The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life (2 page)

Two out of every three Americans want to live to be 100 years old, and they expect science to help them achieve that goal, according to a 2001 survey on attitudes toward aging and longevity conducted for the Alliance for Aging Research. Survey respondents believed that personal actions—such as keeping a positive outlook, exercising regularly, eating nutritious foods, and keeping stress to a minimum—were important to remaining healthy as they aged.

“[The survey] results indicate that Americans believe staying healthy in old age is not just a matter of fate, but something they themselves can affect,” said Daniel Perry, executive director of the Alliance, according to an article about the survey on SeniorJournal.com. “Most Americans want to hit the century mark, but don't view living longer as an end in itself. They want to live with health and vitality and benefit from the many scientific breakthroughs now on the horizon.”

Those expectations aren't unfounded. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted in its report,
The State of Aging and Health in America 2007,
that the three lifestyle factors of poor nutrition, inactivity, and smoking were the root causes of more than a third of all deaths in the United States, and that these factors underlie the development of some of the nation's most prevalent chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. The CDC also found that people who were 65 years of age or older were more likely than any other group to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life
is designed to be a one-stop nutritional wellness resource, providing expert, professional guidance on choosing—and enjoying—nutritious foods as part of a proactive approach that can add years to your life. The plan is realistic, emphasizing—and encouraging you to make—small incremental changes that are effective and contribute to long-term health. None of the foods I've included are esoteric—they're all easy to find and easy to include in your meals or snacks.

This book is a Livit—instead of a diet—that will allow you to improve your health without feeling deprived. How does a Livit differ from a diet? A diet includes
a long list of what not to eat (often excluding whole categories of foods, as in the no-fat and no-carbohydrate fads of the past 20 years) and restricts your daily caloric intake to below your resting metabolic rate. When you eat less than your body needs for survival, your metabolism goes into a hibernation mode that increases fat storage, causes water loss, and breaks down muscle and organ tissue. This is not a good long-term strategy for health—or even for achieving or maintaining a healthy weight!

A Livit is a way of life that you can follow
for
life. You do not need to deprive yourself calorically or be self-denying in your food choices to begin eating more life-sustaining foods.

The foods in this book are organized into categories to emphasize balanced eating and what that really means—balancing carbohydrates, proteins, and fat sources. Balancing these three vital classes of nutrients sustains your energy throughout the day and helps stabilize glucose (sugar) levels, which contributes to preventing and controlling heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. The specific amounts of carbohydrate, protein, and fat per serving are stated for each food, based on the seventeenth edition of
Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used
(1998).

We begin with the carbohydrate food sources (fruit, starchy vegetables, “true” vegetables, grains, and most dairy) because they provide our bodies' primary
fuel
—glucose. Our brain, muscles, and organs all require glucose to function, and carbohydrates are the best place to get it.

Although many popular weight-loss diets are based on cutting carbohydrates, this macronutrient is essential for optimal metabolism and health. When the body does not get enough carbohydrates from food, it has to convert protein into glucose, which is a very inefficient process. This requires a lot of water, which can lead to dehydration if you don't drink extra to compensate. It also releases excess nitrogen, which the liver and kidneys must work overtime to process and excrete. A diet that's too low in carbohydrates can contribute to fatigue and put stress on the liver and kidneys.

The bottom line is this:
Eliminating food groups is not a healthy choice.
Carbohydrates are essential. Choose high-fiber carbohydrates, which are more nutrient-dense and more slowly absorbed than the more refined, “white,” low-fiber versions. Whole grains and other high-fiber carbs tend to include some protein too.

Vegetables are listed under carbohydrates, but their essential role in healthy eating is to provide vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They are not a very efficient source of carbohydrate fuel and need to be balanced with fruits or starches that will provide more energy.

The next chapter focuses on protein foods, which are the
sustainers
—they provide the materials to rebuild muscles and organs, sustaining us in the long run.
Because they are absorbed more slowly than carbohydrate foods, they help provide sustained energy throughout the day. For example, fruit takes about an hour to digest, whereas cheese or nuts, with their higher fat and protein content, take three to four hours to digest. For sustained energy, have cheese or nuts along with your fruit or other carbs. The fruit will keep you from being hungry again in an hour, while the protein foods will stretch your energy out over the next three to four hours—definitely a more efficient use of your eating time!

A good rule of thumb regarding protein foods is to choose predominantly vegetarian protein sources. A number of studies have shown a strong correlation between vegetarian and semi-vegetarian diets and a reduced risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, age-related ocular macular degeneration, colonic diverticula, and gallstones. Aim to limit meat consumption so that animal protein plays a central role in, at most, one meal a day. If you eat a turkey sandwich at lunch, try to have a vegetable protein source at dinner. (Although fish is an animal protein, many types of fish are low in saturated fat and are such a great source of omega-3 fatty acids that I do not count them against the meat total for the day.)

Fats are our
satisfier.
The third macronutrient in our balancing act, fat is the most slowly digested, keeping us satisfied longer and slowing the absorption of the glucose in carbohydrate foods. Dietary fat is essential for hormonal balance, insulation of our skin and nerves, and healthy skin and hair. These dietary fats must include essential fatty acids, which help lower cholesterol, increase high-density lipoproteins (HDL) or “good” cholesterol, and lower triglycerides.

This book provides not only the nutritional content and special health benefits of each food, but also ways to incorporate the foods into a healthier approach to eating—from grocery lists to meal plans. Learn easy ways to increase your overall health through food choices—increase metabolism and immunity, understand the benefits of fiber, discover what to watch for on food labels, learn alternatives for coping with food intolerance and food allergies, and find out which foods have anti-inflammatory properties that may be the key to preventing disease.

The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life
demonstrates the power you have to be proactive and to make specific food choices that will help you live younger, longer. Read on to unlock the secrets to increasing your energy, helping prevent disease, and attaining optimal health—one bite at a time!

The 200 SuperFoods That Will Save Your Life

1
Carbohydrates: Fruits

Eating more fruit is an easy strategy for increasing your antioxidant intake and decreasing oxidative stress, which could reduce your risk of cancer. Although fruits are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water, their reputation has suffered lately because most fruits contain a fair proportion of carbohydrate—and that carbohydrate is mostly sugar. Not long ago at a health fair at the Beverly Hills farmer's market, I overheard the promoters of a popular “cookie diet” cautioning customers not to eat any fruit! Here's a diet where you lose weight by eating
cookies
for breakfast and lunch, along with a healthful dinner, and the warning is “Make sure you do not eat any fruit. It has too much sugar.”

Things have really gotten out of hand when fruit is a forbidden food! Fruit is one of the two main dietary sources (along with vegetables) of antioxidants that boost your immune system and help prevent disease. It's also a significant source of fiber, which is key to losing fat, helps us feel fuller longer, and slows the rate at which sugar is absorbed. The sugar and other carbohydrates in fruit make it a great fuel source, keeping us energized throughout the day.

All fruits are healthy for us, but the best ones are those with the most fiber. A good rule of thumb is to stick with the “S or S” fruits, the ones with edible skins or seeds, such as apples, peaches, pears, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and grapes. Eating the skin and seeds amps up your fiber intake, and the skin and the seeds contain most of the antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. That's why it's much better to eat whole fruit, rather than relying on juices.

The açai (ah-sigh-
EE
) palm tree grows in Central and South America, with a range that extends from Belize south to Brazil and Peru. The palm produces a small, deep-purple fruit that is one of the primary foodstuffs for native people living in the Amazon region of Brazil where it is harvested. Açai “berry”—actually a drupe—tastes like a mixture of berries and chocolate, and is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids, and essential fatty acids. It has ten times the anthocyanins of red wine. It also has a protein profile similar to egg whites.

At least one study has shown that chemical compounds extracted from the açai berry slow the proliferation of leukemia cells in laboratory cultures, and others have shown that it has a powerful effect against common oxygen free radicals. The açai fruit not only shows potential in cancer prevention, but also reduces inflammation, which has been implicated in heart and lung disease, allergies, and auto-immune disorders.

For a fruit, açai contains a relatively high proportion of fatty acids, including oleic, palmitic, and linoleic (an unsaturated omega-6 fatty acid), as well as aspartic and glutamic amino acids, which contribute to building proteins.

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION
One ounce of freeze-dried pulp provides 152 calories, 14 g carbohydrate, 2.5 g protein, 9 g fat, 13 g dietary fiber, 286 IU vitamin A, 74 mg calcium, 17 mg phosphorus, and 1.3 mg iron.

Like other drupes, açai berries contain a large seed surrounded by the edible pulp, juice, and skin. Açai is available whole or in juices, smoothies, and frozen puree. However, it is most commonly found as a reconstituted freeze-dried pulp, both at health food stores and online from several vendors. In any processed form, make sure açai is the primary ingredient.

Livit Recipe

This recipe is an Americanized version of a popular Brazilian snack, açai na tigela (“açai in the bowl”), a mix of fruit puree served over granola
.

8 ounces frozen açai puree

8 whole frozen strawberries

¼ cup yogurt

¼ cup unsweetened soy milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup low-fat granola

½ cup fresh berries or seasonal fruit

• Put the açai, strawberries, yogurt, soy milk, and vanilla into a blender jar, and puree for 1 minute, until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and chill. Sprinkle granola and fresh fruit over the top before serving.

YIELD
2 servings

NUTRITION ANALYSIS PER SERVING
229 calories, 36.1 g carbohydrate, 7.4 g protein, 8.5 g fat, 6.2 g dietary fiber

ABOUT THE LIVIT RECIPES

For all the Livit Recipes, use organic produce whenever possible. A 2001 study showed a genuine difference in the nutrient content of organic and conventional crops. The foods grown organically had more vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and significantly fewer nitrates than produce grown conventionally. The study also found some evidence that the organic foods contained more nutritionally significant minerals and lower amounts of some heavy metals, but these results were too small to be conclusive. So where it's possible, go organic.

However, if the price or availability of organic produce is a problem, don't stress. Conventionally grown fruits and vegetables provide many, if not most, of the benefits of their organic counterparts. The road to health is paved with vegetation—what's important is eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, not holding out for organic-only. One way to save money while getting fresh, high-quality produce is to shop at your local farmer's market. Even if the produce isn't organic, it will be straight from the farm and won't have lost nutrients or flavor in transit.