Top 3 Healthiest Food in the World
Healthy Food #1: Lemons
Healthiest foods of the world
Why they’re Healthy: Lemon is
enriched with vitamin C. Just one lemon has more than 100 percent of your daily
intake of vitamin C. This may help in increasing your "good" HDL
cholesterol levels and strengthen bones. Citrus flavoniods found in lemons
inhibits the growth of cancer cells and act as an anti-inflammatory.
Lemons are acidic to the taste,
but are alkaline-forming in the body. In fact they are one of the most
alkaline-forming foods; this makes them great for balancing a highly acidic
condition in the body.
Lemons are a favorite all over
the world and an essential food in kitchens everywhere. “We are living in a
world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish
is made from real lemons.” –Alfred E. Newman
16. Health Benefits of Lemons:
1. Lemons are alkalizing for the
body: Lemons are acidic to begin with but they are alkaline-forming on body
fluids helping to restore balance to the body’s pH.
2. Lemons are rich in vitamin C
and flavonoids that work against infections like the flu and colds.
3. Your liver loves lemons: “The
lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dis-solvent of uric acid
and other poisons liquefies the bile,” says Jethro Kloss in his book Back to
Eden. Fresh lemon juice added to a large glass of water in the morning is a
great liver detoxify.
5. Scurvy is treated by giving one to two ounces of lemon
juice diluted with water every two to four hours. In 1747, a naval surgeon
named James Lind cured scurvy with fresh lemons. To this day, the British Navy
requires ships to carry enough lemons so that every sailor could have one ounce
of juice a day. In the past, lemons were replaced with limes; this is where the
English got their nickname “limeys.” Watch this video: “Scurvy Pirates and the
Lemon of Love”
6. The citric acid in lemon juice helps to dissolve
gallstones, calcium deposits, and kidney stones.
7. Vitamin C in lemons helps to neutralize free radicals
linked to aging and most types of disease.
8. The lemon peel contains the
potent phytonutrient tange.
9. In India, Ayurveda medicine values the lemon
as a fruit and for its properties. It is sour, warm, promoter of gastric fire,
light, good for vision, pungent and astringent.
10. It destroys intestinal worms.
11. When there is insufficient
oxygen and difficulty in breathing (such as when mountain climbing) lemons are
very helpful. The first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, Edmund Hillary,
said that his success on Mt. Everest was greatly due to lemons.
12. Lemons have powerful antibacterial
properties; experiments have found the juice of lemons destroy the bacteria of
malaria, cholera, diphtheria, typhoid and other deadly diseases.
13. Blood vessels are strengthened by the vitamin P
(bioflavinoids) in lemon thus prevents internal hemorrhage. Also, making it
useful in treating high blood pressure.
14. The symptoms of eye disorders, including diabetic
retinopathy have been shown in research to improve due to the rutin, found in
lemons.
15. Lemons contain 22 anti-cancer compounds, including
naturally occurring limonene; oil which slows or halts the growth of cancer
tumors in animals and flavonol glycosides which stop cell division in cancer
cells.
16. According to The Reams
Biological Ionization Theory (RBTI), the lemon is the ONLY food in the world
that is anionic (an ion with a negative charge). All other foods are cationic
(the ion has a positive charge.) This makes it extremely useful to health as it
is the interaction between anions and cations that ultimately provides all cell
energy.
Quick Tip:
Add a slice of lemon to your
green tea. One study found that citrus increases your body's ability to absorb
the antioxidants in the tea by about 80 percent.
.jpg)
Healthy Food #2: Broccoli
When it comes to great-tasting
nutrition, broccoli is an all-star food with many health benefits. While low in
calories, broccoli is rich in many essential vitamins and minerals, in addition
to fiber.
Broccoli belongs to a family of
vegetables called cruciferous vegetables and its close relatives include
brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage. Broccoli is high in sulforophane, a
sulfur-containing compound present in cruciferous vegetables. Sulforophane has
anti-cancer properties and may promote the elimination of potential carcinogens
from the body. Studies suggest that a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables may
reduce the risk of some cancers, especially stomach and lung cancers.
As if that's not enough, a cup of
cooked broccoli offers as much vitamin C as an orange, and is very rich in
beta-carotene. Broccoli contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, iron, magnesium,
potassium, and zinc too. It is also high in fiber and low in calories.
Broccoli Nutrients
Broccoli nutrients provide many
health benefits. It is a great source of vitamins K, A, and C, in addition to
fiber, potassium, folate, and lutein.
Vitamin K – essential for the
functioning of many proteins involved in blood clotting
Vitamin A – helps vision and is
required for the immune system and production of red blood cells.
Vitamin C – builds collagen,
which forms body tissue and bone, and helps cuts and wounds heal. Vitamin C is
a powerful antioxidant and protects the body from damaging free radicals.
Fiber – diets high in fiber
promote digestive health. A high fiber intake can also help lower cholesterol.
Potassium – a mineral and
electrolyte that is essential for the function of nerves and heart contraction.
Folate – is necessary for the
production and maintenance of new cells in the body.
Lutein - may slow progression of
age-related muscular degeneration and cataracts.
By including broccoli in your
diet regularly you may reduce and prevent ailments like cancer, diabetes, heart
disease, high blood pressure and it may help lower blood cholesterol.
Broccoli can provide you with
some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The
fiber-related components in broccoli do a better job of binding together with
bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding
process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result
is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw broccoli still has
cholesterol-lowering ability—just not as much.
Vitamin K245%
Vitamin C135%
Chromium53%
Folate42%
Fiber21%
Pantothenic acid19%
Vitamin B618%
Vitamin E15%
Pphosphorus15%
Manganese15%
Choline15%
Vitamin B215%
Vitamin A13%
Potassium13%
Copper11%
Vitamin B18%
Omega-3 fats8%
Magnesium8%
Protein7%
Zinc6%
Iron6%
Calcium6%
Selenium5%
Vitamin K245%
Vitamin C135%
Chromium53%
Folate42%
Fiber21%
Pantothenic acid19%
Vitamin B618%
Vitamin E15%
Phosphorus15%
Manganese15%
Choline15%
Vitamin B215%
Vitamin A13%
Potassium13%
Copper11%
Vitamin B18%
Omega-3 fats8%
Magnesium8%
Protein7%
Zinc6%
Iron6%
Calcium6%
Selenium5%
Vitamin B35%
Healthy Food #3: Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is loaded with
nutrients that can positively affect your health.
Made from the seed of the cocoa
tree, it is one of the best sources of antioxidants on the planet.
Studies show that dark chocolate
(not the sugary crap) can improve health and lower the risk of heart disease.
1. Dark Chocolate is Very Nutritious
If you buy quality dark chocolate
with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious.
It contains a decent amount of
soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals.
A 100 gram bar of dark chocolate
with 70-85% cocoa contains (1):
11 grams of fiber.
67% of the RDA for Iron.
58% of the RDA for Magnesium.
89% of the RDA for Copper.
98% of the RDA for Manganese.
It also has plenty of potassium,
phosphorus, zinc and selenium.
2. Dark Chocolate is a Powerful Source of Antioxidant
Have you ever heard of a measure
called ORAC?
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical
Absorbance Capacity. It is a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods.
Basically, researchers pit a
bunch of free radicals (bad) against a sample of food and see how well the
antioxidants in the food can “disarm” them.
The biological relevance of this
metric is questioned, because it’s done in a test tube and may not have the
same effect in the body.
However, I think it is worth
mentioning that raw, unprocessed cocoa beans are among the highest scoring
foods that have been tested.
Dark chocolate is loaded with
organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants.
These include polyphenols, flavanols, catechins, among others.
One study showed that cocoa and
dark chocolate contained more antioxidant activity, polyphenols and flavanols
than other fruits they tested, which included blueberries and Acai berries (2).
Bottom Line: Cocoa and dark
chocolate have a wide variety of powerful antioxidants, way more than most
other foods.
3. Dark Chocolate May Improve Blood Flow and Lower Blood Pressure
The flavanols in dark chocolate
can stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce Nitric Oxide
(NO), which is a gas (3).
One of the functions of NO is to
send signals to the arteries to relax, which lowers resistance to blood flow
and therefore reduces blood pressure.
There are many controlled trials
showing that cocoa and dark chocolate can improve blood flow and lower blood
pressure, but the effects are usually mild (4, 5, 6, 7).
However, there is also one study
in people with elevated blood pressure that showed no effect, so take all this
with a grain of salt (8).
Bottom Line: The bioactive
compounds in cocoa can improve blood flow in the arteries and cause a small but
statistically significant decrease in blood pressure.
4. Dark Chocolate Raises HDL(high-density lipoprotein and Protects LDL(low-density protein) Against Oxidation
Consuming dark chocolate can
improve several important risk factors for heart disease.
In a controlled trial, cocoa
powder was found to significantly decrease oxidized LDL cholesterol in men.
It also increased HDL and lowered
total LDL in men with elevated cholesterol (9).
Oxidized LDL means that the LDL
(“bad” cholesterol) has reacted with free radicals.
This makes the LDL particle
itself reactive and capable of damaging other tissues… such as the lining of
the arteries in your heart.
It makes perfect sense that cocoa
lowers oxidized LDL. It contains an abundance of powerful antioxidants that do
make it into the bloodstream and protect lipoproteins against oxidative damage
(10, 11, 12, 13).
Dark chocolate can also reduce
insulin resistance, which is another common risk factor for many diseases like
heart disease and diabetes (14, 15).
Bottom Line: Dark chocolate
improves several important risk factors for disease. It lowers the susceptibility
of LDL to oxidative damage while increasing HDL and improving insulin
sensitivity.
5. Dark Chocolate May Lower The Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
The compounds in dark chocolate
appear to be highly protective against the oxidation of LDL.
In the long term, this should
cause much less cholesterol to lodge in the arteries and we should see a lower
risk of heart disease over the long term.
It turns out that we have several
long-term observational studies that show a fairly drastic improvement.
In a study of 470 elderly men,
cocoa was found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death by a whopping 50%
over a 15 year period (16).
Another study revealed that
eating chocolate 2 or more times per week lowered the risk of having calcified
plaque in the arteries by 32%. Eating chocolate less frequently had no effect
(17).
Yet another study showed that
chocolate 5+ times per week lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 57%
(18).
Of course, these 3 studies are
so-called observational studies that can not prove that it was the chocolate
that caused the reduction in risk.
However, given that we have a
biological mechanism (lower blood pressure and oxidized LDL) then I find it
plausible that regular consumption of dark chocolate can in fact reduce the
risk of heart disease.
Bottom Line: Observational
studies show a drastic reduction in heart disease risk for the people who
consume the most chocolate.
6. Dark Chocolate May Protect Your Skin Against The Sun
The bioactive compounds in dark
chocolate may also be great for your skin.
The flavonols can protect against
sun-induced damage, improve blood flow to the skin and increase skin density
and hydration (19).
The minimal erythemal dose (MED)
is the minimum amount of UVB rays required to cause redness in the skin, 24
hours after exposure.
In one study of 30 people, the
MED more than doubled after consuming dark chocolate high in flavanols for 12
weeks (20).
If you’re planning on a beach
vacation, consider loading up on dark chocolate in the prior weeks and months.
Bottom Line: Studies show that
the flavanols from cocoa can improve blood flow to the skin and protect it
against sun-induced damage.
7. Dark Chocolate May Improve Brain Function
The good news isn’t over yet.
Dark chocolate may also improve the function of the brain.
One study of healthy volunteers
showed that 5 days of consuming high-flavanol cocoa improved blood flow to the
brain (21).
Cocoa may also significantly
improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment. It also
improves verbal fluency and several risk factors for disease (22).
0 comments:
Post a Comment