Photograph of Pumpkin Soup Courtesy of Egal
Superfoods are foods packed with higher than average nutrients and antioxidants to fight cancer and heart disease
1. Berries. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and cranberries—rich in antioxidants.
• Chokeberries and elderberries (difficult to find) are berries with the greatest antioxidant content
2. Pumpkin—use canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix).
• Has antioxidants vitamin A, E and beta carotene.
• Use in pumpkin pancakes, soup, pumpkin ravioli (fun to make with the kids).
3. Dark Chocolate
• Avoid chocolate with refined sugar, milk fats and hydrogenated oils.
• Want high purity cocoa powder that is high in antioxidants. Avoid cocoa that has been alkalinized by the Dutching process (boils away nutrients). Label should state cocoa/dark chocolate has not been alkalized, has been dried and cold pressed rather than roasted.
• Should consist of at least 70% cocoa
• use cocoa butter instead of milk fats or hydrogenated oils
• contain natural, low glycemic sweeteners such as raw sugar cane rather than refined sugars
4. Nuts have omega 3 Fatty acids.
• Almonds and walnuts are the healthiest source. Almond butter.
• Child’s handful daily.
5. Popcorn—lots of fiber.
• Use unsalted and unbuttered.
• No more than three cup serving (not the huge bag at the theater!).
• It is better to pop popcorn yourself (and more fun with the kids!) than to eat pre-packaged microwave kind. Microwave containers have perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a fluorotelmer in the lining of the bag. Can leak into popcorn during microwave cooking. to infertility, liver, testicular, and pancreatic cancer. Popcorn manufacturers have promised to voluntarily phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan. Accumulates in the body and stays there for years.
• Wait until age one to serve corn and age four for popcorn to avoid choking hazard
6. Antioxidant Lycopene in tomatoes (and tomato ketchup—does that make it a health food????).
•prevention of cancers of the prostate, pancreas, stomach, breast, cervix and lung
•prevention of heart disease
•Better available when tomatoes are cooked, packed in oil or in tomato juice (but these forms have high levels of sodium or dietary salt)
Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce is a good source of lycopene
7.Cruciferous (like a cross) vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, Brussel Sprouts)—steam lightly–nutrients remain even after cooking. (Nutritious value of broccoli INCREASES when cooked).
Vitamin C and K, beta carotene (powerful antioxidant converted to vitamin A in the body), iron, folic acid and potassium.
Contains phytochemicals which prevent cancer by preventing damage to cell DNA. Sulphorophanes prevent damage from carcinogens.
Broccoli sprouts have more sulphorophanes than bean sprouts.
Healthiest cruciferous plant is kale, which is a superfood because it is a great source of antioxidant vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K, and micronutrients that help eye health (lutein and zeaxanthin). Mix a little in a fruit smoothie or mix in cooked dishes.
8. Beans/lentils-Black beans have the highest concentration of the antioxidant anthocyanin phytonutrients. Other beans with high levels of antioxidants include soybeans, navy beans, split peas, lentils, pinto beans and garbanzo beans.
•Can make soups and hummus.
•Packed with protein, complex carbohydrates (low glycemic index) and fiber.
•Good source of iron, magnesium, folate, calcium, potassium, and zinc. Use in hummus, soups.
9. Sweet potatoes
•twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A
•42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C
•four times the RDA for beta carotene,
•When eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal.
•130 to 160 calories for small to medium sweet potato
•Cinnamon added to sweet potato helps stabilize blood sugar.
•Sweet potato digests more slowly than white potatoes so they are lower glycemic load.
10.Whole grain breads instead of wheat or white bread. Whole grains are rich in fiber and vitamin E
•very low in fat
•The germ and outer coating in wheat and other grains has most nutritional value. Avoid refined grain foods such as white bread and certain breakfast cereals.
•Whole grains typically fortified with folic acid, B vitamins, iron, and zinc.me whole grain breakfast cereals contain added calcium and vitamin D, too.
•Give kids whole grain breakfast cereals instead of highly processed, sugary cereals. Use whole grain breads for toast and sandwiches, whole grain crackers for snacks, oat bran muffins.
•brown rice instead of white
•quinoa, buckwheat, barley
•whole wheat pasta.
•Add roiled oats to meat loaf
11. Red grape juice—has resveratrol (a flavenoid antioxidant that protects agains blood clots and heart disease) like in red red wine.
• Be careful of sugar—dilute with water and limit intake, especially in toddlers.
•Cranberries and pomegranate juice provides antioxidants, but be careful of the concentrated sugar in juices.
Fatty Cold Water Fish- heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
• Choose wild-caught Alaska salmon over farmed salmon. Farmed salmon has been shown to contain 10 times more toxins, including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dioxin, than wild salmon. Farmed salmon are fatter, and the PCBs are stored in this fat. In addition, salmon farms can harbor parasites. Some salmon farms use artificial colorings, which may be harmful to health.
• No more than two or three ounces fish/week for children between the ages of two and six years old.
• Canned tuna is composed of smaller tuna types such as skipjack and albacore (more mercury in albacore than white tuna). In general, the smaller the fish, the less potential for mercury.
• Stick with one tuna fish sandwich weekly in children
• Careful with tuna steaks (made from larger, older tuna which have accumulated mercury).
• Avoid fish such as grouper, tilefish, shark due to high mercury content
Last Updated by Dr. Vee on February 14, 2011
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