Staying Healthy With Superfoods
January 11, 2008 – 11:59 amIn the Super Foods book I share the most potent super foods available, but there’s still some questions about these foods like…
Which foods are the best? What if I don’t like a Superfood, does that mean I should just give up and return to my readily available fast food meals? The answer is a resounding “No!”
All Superfoods are good, and each food represents a category of foods that are related and confer upon the consumer similar benefits. The best Superfoods are the ones that you learn to enjoy and eat on a daily or weekly basis.
The following is a list comprised of a dozen Superfoods, but it is just a starting point. Science is discovering new benefits to some of the foods we eat on a regular basis and as a result, the list will continue to grow.
- Whole grains — oats, barley, buckwheat, wheat, brown rice, rye, millet, bulgur, yellow corn and couscous. 5 — 7 servings per day.
- Nuts and Seeds — Walnuts, almonds peanuts, pinon, pecan, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. 1 ounce five times per week.
- Fish — Wild Alaskan salmon (fresh or canned), halibut, herring, albacore tuna, trout, sardines, oysters and clams. 2 — 4 times per week.
- Green Food — Spinach, kale, chard, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sprouts of all kinds. 1 — 2 cups per day.
- Beans — Pinto, green, black, kidney, peas, garbanzo, Navy, Great Northern. Four 1/2 –cup servings per week.
- Berries — Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, goji berries. 1 — 2 cups per day.
- Citrus — Oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, lemon, lime, kumquat, tangerines. 1 serving per day.
- Orange Vegetables — Pumpkin, butternut squash. ½ cup per day.
- Turkey breast — skinless, cooked without added fat. 3 — 4 servings per week.
- Yogurt — live-cultured, unsweetened. 2 cups per day.
- Soy — Edamame, milk, nuts, tofu, tempeh, miso. 15 grams per day.
- Tea — Black, green, white.
Whole Grains — have a myriad of health benefits, so if you want your bread and eat it too, be certain that the first ingredient is some form of whole grain. Whole grain contains all three parts of the grain, the bran, the endosperm (middle layer), and the germ (inner layer) that is packed full of Vitamin B, E and other phytochemicals. Oats and barley are especially noted for their cholesterol lowering abilities. All whole grains are fiber-rich foods that help to control appetite and blood sugar fluctuations.
Nuts and Seeds are good for your heart. They contain heart healthy protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and many other phytochemicals that fight both heart disease as well as cancer.
Fish — Especially cold-water fish are very rich sources of Omega-3 fatty acids that prevent inflammation that can cause heart disease, arthritis, asthma, insulin resistance, ADD and depression. Most Americans are dangerously deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids.
Dark Greens — Eating these veggies can prevent or reverse the advance of cancer, minimize the incidence of birth defects, reduce the risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, improve bone and cardiac health.
Beans — (this category includes both green and dried.) Excellent source of low fat, inexpensive protein that reduces cholesterol, battles heart disease, fights obesity and Type II diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar fluctuations, lowers blood pressure and decreases the incidence of colon problems.
Berries — Blueberries are especially known for their tremendous quantities of disease fighting antioxidants and are sometimes called brain, or youth berries because of their anti-aging characteristics. All berries are full of polyphenols that are nearly miraculous. Go ahead, pile on the blueberry preserves or blackberry jam. It is good for you.
Citrus — Long touted as the first health food due to its high vitamin C content, we might be overlooking the true health benefits of citrus. They fight heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. Enjoy as a whole food or full pulp juice.
Orange Vegetables — Much has been published about the wonders of beta-carotene found in orange vegetables, but new studies have revealed that the alpha-carotene, especially in pumpkin make it one of the most nutritionally valuable foods known because of its ability to reverse signs of aging.
Turkey Breast — Highly nutritious, low fat, and inexpensive. This is the leanest meat protein available today, mimicking the healthiest diets such as Paleolithic, Mediterranean, and Japanese, which have proven that the leaner the protein the better. Good for the heart and immune system.
Yogurt — Posses immune stimulating components in its live cultures, promoting the growth of good GI bacteria while inhibiting the reproduction of bad bacteria. A health GI tract = good health throughout the entire body.
Soy — Provides inexpensive high quality vitamin and mineral rich plant protein with plant omega-3 fatty acids and enough phytonutrients to defeat an army of germs. It decreases cholesterol and is a cancer fighter. Best of all, it fights dementia in the aging brain.
Tea — Lowers blood pressure, prevents osteoporosis, and skin cancer, fights wrinkles, is an anti-viral, anti-allergy, anti-inflammatory, and prevents cataracts. What else do you want? Tea does it all!
