Superfoods - are they real?
Let me introduce you to Zita Alves, Health and Fitness Coach who is passionate about helping women over 40 to feel great and have a Zest for life. She is also one of our members and wild swims with us regularly and I’m super excited that she will be speaking in The Hub Club in April.
Superfoods - are they real?
Eating the rainbow with colourful fruits and vegetables is great for our health and wellness
A superfood is a particular food or ingredient that is considered highly nutritious or nutrient dense. This can be because of a particularly high level of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants or other properties that support overall health and wellbeing.
We all know that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for us but do we know which ones address certain things better? Just like calories, not every vegetable has the same effect on our bodies so here are some I love to include every week, some I have every day.
CELERY has anti inflammatory properties, Vitamin K, C and folate. It contains compounds called phthalides that can help relax blood vessels and reduce blood pressure. My green juices always contain celery and also use them chopped finely in salads.
BEETROOT is one of my favourite foods … because it is pink!
Also beetroot is rich in a natural chemical called nitrates. Plants take nitrogen from the soil and convert it into nitrates, which are vital for healing and reducing inflammation in the human body. Which is why approximately 80% of human dietary intake of valuable and the most absorbable nitrates are derived from plants. Organic preferably.
Beetroot juice has been studied for it’s performance enhancing potential and is now added to all sorts of sports and exercise supplements. This is because when muscles are in the resting state, the nitrates in beetroot juice help to relax and dilate blood vessels, which means more oxygen gets into the area. This aids recovery after exercise.
I juice them, eat pickled in salads, roast them with sweet potatoes - all delicious.
CARROTS are high in chlorogenic acid, which helps relax blood vessels and reduce inflammation. I grate for salad, use in juices, steam or roast.
BERRIES contain anthocyanin which have been shown to increase nitric oxide levels in the blood, helping reduce blood pressure. I use frozen berries in smoothies and fresh for other times. Wild blueberries contain much more nutrition and frozen ones can be found in the health food shop.
BROCOLLI, brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower are all cruciferous vegetables and contain indole-3-carbinol, a compound that supports liver detoxification, inflammation and oestrogen metabolism. Love broccoli in stirfries.
APPLES are high in the soluble fibre pectin, which can lower cholesterol levels and promote bowel health. “An apple a day” really could keep the doctor away.
PARSLEY is great for liver cleansing - a fatty liver can affect our sleep amongst other things, and a diet high in sugar and/or fat (not just alcohol) can cause a fatty liver. The good news is that the liver can regenerate itself if we eat a variety of natural foods, focusing on vegetables, especially the dark green ones, and some fruits.
KIWI fruit contains an enzyme that helps the body digest proteins.
TUMERIC has long been used for it’s healing properties - there’s a reason it is in curries. The bioactive substance is curcumin - a powerful polyphenol with the ability to increase the amount of antioxidants our body produces which is why it can be used to help the fight against cancer and other diseases.
GINGER is something I love to use in fresh juices and stir fries and I have learnt that when I use organic ginger from the health food shop, I need much less than regular ginger - I only learnt this when I made a juice that nearly blew my head off! Gingerol is the active constituent found in fresh ginger. It has antioxidant effects, is antibacterial, anti viral so helps the immune system.
The other benefit of eating all these superfoods is the gut friendly fibre that helps build our microbiota, a necessity for good immunity, moods and so much more.
The Mediterranean diet is high in foods that contain polyphenols which help us fight disease.
Also consider that greens like spinach contain calcium - in fact a cup of milk contains less calcium than a cup of spinach which contains 245 milligrams.
There is a bio flavonoid called Quercitin found in onions, apples, broccoli and leafy greens that is essential for good gut health.
We can also benefit from better hydration when we eat vegetables and fruits as many contain a large amount of water - just think cucumber (which is 95% water) and watermelon.
If we think more about food as medicine then our choices may vary which will ultimately give us the health, energy and good mental state that we all deserve.
I consider all plants as superfoods and for great gut health we should be aiming for 30 different varieties a week which is actually quite achievable if you think it includes:
Vegetables
Plants
Herbs & Spices
Nuts & seeds
Beans, pulses & legumes
Rice, oats, quinoa etc
So why not set your self a goal over the next 7 days of logging how many different varieties of plants you consume and see if you can get to 30.
An example of breakfast could be oats, hemp seeds, chia seeds, cinnamon, chopped apple, & blueberries and raspberries - that’s 7 in 1 meal.
If you had a big green salad with beetroot, tomatoes, olives, raw sauerkraut chickpeas and brown rice and toasted pumpkin seeds - that would be at least 10 different plants.
So hopefully you see how it is something we can all do with a little bit of thought and effort.
Love Zita x