Superfood No. 2: The Allium Family

Onions, Garlic, Chives, Leeks, Shallots and Scallions

If açaí is the most exotic food on this list, the Allium family of foods is perhaps the most humble. Garlic, onions, leeks and chives contain flavonoids that stimulate the production of glutathione (the tripeptide that is the liver's most potent antioxidant). Glutathione enhances elimination of toxins and carcinogens, putting the Allium family of vegetables at the top of the list for foods that can help prevent cancer. Here are just a few benefits from members of this family.

Garlic

Superfood No. 3: Beans and Lentils

There are good reasons that beans occupy two places on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid: the first is with high-protein foods such as meat, eggs, poultry and fish, and the second is with vitamin-rich vegetables. The beneficial phytochemicals found in beans offer other preventive health attributes not reflected in the USDA’s Pyramid. The multi-faceted nutrition and prevention powers of beans—a category that encompasses common beans (e.g., kidney, black, navy, pinto), chickpeas (garbanzo beans), soybeans, dried peas, and lentils—make them an anti-aging dietary necessity.

Beans are low in fat (except for soybeans), calories, and sodium, but high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber, and they offer modest amounts of essential fatty acids—mostly omega-6s (only soybeans have significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids). They are also an excellent source of protein, needing only to be combined with grains such as barley or oats to provide all the amino acids necessary to make a complete protein for vegetarians who do not have other sources of protein for their meals.

Beans are extremely beneficial in an anti-diabetes diet because they rank low on the glycemic scale, which means that they do not cause the inflammatory, hunger-inducing spike in blood sugar levels associated with refined grains and baked goods. Beans offer ample fiber (one cup of cooked beans can provide as much as 15 grams of dietary fiber, more than half the recommended “daily value” of 25 grams and are released into the bloodstream slowly, providing energy and satiation for a sustained period. However, I recommend no more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup cooked beans per meal.

Dried beans and lentils are a staple of many cuisines worldwide. For thousands of years, beans and lentils have been and continue to be one of the most nutritious foods available. In addition, beans and lentils are extremely versatile. They can be combined with fragrant herbs and vegetables and made into delicious soups. They can be used in salads, or puréed and served as a dip or spread. Chickpeas and lentils can also be ground into a high protein, low glycemic flour.

Healthy Benefits of Bean

Beans are heart-healthy for a number of reasons in addition to their fiber content:

Preparing Beans

Generally speaking, the larger the bean, the longer they need to soak: and the longer you soak beans, the faster they cook. Dried chickpeas, beans and whole dried peas need about eight hours of soaking.

If you forget to soak them the night before, just do it before you leave in the morning and they’ll be ready to cook when you get home. Or, add three times the amount of water as beans, bring them to a boil for a few minutes, remove from the heat, and let sit for an hour. Throw out the soaking water, and cook as normal. You can also use a pressure cooker, which will reduce the cooking time by more than half, and reduce nutrient loss. (Of course, you can just drain and rinse canned beans, and add them directly to salads, soups or curries.) You can also prepare large batches to freeze in meal-sized portions, as cooked beans freeze well.

Well-soaked beans take 45 minutes to an hour to cook, depending on the variety. Cook beans until soft, and then rinse them thoroughly, because the residual starch on the surface feeds the harmless bacteria in your gut, which then release gas. Some of the gas-producing starch stays in the soaking water so don’t cook with it.

You can prevent gas by adding beans to your diet gradually, eating just a bite or two per day to start until your body adjusts period. Drinking ample fluids also helps. You can also try an enzyme supplement such as Beano, sold in most supermarkets, which will digest the gas-producing sugars. Just put a few drops on the first bite of food.

Preparing Lentils

Like other legumes, lentils are low in fat and high in protein and fiber, but they have the added advantage of cooking quickly. Lentils do not need pre-soaking. Simply remove any debris, then rinse and boil them. Red lentils take only twenty minutes, green lentils take 30 to 45 minutes, and brown lentils cook in 45 to 60 minutes. Do not add salt to cooking lentils, as this may toughen them. Like beans, lentils will keep almost indefinitely in a cool, dry place. Their colors may fade slightly after long storage, but their flavor and nutrition won’t. Lentils are the perfect way to add protein, fiber and all the antioxidant benefits of this food group to any meal. And they taste wonderful, adapting themselves to a wide range of aromatic spices and herbs—particularly turmeric and ginger.

Superfood No. 4: Barley Grass, Wheat Grass and Other Green Foods


When we talk about "green foods," we’re referring to a group of foods that includes young cereal grasses like barley grass and wheat grass, as well a blue-green algae known as BGA. Nutritionally, they are close cousins to dark green leafy vegetables, but offer far greater levels of "nutrient density." In other words, an ounce of these concentrated green foods contains much more of the beneficial phytonutrients found in an ounce of green vegetables.

The results of many experimental studies show that green foods have marked beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, immune response and cancer prevention. These effects are attributed in part to their high concentrations of chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll, the phytochemical that gives leaves, plants and algae their green hues, is the plant equivalent of the oxygen-carrying red pigment hemoglobin in red blood cells. Dietary chlorophyll inhibits disease bacteria and exerts therapeutic effects on bad breath and internal odors.

Wheat and Barley Grasses

Young cereal grasses—especially wheat and barley grass—are distinguished by their brilliant emerald green hues. Before World War II, drug stores throughout the country, but especially in the grain-belt states of the Midwest, sold tablets of dried wheat or barley grass as a kind of primitive vitamin supplement. Today, young wheat and barley grasses are dried and powdered to make dietary supplements, or picked fresh to process in juicing machines.

At the early grass stage of their growth, wheat and barley are closer to vegetables than grains in composition. This is important to note because while I strongly discourage eating wheat and wheat products, I believe wheat grass is an excellent addition to your diet.

The nutrient profiles of green cereal plants change quickly as they grow. As the plant grows, the chlorophyll, protein, and vitamin content of cereal grasses declines sharply and the level of cellulose (indigestible fiber) increases. Over a period of several months, the green leafy cereal grasses become amber waves of grain bearing the kernels we harvest to make into flour—an unhealthy, pro-inflammatory food.

There is very little nutritional difference between wheat grass and barley grass, although it is important to note that barley grass acts as a free radical scavenger that also reduces inflammation and pain, and wheat grass contains P4D1, a "gluco-protein" that acts like an antioxidant, reducing inflammation. It is also thought to be able to help the body attack cancer cells.

You can get cereal grasses in powder or tablet form. Dried cereal grasses are certainly easier to handle than fresh, which must be juiced. However, fresh grass juice contains healthful enzymes not found in dried grass powder, and is likely to be higher in just about every phytonutrient found in cereal grass. Many juice bars and health-oriented markets offer these juices on their menus.

Blue-Green Algae (BGA): Spirulina, Chlorella and more

The single-celled plants known as blue-green algae (BGA) are sold in health food stores as superior sources of protein, chlorophyll, carotenoid antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and disease-preventive phytonutrients. There are several types of BGAs, the most popular being spirulina and chlorella.

The existing research, while lacking in many regards, suggests that BGAs exert some significant and perhaps unique preventive-health effects, most likely due to their polysaccharides, antioxidants, nucleic acids, and peptides. Preliminary evidence suggests that they have the following benefits:

Chlorella protects the intestinal lining against peptic ulcers
Both Spirulina and Chlorella:
Help diminish allergies such as hay fever

BGAs are rich in essential fatty acids, phenolic antioxidants, chlorophyll, B vitamins, carotenoids and minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc. BGAs—especially spirulina—are also good sources of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 fatty acid with many healthful properties, which some people’s bodies have trouble producing, and which is lacking in the standard American diet.

Superfood No. 5: Hot Peppers

The term "peppers" encompasses a diverse group of plants, ranging from the popular sweet green or red bell pepper to the fiery hot habañero or the even more lethal Scotch bonnet. When Columbus tasted the small, hot red "berries" he found on his Caribbean voyages, he believed he had reached India—where Europeans obtained black pepper—and called them red pepper. In truth, the native peoples of the Americas had been growing and enjoying sweet and chili peppers for an estimated 7,000 years. Soon after Columbus's ships brought them back to Spain, traders spread them around the world, transforming cuisines—and people's preventive health prospects—from Morocco to Hungary, and India to China.

Peppers—whether sweet bell or hot chili—are members of the plant genus "capsicum" (cap-sih-kum), a term that comes from the Greek word kapto, which means "to bite."

All peppers contain compounds called capsaicinoids. This is especially true of chili peppers, which derive their spicy heat—as well as extraordinary anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-cancer, heart-healthy effects—from very high levels of capsaicinoids, the most common form of which is capsaicin.

In addition to capsaicin, chilies are high in antioxidant carotenes and flavonoids, and contain about twice the amount of vitamin C found in citrus fruits. Almost any dish, from homemade soups, stews and chili to stir fries, salads, and salsas, can benefit from small amounts of hot peppers.

Superfood No. 6: Nuts and Seeds

If you want to dramatically decrease your risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, control your weight with no hunger pangs and reduce the visible signs of aging like wrinkles and sagging skin, I recommend that you "go nuts." Here's how:

When thoughts turn to food between meals, enjoy a handful of raw, unsalted nuts. They're extremely filling and satisfying—and healthful.

Add some nuts to regular meals—a tablespoon of chopped almonds on your oatmeal, a tablespoon of walnuts in your lunchtime salad.  Nuts are so versatile they can take the place of flour and breadcrumbs—with a lot more flavor and health benefits. Just remember, as with all things, to use moderation.

Learn more about the benefits of nuts and seeds:

Nuts, Seeds and Heart Health

Nutty, Seedy Cancer Foes

Nuts and Diabetes

 

In a Nutshell: A Rich but Slimming Snack

 

Nuts and Seeds in Your Diet

 

Superfood No. 7: Sprouts

Sprouts are a highly nutritious food. Grown locally year round, sprouts are a good source of protein and vitamin C. A sprout is produced when a seed starts growing into a vegetable. Sprouts can grow from the seeds of vegetables, grains, legumes, buckwheat, and beans. Sprouts vary in texture and taste. Some are spicy (radish and onion sprouts), some are hardy and often used in Asian cuisines (mung bean), while others are more delicate (alfalfa), and add texture and moistness to salads and sandwiches.

Why Sprouts?

There are a great many reasons to eat sprouts. As we age, our body's ability to produce enzymes declines. Sprouts are a concentrated source of the living enzymes and "life force" that is lost when foods are cooked or not picked fresh from your own garden. Additionally, due to their high enzyme content, sprouts are also much easier to digest than the seed or bean from which they came.

All nutrients necessary for life are contained in seeds—a food category that includes grain kernels, beans, legumes, and nuts. Because sprouts are so fresh, and do not sit for days or weeks in warehouses, we know that we are getting optimum nutrition.

Great Ways to Serve Sprouts

Add to tossed salads

Use in coleslaw (cabbage, clover, radish)

Try in wraps and roll-ups (alfalfa, sunflower, radish)

Stir-fry with other vegetables (alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean, lentil)

Blend with vegetable juices (cabbage, mung bean, lentil)

Mix with soft cheeses, tofu, yogurt of kefir for a dip (mung bean, radish)

Stir into soups or stews when serving (mung bean, lentil)

Eat them fresh and uncooked in a sprout salad (salad mixes)

Top omelet or scrambled eggs (alfalfa, clover, radish)

Combine in oat, barley or buckwheat dishes (fenugreek, lentil, mung bean)

Add to sushi (radish, sunflower)

Sauté with onions (mung bean, clover, radish)

Puree with dried peas or beans (mung bean, lentil)

Add to baked beans (lentil)

Where to Find Sprouting Supplies

Inexpensive sprouting kits and seeds are available online and at some health food stores and supermarkets. Buy only certified organic seeds, grains, legumes or beans for sprouting, purchase them in small quantities, and keep them refrigerated prior to sprouting.

A partial list of seeds, beans, legumes and grains appropriate for sprouting includes alfalfa, cabbage, clover, fenugreek, mustard, radish, sesame, sunflower, adzuki beans, chickpeas, lentils, mung beans, green peas, wheat, rye and triticale. If you grow your own sprouts, harvest them within four to eight days for maximum enzymatic activity.

When you do not have the time to grow your own sprouts, purchase them at a local fruit and vegetable market, or in the fresh vegetable department of your supermarket. Health food stores that sell produce often offer sprouts as well.

Sprouts are fresh when their roots are moist and white and the sprout itself is crisp. Caution: Regardless of the source, do not use seeds that have been treated with a fungicide. Treated seeds are not edible and can be recognized by the coating of pink or green dust on the seed coat. Seeds sold for planting purposes fall under this category. Use only seeds sold for sprouting or eating not for planting.

Store sprouts in the vegetable crisper of your refrigerator, and use them as soon as possible. Rinsing daily under cold water can extend their life. Mung bean sprouts can be frozen in an airtight bag for several months, if they are to be used in cooking.

Superfood No. 8: Yogurt and Kefir "Probiotic" Partners in Health


The origin of fermented foods and cultured milk products goes so far back that it is rumored to predate recorded history. This is perfectly in keeping with my philosophy that the most ancient foods have survived for a reason—they continue to be instrumental to the survival of our species. Fermented and cultured foods may well represent our first experience with what researchers now call "functional" foods—foods that actively promote optimal health.

The fermented foods scientists consider "probiotic" are primarily fermented vegetables, soybeans, coconut water and kefir.