Super Food – Fact or Fiction

Is it a legitimate term, defining powerful, life enhancing nutrition, available in your supermarket? Actually, the power that a healthy diet can have on how you feel is truly amazing. Probably 50% of suffering could be ended if people eat healthy and combine this lifestyle improvement with exercise.  Chronic diseases like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer, can be impacted.

You want life in your years, not just extended years!

A balanced diet incorporating a number of super foods could help you maintain a healthy weight, ward off disease and even extend your health span.  Health span is defined as a longer life characterized by enjoying optimal health.  

By enhancing your diet with high quality super foods, you're improving your odds, for a healthy, brighter future.

Here’s a list to get you started:

1) Berries

How they heal:

• Berries contain powerful antioxidants that help clean up free radicals, dark rich pigments that help prevent cancer and ellagic acid, also a cancer fighter.
• Increase insulin sensitivity and calm down the blood sugar roller coaster
• Put the breaks on cognitive aging and improve your memory due to their rich anthocyanin and flavonoid content
• Prevent ultraviolet light skin damage

What to look out for:

• Pesticide residue – this can be avoided by buying organic
• Bowel irritation if you have any kind of intestinal problems like diverticulosis or inflammatory bowel disease
• Allergic reactions in some people. By no means everyone, but some people’s lips swell and they break out in hives.

2) Cold water ocean fish high in omega 3 fatty acids such as herring, anchovies, mackerel and wild salmon:

How they heal:

• Omega 3 fatty acids in fish oils reduce the stickiness of platelets in your blood, reducing the likelihood of clots and the most common type of stroke (ischemic, caused by clots)
• Improve immune function and reduce inflammation
• Enhances memory, often an age related decline in thinking skill
• Helps prevent age related macular degeneration, the main cause of blindness in aging adults.

What to look out for:

• Toxic pollutants like mercury, cadmium and lead which are found globally throughout the ocean. Heavy metal is very detrimental to your nervous system, so the way to avoid these problems is eat fish in moderation and supplement with pharmaceutical grade fish oil.
• Viral and bacterial infections as well as parasites can be harboring in raw fish, especially sushi. A way to avoid parasites is to consume fish that has been frozen prior to eating.

3) Kale

How it heals:

• May lower LDL (bad) cholesterol based on its high vitamin C content and reduce high blood pressure due to high potassium levels
• Encourage bone health due to calcium and magnesium, typical in dark leafy greens.
• Supports weight loss because it is filling and also low in calories yet high in nutrition.
• Helps battle cancer since it’s rich in cancer fighting carotenoids and biovlavonoids as well as indoles, compounds that counteract the potential negative impact of estrogen

What to look out for:

• Tough fibrous leaves! Really, is that all? You can easily cliver and roll them up to cook quickly after trimming the stems.
• Bloating, well maybe one more thing to look out for, but the list is short. Try juicing instead to get higher amounts of this super food without the roughage.

 4) Walnuts

How they heal:

• These tree nuts are rich in Vitamin E which has been shown to protect against heart problems
• Rich in phytonutrients, their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory benefits help protect you against metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes
• Tannin tellimagrandin and flavonol morin (fancy names for rare but important antioxidants) they help decrease the risk of certain cancers like prostate and breast.
• Contains biotin, which strengthens and improves hair growtn
• Rich in B vitamins so it protects against wrinkles and gives you glowing skin

What to look out for:

• Allergy to tree nuts may cause some people to get swollen lips, rash, hives or eczema
• As nuts go, walnuts are relatively lower in calories compared to nuts like cashews, however, limit your intake to a handful a day.

5) Turkey

How it heals:

• Great source of high-quality protein, which may slow down bone loss.
• Also contains many other nutrients such as calcium, iron and potassium as well as zinc and phosphorus.
• This low fat white meat is a great source of vitamin B6, which is important in mitigating damage to blood vessel walls

What to look out for:

• Handling and cooking preparation is important since intact skin makes it more likely to spoil from bacteria even after processing.
• You may get sick of it after too many Thanksgiving leftovers!

6) Tea (green or black)

How it heals:

• Research shows that green tea catechins can help reduce body fat through oxidation of the fat.
• Antioxidants in tea may help prevent the “stickiness” of cholesterol, making it less likely to block arteries.
• Theophyllines contained in tea help dilate the airways in your lungs which help promote freer breathing.
• It’s good for your teath, I mean teeth! Tannins bind and eliminate the danger of bacteria that forms plaque in your mouth

What to watch out for:

• Diuretic effect causing increased urination which can upset your fluid balance by washing out potassium
• Reduced iron absorption if you are eating with iron rich foods. You can eliminate this problem by drinking tea in between meals.
• Insomnia if you drink too much due to caffeine content

The above list is by no means exhaustive. There are a whole host of healthy, unprocessed foods that will fortify your life and enhance your wellbeing.  All you have to do is eat them judiciously and reap the benefits. You’ll be amazed at the impact these few diet tweaks can have. So, go to the supermarket and try out some super foods.  You'll feel awesome!