of heart disease. So, here are the foods you should be eating together and why – according to epidemiologist Dr. David Jacobs from the University of Minnesota and Best Life magazine:

• At breakfast, have your steel-cut oatmeal with a glass of 100% orange juice. That combo cleans your arteries and prevents heart attacks with two times the power than if you were to consume them at separate times. The reason? The organic compounds in both foods – called phenols – stabilize your bad cholesterol when consumed together.
• Apples and chocolate. Apples are known to be high in an anti-inflammatory flavonoid called quercetin – especially in the skin. That alone can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, and prostate and lung cancer. Chocolate contains anti-oxidants that also prevent cancer. However, apples and chocolate together loosen clumpy blood platelets – which improves blood flow and heart health.
• Here’s a food combo with the synergy to build and maintain your muscles: natural peanut butter on 100% whole wheat bread. That combo is special because the exact amino acids missing in wheat are present in peanuts. You need – but rarely get – the complete chain of amino acids needed to build and maintain muscle. So go ahead and eat a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat after a workout.
• Garlic and fish. Cooking your fish with garlic lowers your total cholesterol better than eating your fillet or your roasted cloves on their own.