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SUPERFOODS. What are they?


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You may have heard the term superfoods before and you may have different ideas as to what a superfood is, and NO, it is NOT pizza!
Superfoods to me is a highly dense nutrient rich food that is beneficial to your health. Oxford dictionary agrees with this definition and Webster is close with a food that is rich in compounds such as antioxidants, fiber or fatty acids considered beneficial to a person’s health.

Traditional Chinese medicine has claimed that superfoods can help the body to naturally treat health conditions using herbs, mushrooms, roots and berries. If production came to a screeching halt, we would probably have to resort back to this way of helping our health. Western medicine takes those naturally derived plant based sources and alters them or combines them with other things in order to create something that can be patented.

Back to superfoods. Here are some of the top foods I have found. You may find others to include into your diet but let’s start with some obvious ones.

Blueberries contain antioxidants and phytochemical and vitamins C and K as well as manganese.

Avocado also has vitamins C and K as well as monounsaturated fats and phytonutrients to fight oxidative stress. It has more potassium than a banana!

Salmon also has healthy fats meaning Omega 3 that lower inflammation while being good for brain health and keeping your heart strong. Stay
away from farm raised fish of any kind if at all possible. Wild caught is always better.

Sweet Potatoes are better than white potatoes so if at all possible, substitute white for sweet! Sweet potatoes have vitamin A which helps
keep your immune system strong snd is good for health vision. They also are high in vitamin C and manganese.

I have brought up manganese in most of these superfoods so far. So why is manganese important? It is beneficial for a healthy brain, nervous system is part of the antioxidant enzyme, SOD (superoxide dismutase) which protects against free radicals.

Goji berries are one of my favorite superfoods. They many be tiny but are nutrient rich with 20 different vitamins and minerals, 18 amino acids, 5 sources of unsaturated fatty acids as well as being high in fiber and also a great antioxidant. My husband loves a teat after dinner and I have searched for healthy snacks varying from fresh fruit to power balls.. a small bowl of these tiny dried goji berries gives him something to chew on and are very satisfying.

Kale. How could we leave (leaf) out kale? This may be at the tip of most superfood lists as being filled with health benefits. These include high fiber, vitamin A, C, K, calcium as can be good for brain health by containing Lutein, beta carotene, nitrates as well as kaempferol which is a strong antioxidant.

Spirulina is another of my favorites.. I actually crave it when I see in my past Amazon orders! I order them in tablet form and add them to my handful of supplements daily. It is higher in protein than red meat (gram for gram) as well as having essential fatty acids and potentially preventing plaque build up in the arteries.

Other superfoods to include: Acai berries, flaxseeds, green tea, ginger, chocolate, coconuts, kefir, broccoli rabe, cinnamon and wheat grass.

Now you have a list. Find one or more of these and start sprinkling, adding to your recipes or eating these superfoods to benefit your health. All we can do is to learn what foods are beneficial and try to add more of them to our daily diet.