Super Food Facts
The Benefits and Advantages of Certain Nutrient Packed Foods
Super foods, with their multiple disease combating nutrients and low calories, are easily incorporated into every day meals.
With all the attention being paid to certain foods referred to as "superfoods" it is important to know exactly what makes them super and why the consumer should be willing to go out of her way - in some cases - to incorporate them into their diet.
Super Foods and Phytonutrients
Powerful enough to potentially improve health and reduce certain risk factors for ailments such as heart disease, high cholesterol and cancer, superfoods, a term used to describe foods high in phytonutrients (plant-derived compounds with potential health benefits) are obviously highly sought.
In the book, SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life, authors Steven Pratt, M.D. and Kathy Matthews delineate why eating these fourteen foods will help to prevent common ailments and diseases.
Fourteen Super Foods
- Beans – Including all beans such as kidney, black, red, navy, pinto, garbanzo, soybeans, dried peas, and lentils, this super food is low in calories, low in sodium while being high in complex carbohydrates and high in fiber. According to Pratt and Matthews, beans also aid in reducing obesity.
- Blueberries – This tiny berry offers more antioxidants than any other fresh fruit or veggie. Blueberries are also packed with potassium and vitamin C. The free radical destroying antioxidants help in lowering the risk for cardiovascular disease.
- Broccoli – Full of cancer-fighting nutrients like as beta-carotene, vitamin C, nitrogen compounds and sulforaphane, broccoli helps in expelling pollutants from the body. The antibacterial properties found in this super food can destroy the bacteria that lead to stomach ulcers and may ultimately lead to stomach cancer.
- Oats – An excellent cholesterol reducer, oats are high in protein, full of essential fats and contain minerals like zinc, calcium, magnesium and iron. Pratt and Mathews write that eating oats reduces the risk of type II diabetes.
- Oranges – With fiber, pectin, potassium, folate, polyphenols and of course, vitamin C, oranges have the power perform a number of healthy task in the body. They help in supporting heart health, preventing cancer, stroke, diabetes, and a number of other ailments
- Pumpkin – Perhaps one of the most underused superfoods, pumpkins are loaded with fiber, potassium, magnesium and carotenoids. The pumpkin, rich in vitamins C and E, can lower the risk of several types of cancers.
- Soy– Incorporating soy to one’s diet can lower cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and combats prostate, colon, lung and other types of cancers. Soy is a great source of protein, minerals such as iron, manganese, magnesium and potassium as well as being an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Spinach – High in beta-carotine, plant-derived omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, calcium, zinc, iron, manganese, magnesium, vitamins C, E, B1, B2, B6, and B9, spinach helps to combat ailments such as cardiovascular disease, several forms of cancer, cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.
- Tea – Whether it be in green or black, hot or cold, tea delivers a powerful quantity of antioxidants. These antioxidants in tea have been shown to reduce cholesterol and help combat cancer. Osteoporosis prevention is also ascribed to tea in Pratt and Mathew’s book.
- Tomatoes – Loaded with lycopene, tomatoes reduce the risk of prostate, breast, lung and other cancers. This vitamin C loaded superfood helps in keeping the heart protected. If the tomato is cooked (also in paste or sauce form), the absorption of lycopene is increased.
- Turkey – Low in fat and a great source of protein, turkey has selenium which is instrumental in fighting cancer cells. Turkey is also rich in B vitamins which serve to increase energy as well as protecting the cardiovascular system.
- Walnuts – High in protein, fiber, B vitamins, magnesium and antioxidants such as Vitamin E, walnuts are also high in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Wild Salmon – Along with other fatty fish, salmon is a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids plus with other healthy nutrients. Salmon is great in lowering the risk of heart disease.
- Yogurt– Calcium rich yogurt not only promotes strong bones as well as heart health, but it’s also helpful for intestinal conditions thanks to the probiotics it contains. Another benefit of yogurt is that it promotes weight loss and increases the immune system.
More Super Foods
Other super foods include hot peppers, Açaí berry, barley, wheat germ, buckwheat, garlic, onions, sweet potatoes, and dark chocolate.
Sources:
- Pratt, Steven M.D. Matthews, Kathy. SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. HarperCollins. 2003
- Seliger, Susan. “Superfoods' Everyone Needs”. WebMD Feature. Retrieved 200-08-14
The copyright of the article Super Food Facts in Nutrition is owned by Elvira Nieto. Permission to republish Super Food Facts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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