3 Foods That Are Even Healthier When Paired With Other Foods, According To "Genius Foods" Author

You might have heard that foods like dark leafy greens and green tea are good for you, but did you know that they're even better for you when paired with other foods? 

In fact, according to Genius Foods author Max Lugavere, you absorb little of the plant carotenoids in dark leafy greens unless you eat them with a fat source. (What?!)

Plus, there's a yummy food combo (hint: it's a winner winner chicken dinner) that could boost your body's production of collagen (buh-bye, wrinkles). Get the scoop from Max below.

1. Dark Leafy Greens (like swiss chard or rainbow chard) + eggs = help protect and enhance your brain and eyes by up to 8-fold

"You basically absorb zero [plant carotenoids] unless you consume these dark leafy greens with a fat source," Max says. (Carotenoids help to protect and enhance your brain and eyes.) 

"Studies have shown that when you combine dark leafy greens with eggs, you improve the absorption of these compounds by up to 8-fold," he continues. "Without the egg or another fat source, they basically go right through you." 

2. Organic Chicken Legs + Kale = enhances your body's production of collagen

"Chicken legs are loaded with collagen," the Genius Foods author tells us, "which is very good for your hair, skin and nails."

"One cup of kale has 120% of your daily needs for vitamin C," he continues. "So by consuming chicken legs with kale, you're basically encouraging your body's production of collagen, which is crucially important. Collagen production declines as we age. It's one of the reasons we get wrinkles."

TRY THESE WITH A SIDE OF KALE: 5-Ingredient Lemon Garlic Drumsticks 

3. Green Tea + Lemon = increases antioxidant bioavailability by up to 13-fold

"Green tea is consumed all the time in some of the world's blue zones where people live a long time," Max explains. "It's known to have anti-inflammatory effects [and] anti-diabetic effects. Green tea is great. But the way to make green tea even better is by adding some lemon to it." 

"Lemon is also loaded with vitamin C, like kale, but no one wants to put kale in their green tea," Max jokes. "By squeezing some vitamin C from the lemon into your green tea, you actually increase the absorption — the bioavailability — of the antioxidants in green tea by up to 13-fold."