"Our Western diets are literally killing us." This sentiment, expressed by Dr. Steven G. Pratt, author of SuperFoods Rx, has gained momentum in recent years in response to skyrocketing obesity rates and unhealthy lifestyles. Many fad diets aim to decrease this trend by focusing on low-calorie, low-nutrition foods, resulting in an overall inclination towards food deprivation. However, the healthiest way to reverse this alarming development may in fact lie in what is added to the diet instead of what is taken away.
Dr. Pratt's book focuses on 14 key "super foods" and their immense influence on both nutrition and overall health. While the precise definition of a super food is quite elusive, each of these foods follows the general trend of having exceptionally high nutritional value with respect to caloric content. These foods are often rich in key vitamins and minerals needed for healthy living as well as disease fighting capabilities.
"By choosing these foods more often, your diet is packed with disease fighting nutrients, such as fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals" said Anna Lutz, a Duke Student Health dietician. She added that studies show a higher intake of these nutrients reduces your risk of certain diseases, like cancer and heart disease.
Super foods are also all "whole" foods, meaning they have not been processed in any way that alters their nutritional characteristics.
While there is no single cut-and-dry strategy for finding the healthiest foods, many of them do follow similar trends.
"Focus on a lot of different colors so that you get a nice variety of plant pigments' benefits, antioxidants and nutrients," advised Franca Alphin, Duke Director of Health Promotion. This concentration on color variation has long been cited as a necessary component of healthy eating. This single trend applies to many of the most nutrient-dense super foods-spinach, sweet potatoes, blueberries-and is one of the most reliable techniques for identifying the healthiest choices.
While each super food is a powerhouse in and of itself, a few of them pack a superior nutritional punch. Nutritionists agree that adding three foods alone-blueberries, spinach and salmon-can significantly enhance well-being and health status.
"There are some that are better as they have a higher nutrient density than others," Alphin added.
Nuts, particularly walnuts and almonds, are also key providers of this fatty acid and should be included in the diet in moderation (one small handful per day). The growing array of benefits for nut consumption is quite astounding, with a greatly reduced chance of coronary artery disease topping out the list. Plus, nuts are so filling that they help prevent overeating and lengthen satiety.
Additional super foods such as broccoli, tomatoes, beans and yogurt each have their own "super power" and should also be included in any diet for maximum health.
"Balance and variety are a big part of eating a healthy diet. vary your diet, choose all different colors of fruits and vegetables and balance your meals and snacks with protein, fat and carbohydrates," Lutz advised.
A stroll down the neighborhood supermarket aisle easily reveals this trend towards adding nutritional value to our food selection-as evidenced with labels claiming added multi-grain, high fiber or vitamin fortification.
Many large food corporations are using this new focus on health to jazz up their product lines. For instance, in the fall of 2004, General Mills began making all their cereals out of whole grain instead of the nutrient-deficient enriched flour, with this change becoming prominent in recent commercials.
Kraft Foods' Crystal Light beverage line offers another example of this movement. Their new "enhanced" line of flavor combinations subsists on key ingredient add-ins, such as the incorporation of pomegranates in the new immunity-boosting cherry pomegranate flavor. Pomegranates entered the spotlight not long ago with discoveries of their extremely high levels of antioxidants and their ability to greatly lower blood pressure and cholesterol. And food corporations are seizing the opportunity to play on this newfound celebrity.
However, there are many pitfalls in place for unwary customers. It is not uncommon to see the words "whole grain" printed in large, bold font and "with" printed negligibly right above it. In other words, these foods that appear to be made of whole grain often still have enriched flour as their main ingredient, with small amounts of whole grains added further down the list. Therefore it is necessary to be mindful of these traps and careful in food selection.
It is never too early or late to start adding these extremely beneficial foods to the diet. There is no doubt they are critical to well-being-increased energy levels and reduced sickness only touch on the resulting benefits.
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